The United States is by far the world leader in dry bean production. Each year, U.S. farmers plant from 1.5 to 1.7 million acres of edible dry beans. And while Americans are the chief consumers of these beans, 40 percent are shipped to international markets in more than 100 different countries around the globe.

Dried beans or legumes are an inexpensive and healthy way to include into your 5 A Day diet. A serving (1/3 cup of cooked beans) contains around 80 calories, no cholesterol, lots of complex carbohydrates, and little fat. In addition, beans are a good source of B vitamins, potassium, and fiber, which promotes digestive health and relieves constipation. Eating beans may help prevent colon cancer, and reduce blood cholesterol (a leading cause of heart disease).

How do beans fit into your 5 A Day? Beans are often thought of as a side dish; however, they make excellent meat free entrees. You don't have to be vegetarian to reap the benefits of legumes—start slowly, eating beans instead of meat twice a week.

Before eating legumes, there are few things to know:

Dried Beans are not complete proteins
Beans alone are not complete proteins, but combined with a grain are as complete as a meal. So it is important to eat beans with grain products like these dishes that already contain these combinations. For example beans and rice, a bean burrito, split pea soup and corn bread, and a peanut butter sandwich.

Legumes may cause intestinal discomfort
You can minimize this effect by changing the soaking water several times when you prepare dried beans, or switching to canned beans. When canned, some of the gas-producing substances are eliminated. Be sure to rinse the beans well to wash off excess salt. Another option is Beano^TM, which contains an enzyme that breaks down gas-producing substances in the beans.

Eating legumes means, drinking more fluids
As you include more beans into your meals, it's important to drink adequate fluids and exercise regularly so that your gastrointestinal system can handle the increased dietary fiber.

Varieties

So, which bean to choose from? There are hundreds of varieties of beans. Try one of these:

Nutrient Profile for Cooked Dry Beans

Chart courtesy of American Dry Bean Board*

Preparation

With so many bean varieties to choose from, you'll now need to learn how to cook them. There are two steps to cooking beans: soaking and cooking. Soaking beans allows the dried beans to absorb water, which begins to dissolve the starches that cause intestinal discomfort. While beans are soaking they are also double to tripling in their size. Cooking the beans makes them edible and digestible.

Ready to soak and cook some beans?

Soaking Beans

Note: Lentils, split peas and black-eyed peas do not need to be soaked. Pick through the beans, discarding any discolored or shriveled beans or any foreign matter. Rinse well.

There are four ways to soak beans, depending on how far in advance you plan and how much time you have, you can decide which method of soaking will work best for you.

Traditional Slow Soak: In a stockpot, cover 1 pound dried beans with 10 cups water. Cover and refrigerate 6-8 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse the beans.

Hot Soak: In a stockpot, bring 10 cups water to a boil. Add 1 pound dried beans and return to a boil. Remove from the heat; cover tightly and set aside at room temperature 2-3 hours. Drain and rinse the beans.

Quick Soak: In a stockpot, bring 10 cups water to a boil. Add 1 pound dried beans and return to a boil; let boil 2-3 minutes. Cover and set aside at room temperature 1 hour. Drain and rinse the beans.

Gas-Free Soak: In a stockpot, place 1 pound of beans in 10 or more cups of boiling water; boil for 2-3 minutes, cover and set aside overnight. The next day approximately 75 to 90 percent of the indigestible sugars will have dissolved into the soaking water. Drain, and then rinse the beans thoroughly before cooking them.

Cooking Beans

1. Return the soaked, rinsed beans to the stockpot. Cover the beans with 3 times their volume of water. Add herbs or spices (not salt), as desired.
2. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until tender (the time will depend on the type of bean, but start checking after 45-60 minutes). Boiling beans will break the skins and leave you with a mushy meal. Add more water if the beans are not covered.
3. When the beans are tender, drain and use in recipes; or for later use, immerse them in cold water until cool, then drain well and freeze in 1- to 2-cup packages. One pound of dried beans will yield about 5 or 6 cups cooked beans.

Pressure Cooking

This is one of the quickest ways to cook beans. After you've soaked 1/2 pound of beans, place them in a 4-quart pressure cooker with 4 cups water. Cook at 15 pounds pressure following the manufacturer's directions for the type of legume you are cooking.

Bean Cooking Tips

Do not add salt or acidic ingredients, like vinegar, tomatoes or juice, this will slow the cooking process. Instead, add these ingredients when the beans are just tender.

Cooking times vary with the types of beans used but also may vary with their age.

Beans are done when they can be easily mashed between two fingers or with a fork. Always test a few beans in case they have not cooked evenly

Soaking, cooking, tips, and times provided by California Dry Bean Board.

Recipes

Three Bean Soup
Serves 12
Source: Produce for Better Health

Ingredients

1 can (28 oz) tomatoes, cut up, low sodium
3 cup water
1 t chili powder
1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, drained
1 can (15 oz) black eyed peas, drained
1 can (15 oz) garbanzo beans, drained
1 can (15 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 onion, medium, chopped
1½ tsp garlic, chopped
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp cumin, ground
1 tsp oregano, dried
1 tsp basil, dried
1 cup zucchini or celery, chopped

Combine first 13 ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 10 minutes. Stir in vegetables and simmer, covered for 10 minutes more.

Nutritional analysis per serving: Calories 261, Fat 1g, Calories from Fat 2%, Cholesterol 0mg, Fiber 10g, Sodium 438mg, Protein 14g.

New Orleans Red Beans
Serves 8
One 5 A Day servings
Source: Produce for Better Health

Ingredients

1 lb dry red beans
2 quarts water
1½ cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
4 bay leaves
1 cup chopped sweet green pepper
3 tbsp chopped garlic
3 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tsp dried thyme, crushed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Pick through beans to remove bad beans; rinse thoroughly. In a 5-quart pot, combine beans, water, onion, celery, and bay leaves. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and cook over low heat for about 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender. Stir and mash beans against side of pan. Add green pepper, garlic, parsley, thyme, salt, and black pepper. Cook, uncovered, over low heat until creamy, about 30 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Serve over hot, cooked brown rice, if desired.

Nutritional analysis per serving: Calories 160, Fat 1g, Calories from Fat 5%, Cholesterol 0mg, Fiber 11g, Sodium 1023mg, Protein 8g.

Vegetarian Black Bean Tacos with Chipotle Chile Salsa
Serves 4 (2 tacos each)
Three 5 A Day servings
Source: Frieda's, Inc./ Official 5 A Day recipe

Ingredients

Chipotle Chili Salsa:
1½ cup diced tomatoes
½ cup chopped red or sweet onion
2 Tbsp lime juice
3 dried Chipotle chilies, reconstituted, drained and minced
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Tacos:
11 ounces (uncooked weight) black beans
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped zucchini or yellow summer squash
½ cup shredded low fat Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 ½ cups shredded lettuce
8 tortillas warmed

For tacos: place black beans in a medium saucepan with water and cover. Stir in remaining minced Chipotle chiles and garlic. Cook beans according to package directions; drain. Meanwhile, stir together tomatoes, zucchini and bell pepper. Arrange warm black beans, tomato mixture, lettuce and cheese in separate serving bowls. For each serving, take two flour tortillas; sprinkle each with lettuce; Spoon on black beans, tomato zucchini mixture and cheese. Top with salsa and cilantro as desired.

For salsa: combine tomatoes, half the Chipotle chiles, onion, cilantro and lime juice in a medium bowl; set aside to allow flavors to blend (cover and chill if preparing more than 30 minutes ahead).

Nutritional analysis per serving: Calories 562, Fat 7g, Calories from Fat 11%, Cholesterol 21mg, Fiber 17g, Sodium 304mg, Protein 29g.

Easy Three-Bean Salad
Serves 6
Two 5 A Day servings
Source: Produce for Better Health/Sunkist Growers

Ingredients

1 can (16 oz) Low sodium cut green beans, drained
1 can (about 15 oz) Low sodium red kidney beans, drained
1 can (about 16 oz) Low sodium garbanzo beans, drained
1 Onion (small), sliced and separated into rings
Salad greens
Grated peel of ½ lemon
¼ cup Fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 Tbsp Water
2/3 cup Fat-free Italian salad dressing

In a jar with a lid, combine the lemon peel, lemon juice, and water with the dressing mix; shake well. Add oil and shake well again. In a large bowl, combine the beans and onion; pour dressing over and mix well. Cover and chill. Serve on salad greens.

Nutritional analysis per serving: Calories 194, Fat 1g, Calories from Fat 5%, Cholesterol 0mg, Fiber 10g, Sodium 1036mg, Protein 9g.

Candied Orange Beans
6 servings
One and one half 5 A Day servings
Source: Produce for Better Health

Ingredients

2 Tbsp Butter
¼ cup Honey
1 tsp Grated orange rind
4 cups Lima beans (large, cooked), drained
Ginger, cinnamon, or nutmeg to taste

In a large skillet, melt butter; stir in honey and orange peel. Add beans; cook and stir gently until glazed. Flavor with spices.

Nutritional analysis per serving: Calories 150, Fat 3g, Calories from Fat 15%, Cholesterol 2mg, Fiber 4g, Sodium 30mg, Protein 5g.

Black Beans with Corn and Tomatoes
Serves 4
Two 5 A Day servings
Source: National Cancer Institute

Ingredients

1 15-ounce can low-sodium, no fat added black beans
1 cup cut tomatoes, fresh or canned
1 teaspoon fresh parsley, chopped
½ teaspoon chili powder
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 clove garlic, pureed or roasted
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper or more to taste

Drain and rinse beans. In a bowl, combine beans, corn, tomatoes and garlic. Add parsley, pepper and chili powder. Combine and serve.

Nutritional analysis per serving: Calories 260, Fat 2g, Calories from Fat 7%, Cholesterol 0mg, Fiber 8g, Sodium 430mg, Protein 10g.

Tomato and Bean Burritos
Serves 4
Two 5 A Day servings
Source: Unknown

Ingredients

3 Tomatoes (large), approx. 2½  lbs.
1 Tbsp Vegetable oil
½ cup Onion, chopped
1 tsp Garlic, minced
1-2 Tbsp Chili powder
1 tsp Ground cumin
1¼ cups Cooked red kidney beans or 1 (10½  oz) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 Tbsp Cilantro or parsley, chopped
8 6-inch flour tortillas, warmed

Use tomatoes held at room temperature until fully ripe. Core tomatoes; coarsely chop (makes about 4 cups); set aside. In a medium saucepan heat oil until hot. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add chili powder and cumin; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add kidney beans, 1/4 cup water and reserved tomatoes; bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until mixture is thickened, about 20 minutes. Stir in cilantro; remove from heat. To serve: Spoon about 1/3 cup bean mixture in the center of each tortilla; roll up tortilla. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

Nutritional analysis per serving: Calories 372, Fat 9g, Calories from Fat 21%, Cholesterol 0mg, Fiber11g, Sodium 620mg, Protein 12g.

Content source: Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

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