Legumes - Ideas?

I had good luck w/ several recipies in the More With Less cookbook, especially Honey-Baked Lentils and Ground Beef w/ Lentils. My youngest child has been reluctant to eat beans but we're working on it! She likes homemade taco salad (taco ingredients, no meat but kidney beans, a few crushed doritos, a little ranch dressing). If I substitute half beans for ground beef in some recipies, that helps, too.
M.

Try New Orleans style red beans and rice. My whole family loves it. He's a recipe I had found on line and modified:
1 pound red kidney beans, dry
1 large onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
5 ribs celery, chopped
As much garlic as you like, minced (I like lots, 5 or 6 cloves)
1 large smoked ham hock (You can find this with the ham... it's usually just a slice of ham with bone in), or 3/4 lb. smoked ham, diced, for seasoning
1 to 1-1/2 pounds mild or hot smoked sausage or andouille, sliced on the bias (you can use turky sausage too)
1/2 to 1 tsp. dried thyme leaves, crushed
1 or 2 bay leaves
As many dashes Crystal hot sauce or Tabasco as you like, to taste
A few dashes Worcestershire sauce (try using balsamic vinegar instead)
Creole seasoning blend, to taste; OR,
red pepper and black pepper to taste
Salt to taste

Soak the beans overnight, if possible. The next day, drain and put fresh water in the pot. Bring the beans to a rolling boil. Make sure the beans are always covered by water, or they will discolor and get hard. Boil the beans for about 45 - 60 minutes, until the beans are tender but not falling apart.
While the beans are boiling, sauté the Trinity (onions, celery, bell pepper) until the onions turn translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally. After the beans are boiled and drained, add the sautéed vegetables to the beans, then add the ham hock(cut it in squares),smoked sausage, seasonings, and just enough water to cover.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cook for 2 hours at least, preferably 3, until the whole thing gets nice and creamy. Adjust seasonings as you go along. Stir occasionally, making sure that it doesn't burn and/or stick to the bottom of the pot. (If the beans are old -- say, older than six months to a year -- they won't get creamy. Make sure the beans are reasonably fresh. If it's still not getting creamy, take 1 or 2 cups of beans out and mash them, then return them to the pot and stir.)
If you can ... let the beans cool, stick them in the fridge, and reheat and serve for dinner the next day. They'll taste a LOT better. When you do this, you'll need to add a little water to get them to the right consistency.
Serve generous ladles-ful over hot white long-grain rice, with good French bread and good beer. I also love to serve grilled or broiled fresh Creole hot sausage or chaurice on the side.

may be the last recipe website you'll ever need - www.allrecipes.com

Red Kidney Beans:

Add 1 packet of Sazon (by Goya)
Add 1/2 cup of Sofrito (in your grocer's freezer like Shoppers)by Goya
Add 1/2 teaspoon of Adobo (Goya)
Add a dash of salt
Let simmer with the beans at least 15 minutes so that it marinates together.

You can add a little more or less of above depends on how much flavor you prefer for beans.
Serve over white rice

Annie R

Hi SM,

Here are some web addresses that might help:

www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=63153

or

http://www.epicurious.com/recipesmenus/healthy/menus

Hope this helps. D.

Deceptively Delicious Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food, is a great book by jessica sienfield it was on oprah i bought it and my kids dont even know when they are eating sweets and all other dishes with fruits veggies and tons of good foods.

I have found a ways to use tofu. One way is to get extra firm tofu, cut it into small pieces, compress these pieces between paper towel with something heavy on top. Then marinade them in your favorite marinade for at least 2-3 hours (flipping them halfway through), and cook them up in the skillet. If you let them sit long enough, kids only really just taste the marinade (and not the icky tofu flavor!). There's also a good smoothie recipe you can make from RealSimple.Com with OJ, tofu (silken), bananas, honey, strawberry, and ice. My kids also love edamame (soy beans)--I buy them frozen from the regular grocery store--I've met a lot of other kids besides mine who love them too!

Hi! I don't have any actual recipes to share off the top of my head, but I can tell you that I stick beans into all kinds of foods for my kids. First, when we make chili I usually add several varieties like kidney, chick peas, and red beans along with a can of corn to sweeten it up a bit. Whenever we have a salad I like to throw in chick peas &/or edamame (soy beans) which my kids really like. There is also a type of green giant I believe mixed veggies that has broccoli, carrots, water chestnuts & edamame. Just as other posts said also, it's easy to play with different types in any kind of soup recipe, it's just not really the season right now (at least for us) for eating a lot of soups. I've mixed black beans in with ground beef or turkey and taco seasoning to make burger patties that we've grilled & topped with avocado, salsa & sour cream, too. Use your imagination & see what your kids will eat. Have fun with it & good luck!

Refried black beans (whole foods sells it w/minimal fillers) are easy to add to soups, especially tomato soup... great thickener.

My husband and I are vegetarians and we raised our children that way. They are very healthly. We love tofu stir fried with veggies. We like black beans served on rice. We like bean burritos. and we love Haystacks: haystacks is corn chips and lettuce and tomato chopped, topped with refried beans and olives. You can add shredded cheese if you eat dairy. We also like garbanzo beans and onions served over mashed potato or rice. Also we add beans to our spagetti. Hope this gives you ideas. AF

So sorry! I didn't edit my response to you before I sent it! Here it is again (hopefully grammatically correct)!!! JF

Dear S M,
I have a few suggestions for you actually!
I add beans to soups and casseroles. I make my own soup and start by purchasing (at Kroger) the frozen bag of 'Fiesta' veggies (which has beans in it) and add it to my soup base. I start my soup base with some purified water, a can of organic tomato soup (the regular Campbell's has MSG which is a neurotoxin, so don't use that brand), add a can of Kroger brand organic crushed tomatoes and then the frozen Fiesta blend veggies. Sometimes I have added shredded cheese afterwards for fun. I also have used these same frozen veggies and added melted cheese over them without making soup. Both are yummy!
Additionally, I can offer you a yummy way for your child to eat 17 different fruits and vegetables that he/she will beg you for (for a mere 82 cents a day)!!!! Let me know if you'd like to know more!
Hope this helps!
Blessings!
J. F.

check out food network's website for some of the lentil recipes from the show Good Eats. He makes a lentil soup that is sooo good and cookies with lentils (as well as oats, cranberries, and other good stuff) you can't tell there are lentils in the cookies at all but I love knowing they are healthy!

LOL...i only have to respond because i thought you said we already eat HUMANS...lol just thought i would share.

Here's a sweet treat with black beans and it tastes really good. It's just a box of regular brownie mix and a can of black beans. Process the black beans in a blender or food processor until there are no more whole beans. Then add the brownie mix. Follow the baking directions on the box. You may have to cook them longer though. I was surprised when I first tried them. I'm a baker and I do this all the time.