The World Of Beans

TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, MAY 22, 2013

February 16, 2012 at 11:00 AM

The World Of Beans

Protein for a crowded planet. We’ll dive into the real and humble world of beans, in all their glory.

(Flickr/Roger Smith)

So, let’s review the big picture. We’ve got an environmentally-strapped planet with a huge population to feed. We’ve got a bum economy where American families are needing to pinch pennies. And we’ve got a health crisis of weight and heart issues. The answer: beans.

They take less land to grow than meat – they’re lighter on the Earth. They’re rich in protein but sure cheaper than beef and chicken. And they’re healthy as can be. This may be the great moment of the bean. We’re going to help you get there.

This hour, On Point: the humble, timely, fine and glorious world of beans.

-Tom Ashbrook

Guests

Crescent Dragonwagon, James Beard award-winning author of the new cookbook Bean By Bean: A Cookbook: More than 200 Recipes for Fresh Beans, Dried Beans, Cool Beans, Hot Beans, Savory Beans…Even Sweet Beans! She blogs at www.deepfeast.com and www.dragonwagon.com.

Recipes From Bean By Bean

Buttermilk Cornbread

Chili Mole

Marinated Lentilles

Middle Eastern Mountain

Sugar Snap Orange Salad

Julie’s Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

Rose of Persia Cake

Photos

Playlist

“Beans and Cornbread” by Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five

“Prayers and Pinto Beans” by Donna, Patsy and Roni Stoneman

“Black Beans and Rice” by Mission Mountain

Guest

A question about beans. I heard that soy in large enough quantities promotes estrogen in the body and can cause thyroid problems in high enough quantities. Is this true? And if so, at what quantities of soy must I be worried? Thanks.
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  The only case you’d have to worry about is if you have been diagnoses with an estrogen-receptive cancer. In Japan, where soybeans are a daily part of the diet, there are remarkably low breast cancer rates. Whole soy (tempeh above tofu, say, and both above TVP) are also more healthful, like most whole versus fractionated foods.
Meredith Keating

As the President of a bean company (Randall Foods, Inc.) that has been in existence since 1887, owned by only two families (I have a cute story about the history of the company), the nutritional benefits of beans have always been a strong selling point of our product. Recently the American Diabetes Association declared it a “superfood” because of its high protein content. Another recent article in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition listed beans as a rich source of magnesium that can reduce the risk of strokes.I, of course, want people to eat more beans, but its also important to note, eating beans that are not processed in cans reduces the consumers exposure to BPA, which is another health consideration. It is best for people to cook their own beans or for convenience buy beans processed in glass.Other things to note: the demand for ethanol and the planting of corn has reduced the land needed to plant beans hence driving up the price of beans that were also subject to flooding in the Dakotas last year.Finally, beans have historically been consumed during winter and have been perceived as a comfort, cold weather staple. This unusually warm and mild winter has reduced our bean eaters! I’m so glad you are addressing this topic. I’m more that happy to speak on your show. I’ve got a lot to say about beans! Thanks, Meredith KeatingRandall Foods, Inc.617-309-9915 (cell)
- Ellen Dibble
  
  I am wondering if people in the industry are measuring nutrients like magnesium (and trace minerals we need like molybdenum), given that we read that soils are being depleted. I’d like to know that my beans are being grown in mineral-rich soil, and I’d like to know if one brand is using richer acreage than another.
  - Meredith Keating
    
    We just had our beans tested. I can not comment as to other brands beans. We have had a long standing relationship with our bean brokers and therefore always procure the best beans.
    - Ellen Dibble
      
      Health research it seems to me points more and more to deficits in magnesium, and perhaps there needs to be a lobby at FDA for labeling about the amounts. We seek more specifics about vitamin D, and minerals are similar. �
      A label lobby for minerals in beans. That’s what I want. �
      But thanks for testing and going for the best.
      - Anonymous
        
        The mention of vitamin D reminds me of the author of “The End of Illness” mentioning (on Charlie Rose) that taking vitamin D SUPPLEMENTS for 3 years INCREASED the likelihood of prostate cancer. This is undoubtedly due to the large excesses that occur with pill sources. Getting our nutrients from the sources we evolved with, while not perfect, is likely to be better.
        
        Our early evolution was mostly vegetarian (see our “cousins,” the other primates) and only as our communication abilities grew so that coordinated hunting occurred was carnivorous activity a significant part of our diet. In parts of the world where health is good but poverty abounds, the diet is mostly vegetarian.
      - Ellen Dibble
        
        I heard that interview, which was a concession, because the author, Dr. Agus, had spoken with the CBS morning show (including Charlie Rose now), and that was enough. I wanted to argue with him at length. In the PBS interview, however, I agreed with a lot. Let’s say I more than concur that modern medicine causes problems, and that prevention is far better than letting modern medicine use the modern equivalent of blood-suckers, interventions that interfere with natural processes. I noticed a review at amazon dot com, ”
        The chapter on inflammation is profound. … We’re talking inflammation from obesity, external trauma, and even the flu.” Agus had said in the AM that anxiety and distress could cause inflammation, and Rose had said maybe he isn’t aware, but he is never distressed, and the two women said they are aware. — To be “On Point,” as with beans, we maybe have to listen to our own bodies, carefully; food sources and environment are changing.
- Terry Tree Tree
  
  Thanks for being upfront about your position! That gives more credence to your position, than those who’s comments are obviously shilling for a company, or other interest!
The_Chris

Small red beans have more anti-oxidants than blueberries, strawberries, cranberries, raspberries or apples. Red kidney beans and pinto beans top everything except wild blueberries and small red beans.
nj

“I was determined to know beans.” (Henry David Thoreau). Ol’ Henry spends a bit of time talking about beans in Walden.
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  NJ, I begin Bean by Bean with Thoreau! I felt so fortunate to be able to start there…
LarrySummers2012

Anasazi Bush
Anonymous

At last, a forum worthy of Modavations’ eruptions.
- Terry Tree Tree
  
  Do you think he knows ‘beans’ about beans?
Nick

I’m a black bean fiend.
- Yar
  
  Black beans don’t like me, I think I am missing an enzyme to digest them.
Yar

Beans, greens, and cornbread. As complete a meal as you can ever have.
Had it for super yesterday.
Mm, Mm, good.
- Terry Tree Tree
  
  Lucky you!
Barb

My husband is a type II diabetic, so he must severely limit (and carefully select) the amount – and quality – of carbohydrates in his diet.
Beans are the STAPLE of our omnivorous diet! Cakes, brownies, cookies, noodles — we can make ANYTHING out of beans! WE grind them into flour and bake with them. Cook and blend them into ‘mock cream soups’, and make milks (like soymilk) out of them.
The book that gave us the courage to experiment with beans at every meal course is “The Brilliant Bean” cookbook.
Our favorite? The pale yellow “mayacoba’ bean, from Peru. Tastes like butter!
Now when we travel, the souvenirs we bring home are beans from far-flung places.
Julia

What if you are allergic to legumes?
- Donald Baxter
  
  then, I think you don’t eat them.
  - Julia
    
    Ok, more specifically, many people are allergic to peanuts and soy, which are both legumes. So. If you can’t eat those, can you not eat the others?
    - nj
      
      All beans are legumes, meaning they belong to the plant family Leginosae (or Fabaceae).
      
      I’m allergic to some nuts, but not others, so i’d suspect that some people might be allergic to some, but possibly not all, legumes.
      
      Also, in the case of beans, i think there’s probably a distinction to be made between an allergic reaction and other sorts of physiological intolerance.
    - Anonymous
      
      It depends on what in the peanuts, etc., cause the allergy and the reactor’s chemistry; most children allergic to peanuts are not allergic to other legumes:
      
      http://abcnews.go.com/Health/AllergiesFood/story?id=4521234#.Tz1Oy5jWo8M
      
      There are tests that a doctor can give for a lot of foods if you want to determine if it will engender a reaction.
    - Julie Rohwein
      
      I am allergic to soy and not to any other legumes. So it is possible to be allergic to only one type.
Elizspin

Can you guests please comment on the potential dangers of BPA in canned beans? I’m sure dried beans are best, but for many of use, canned beans are more practical.
Anonymous

I’m afraid that I’m not exactly “bean ready”. Although beans are high in protein and anti-oxidants, they are not free of problems. All legumes are also loaded with anti-nutrients–substances that irritate our intestinal tract leading to “leaky gut syndrome”, the primary driver of many autoimmune diseases.

Plants are in a constant evolutionary war with those trying to eat their seeds. After all, if all their seeds are consumed, no more plant! That’s why consuming grains and legumes can lead to certain health problems. Celiac disease from consuming grains is just one example of the adverse effects of consuming anti-nutrients.

For more information about these issues, I recommend reading Loren Cordain’s excellent book “The Paleo Answer”–it’s a real eye-opener.

For this reason a pure vegetarian diet is clearly the most unhealthy diet that one can consume. We evolved as carnivores, not grain or bean eaters. We still have the genes of hunter-gathers and you know what they say about crossing Mother Nature–it’s only a game for the foolish or those who haven’t read the scientific literature.

William L. Wilson, M.D.
- Ellen Dibble
  
  Interesting post. Thanks. It reminds me of the Eat Right for Your Blood Type books where the author explains different blood types go with, I believe, enzymes that favored populations with certain diets. And I think the commonest blood type was one that lived on certain meats and broccoli, notably. One thinks of the nomads of the Russian steppes, with fewer cows, more horses. However, in those days, I think people did not live to a mean age of 80. If they had, they might not do so well with the animal fats.
- nj
  
  That’s selective data, there, to support the eating-plants-are-bad meme.
  
  Plants/animals/birds/pollinators co-evolved over millions of years, and all have complex survival mechanisms. In many cases, plants rely on animals eating their seed for their survival. Seeds are moved in the eating/digestion/excretion process, and some seeds require passing through a digestive system to prepare them for germination.
  
  If anything, humans are omnivores, not exclusively carnivores.
  - Anonymous
    
    I agree that this is true with many fruits. Plants have only three ways of dealing with being eaten–produce anti-nutrients, produce spikes or hard shells or cover the seed with a nutrient rich material. In the latter case the seed is usually hard in order to survive passage through the GI tract. This is not the case with most legumes, where anti-nutrients are their primary defense mechanism.
Yar

It doesn’t have to take 16 pounds of beans to produce a pound of beef. Grass fed beef uses land that should not be cultivated. It is not either or, there is a place for both.
Michiganjf

I work at Whole Foods, and over the last couple of years, we’ve begun to carry all sorts of “designer” hybrid beans, heirloom beans, and special varieties I’ve never seen or heard of before.

What’s up with the recent explosion in bean varieties?
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Duncan-Brown/100000783993065 Duncan Brown
  
  We need to eat
Cm Pollard

I am a big-time bean lover – Louisiana red beans and rice, navy bean soup, Indian-style chickpeas, cranberry/borlotti beans with chard and olive oil, black-eyed peas, socca, etc, etc, etc.

Recently I came across the idea of cooking dried, unsoaked beans with a piece of kombu seaweed about the size of an index card, resulting in creamy delicious beans in several hours without the need to plan ahead by a day.
Anonymous

Just for this broadcast, you may consider changing the name of your program from “On Point” to “Pulse of the Nation.”
- Eric
  
  LOL!
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  made me laugh!
Badolliecat

Falafals are my mainstay and they out do a burger any day!
Cows love my idea
Georgia Ede MD

Beans have a dark side. They contain phytic acid, which removes minerals from our bodies, contributing to mineral deficiency diseases, such as iron deficiency anemia, zinc deficiency, and osteoporosis. They also contain lectins, which have been shown to poke holes in the intestinal lining of lab animals. They also contain starches which are very difficult for non-ruminants to digest. These starches are best digested by intestinal bacteria, producing gases as by-products. These can not only make you unpopular at parties, but can slow digestion, cause discomfort, and contribute to symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome in susceptible individuals.

Georgia Ede MD
Nutrition Consultant
Harvard University Health Services
- Terry Tree Tree
  
  Interesting! Thanks for the cautionary info!
Ellen Dibble

I’ve got soy butter, cashew butter, and almond butter on hand. No more peanut butter; I ate that up. If I go a few months without these things, I get Deficiencies, and the advantage besides is that these foods are so satisfying, so filling. You don’t then want sugar.
David

Just as a sort of baseline figure, if tofu were your only source of protein, how much would you need to eat to fulfill your requirement. Is it degraded by cooking?
- Ellen Dibble
  
  Along the lines of tofu and cooking, I understand that soy has been protecting Japanese women from breast cancer for a long, long time. And there is a kind of estrogen (estrogen precursor, I guess) in soy that prevents estrogen-related breast cancer while actually providing “good” estrogen for older women. However, I have since heard that one kind of soy (cooked?) is bad whereas another is good. Now I’m confused. I drink unsweetened soy milk by the quart so I hope that is good.
Deweng

My first experience with vegetarian fair was Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon. It was an introduction to healthy eating – and the prose about the b and b she owned with her partner was beautiful. Thank you Crescent
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  Thank YOU, Deweng… xxxoo.
Dsheldon

My husband’s favorite meal is pinto beans, buttermilk cornbread and any green vegetable,usually broccoli with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. My roots are connected to W.Va. But my husband and I slice open the steaming cornbread, pile on the hot beans(cooked with chopped onions and bell peppers) �
and then grate on Vt. cheddar cheese, and a spoon of salsa. Don’t forget to pour on some of that delicious bean cooking juice to saturate the cornbread. Yum, we just happen to be having it tonight. And talk about easy and balanced. My kids and I love it too. Don’t buy canned, get the dried.
Bon Appetit!
Suzanne
- Terry Tree Tree
  
  Sounds Delicious!
http://www.facebook.com/hank.marvin Hank Marvin

Love Beans! All beans: black beans, heirloom beans, apaloosa beans, sangre de toro, lentils, goats eye… I would get so happy making Beans, I even named my dog Beans. She does get confused around meal time. She’s as black as a turtle bean and loves peanuts. Off in search of some chili!
http://www.facebook.com/people/Dorothy-Paradis/1266963984 Dorothy Paradis

can you give me a great recipe for baked beans for vegetarians? my mom used to make the BEST beans but always with fatback…
- Terry Tree Tree
  
  You don’t experiment with recipes? WHY not?
  I hope you get, or come up with a suitable recipe!
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  I’m V too, Dorothy, and I sure wasn’t abt to give up my love for a great baked bean. Bean by Bean has *8* vegetarian recipes, some classic, some a little more out there (the “Orange Blossom Special” are excellent). Basically, you find replacements for the smoky element (chipotle, smoked paprika, toasted sesame oil) and the fat (butter, oil, coconut oil, even peanut butter or tahini). They won’t be your mom’s but I promise you, socks will be knocked off!
Anonymous

This is terrific…great show…we literally just yesterday got our MASSIVE order of beans and other grains from a place on the west coast called Purcell Farms…we are gradually adding more and more beans to our diet and cutting back opn the meat..not cutting it out as we love meat and fish and chicken, but better balancing our diets…amazing how much we got for $125 that is going to last us a loooong time!!!

Paul
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  I love Purcell Farms. Gorgeous beans.
http://profile.yahoo.com/QMDZ3LH5U2B4GAT7J2HS4TCP6E Jim

I bought some pudding with red beans in NYC’s chinatown last week. Delicious! but my mum told me the chinese green beens are the best for people’s health. she believes the green beans helps the immune system respond better against cancerous cells.
terry_sinha

Please enlarge the discussion to include foods derived from beans – for example, South Indian foods, such as Idlis, Dosas, etc. which combine legumes and rice. Instant versions are quick, easy, and delicious. Also, soy products.
Anonymous

Hi Tom,

We are artists & have a small vineyard in the Adirondack Mountains. We grow several varieties of heirloom pole beans at the base of our vines each year. We leave the roots in the ground when we harvest the beans and the nodules provide nitrogen for the vines. Low tech multitasking at it’s finest.

Dave & Cyndi Douglas
jada

As a poor law student beans have become an absolute staple in my diet. For $5 I can have a filling, delicious, quick, satisfying-but-not guilt-inducing meal.
Adks12020

I love beans. They are cheap, filling, delicious and healthy. What’s not to like? I do eat meat but beans and eggs are a much more common form of protein in my diet. There are so many types of beans that you can really mix it up even when you eat beans all the time.
Mark S.

I guess I’ll be a downer here, but to me they are more edible filler than anything else. They are only good if you dump enough seasoning on them to cover up their flavor, so why bother at all. Admittedly they have variable textures, ranging from tough to gritty to slimy. I won’t argue their nutrition, but to me they are detrimental to making food flavorful enough to advocate for healthier eating.
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  Though there’s some truth in what you say, the fault isn’t with the bean. Here’s what I said towards the beginning of the book:
  
  “Let me send you off into the world of leguminous cooking, then, with this thought. Culinarily speaking, a bean, though nutritionally powerful, is innocent and bland. In its life as an ingredient, it is humble, an object of potential, not actuality. Nothing wrong with that. Not all are born great; some, as Shakespeare said, achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. The bean is waiting for you to tease from it its goodness, to make a bowl or plate stalwart, satisfying, and succulent. Play, dear friend, with that creamy unctuous blandness have, as generations of our kind around the world have done.”
  
  But your comments on texture make it clear to me you’ve had either canned beans (which are sometimes “slimy”), or beans-from-scratch that we’re over-aged. A truly well-cooked bean, less than a year and a half old, is creamy.
  
  Some varieties have more inherent flavor than others, however, all need some TLC — not lneccesarily a lot of it, either — to get there.
WL

I never like beans but now I am learning how to cook them so that I will eat more. I believe it is the last missing piece that I need in order to lose weight and be more healthy. I like to cook black beans (partially cooked ahead of time) with sweet brown rice. Then I’d add some miso and drizzle some olive oil to make it a complete meal for me… together with some green vegetables.
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  I promise you can learn to not just like but love beans. You’re on the right track with “learning how to cook” them. That is exactly it. Keep playing around in the kitchen… Wish you satisfying and delectable results.
randyandy

I worked at B&M’s factory at Portland, ME for two weeks back around 1970. Never ate another bean for 40 years until I decided a memory of childhood Saturday night meals seemed mouth watering. Tried a can of Campbell’s pork and beans (with no pork in the can)…Tasted good and a can of beans a week is now de rigeur. By the way, what about the old wive’s tale about odiferous air pollution from baked beans… sort of like the cattle methane story.
Pete

one of the potent use of the beans is the sprouting. We sprout the moong beans, black eyed peas, black gram, and you could sprout most of the beans. They are packed with energy and nutrients. Mix those up with some chopped tomatoes/lemons/avocado… and you have a fantastic snack.
WW_ph15

Aren’t beans high in calories?
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  First off, green beans are very low in calories. Secondly, dry beans are rich in what we might call dense, or full, calories (as opposed to the empty calories of, say, sugar). You get a lot of nutrients, includinging vitamins, minerals, and protein, plus satiety, and healthy low-glycemic carbohydrates for your money and calories.
Just Thinking

Here’s a good greenbean recipe for the kids – and adults – but it’s a great way to get greenbeans gobbled up. My son dislikes greenbeans. I grow my own, blanch them for approx 2 mins, throw them into a fry pan with a touch of EVOO, add dijon mustard and mix around quickly and straight to the plate. You would never think that this combination would become the most sought after dish but…..! (You can add as much dijon as you like, if you’re a heavy mustard fan, add more!)
Jack

I really appreciate your having this program. I recently started the Keto diet which is mostly protein. I get tired of meat, but I never thought of beans. Here is my question: Are there any bean crackers or mostly bean crackers available? I would like to avoid the carbs from flour.
- BHA in Vermont
  
  Yes, Beanitos! They come in several flavors. My daughter prefers the black bean version.
  
  http://www.beanitos.com/
- Lwaraska
  
  There is a protein bread called Ezekiel—-and Trader Joe’s has a version of their own. Not so srue about crackers though
Kirsten_print

Please talk about GMO soy and the health risks associated with eating GMO foods…..a HUGE problem. Thanks.
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  I am so sorry we didn’t get to this on the show. I agree, it is a huge problem.
Tyler From Monkton, Vt

When compared to conventionally raised beef, the bean is much more economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable, but when compared to grassfed beef, beans are much more demanding on the environment and ones pocket. There is a lot of land in this country that cant be used for anything else but grazing because of the amount of inputs a bean growing system would require. Eat your beans but dont forget that soybeans are directly supportig all the corn in our American diet.
JT

The Amazing Bean! If Americans replace just 10% of meat consumption with an alternative protein source the positive environmental impacts would be exponential. Thank You Crescent and Tom
Blueprintbill

What about chocolate ? Cocoa beans ?
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  There’s a section in the book called “Beans That Aren’t”. Cocoa beans, coffee beans, and vanilla beans, despite their name, are not botanically legumes,. (I also include Mr. Bean, LL Bean, and Jelly Beans on that page…)
V W

If you’re thinking about beans – you have to think Indian. 90% of Indians eat beans with 90% of their meals. Unless you eat beans the Indian way – you’re missing out
- Ellen Dibble
  
  I seem to recall reading that the Indian way, probably millennia old, is as sustaining as it is because of the spices and herbs that are part of the cooking.
Sdf4691

Beans are a big part of our lives. My husband and I have loved beans for years (although we do occasionally eat meat). We do use dried beans sometimes, buy to be honest, we use canned beans more for the spontaneity they allow when there’s not lot of time or inspiration to plan ahead. Right now, I am eating a microwaved bean and grain meal from Trader Joe’s that is surprisingly delicious for pre-packaged food and it took me 120 seconds to prepare when I arrived home very hungry after yoga class. Soybeans and peanuts are our 10-year-old son’s primary sources of protein, as he is a self-made vegetarian. Can you tell us anything about what if any impacts soybean cultivation has on the environment (we do buy organic tofu), as they are a huge crop in this country?

Thanks, Suzy in Pittsburgh, PA
BHA in Vermont

My daughter is vegetarian AND gluten intolerant. Does the author have a quantity of gluten free bean recipes?
- Ellen Dibble
  
  BHA, see the MD’s posting here about the downsides of beans. I myself have had allergies to certain beans over the decades, and this calls for bifocal inspection. I might be fine with pinto beans but not at all fine with something else. All beans are not the same — at all. But it varies from person to person. If you think you’re getting the most balance with variety and have 10-bean soup, your daughter may react to one of the ten. Just as a heads-up.
  - BHA in Vermont
    
    Thanks Ellen. I had not heard about the downsides until the doctors here posted. Yet another thing to worry about in her (and our) diet!
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  Each recipe is tagged: whether it’s egetarian, vegan, “meatist”, gluten-free. My hope is that this will help people with allergies, food intolerances, or strong preferences. See also Ellen’s wise words below.
shan

you seem to be focused on discussing raw beans. what about canned? I’m vegetarian/semi-vegan and all i ever buy are canned beans. I try and get low sodium, but it usually doesn’t matter since i rinse them thoroughly before using in a dish…
Buying canned beans makes it that much easier to enjoy beans!
- BHA in Vermont
  
  Oops, I think I missed the proper comment box, see my very recent comment!
- Bean-eater
  
  Yes, canned beans are very convenient.
  
  Arguments against canned beans versus dried.
  
  More expensive.
  Less environmentally friendly.
  Taste impairment.
  Nutrient loss.
  Concern over can lining (BPA and such).
  Concern over added sodium.
  
  With that said, canned beans are still very cheap, very tasty, still environmentally friendlier than other protein sources, very nutritious, and can lining concerns aren’t that big of a health concern, all things considered.
  
  Using dried beans just takes a little practice and planning that becomes habitual the more you use them.
  - http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
    
    My view exactly, Bean-Eater! Can’t knock the conveninece… but there are those other factors.
Paula

Feeding an organic vegetarian family of five one one income these past few years would have been completely impossible without a whole lot of beans. I understand all of the arguments against legumes made by the Primal and Paleo folks -some of which make sense, but our family just isn’t about to start eating meat any time soon. People have been eating bean based diets for a very long time, and I think dry beans are overlooked by people who claim that you can’t eat a quality diet on a low income.
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  I am RIGHT there with you, Paula!
Guest

I like to lift weights. I’m wondering if beans give me enough protein to quit eating meat?
- Anonymous
  
  Don’t go there. Read Loren Cordain’s “The Paleo Answer” if you want to know how to build muscle.
- Bean-eater
  
  http://www.veganbodybuilding.com
  
  If you want to be huge, use steroids.
  
  If you enjoy weight training and are just looking to reduce your meat consumption or increase your legume consumption, just poke around on that website.
  
  I’m not saying you have to be vegan, but those guys and gals over at that site obviously have information to share on how to be a plant strong bodybuilder.
  - http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
    
    Thank you, Bean-Eater. Dear Weight-Lifting Guest, in addition to what B-E says, in my experience YES. The main think about building weights is being consistent and lifting, AND eating a good healthy clean mostly organic, vegetable-centric diet, with beans one major source of protein. My partner used to spend 3 hrs in gym 4-5 days a week. He was 62, and TOTALLY buff. A friends partner is a vegan rasta bodybuilder, and he is lookin’ good.
Leora

I have celiac disease and it is hard to find good desserts without gluten. I make a great cake with white beans (not bean flour, actual beans) as the principal ingredient; the recipe is from the Spunky Coconut cookbook. Even my kids like it!
Leora
- Anonymous
  
  Yes, glutens are a problem for many people but don’t look to beans for a solutions. I suggest you read Loren Cordains excellent book “The Paleo Answer” to learn what science has to say about beans.
- Bean-eater
  
  Beans don’t have gluten. Period.
  
  Perfectly suitable for celiacs and a great way to increase food variety.
MC2

black beans are the best beans! black bean burgers, hummus, and salsa, noms!
Tdszzyzx

What bean gives the greatest nutritional bang for the buck?
- Terry Tree Tree
  
  Compared to the prices of other foods, why do you worry?
  - Tdszzyzx
    
    It is only so I can select the bean that is going to provide the greatest good.
    - Jo Y
      
      The nutrient profiles of various beans can be found here: http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/month/beans.html Enjoy!
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  Probably soybeans, in terms of protein… but eating a variety of beans (and for that matter fruits and vegetables) probably gets you micro-nutrients and phytochemicals galore.
Roy Mac

Just made a pot of pinto beans with a ham shank yesterday. German lentil stew with bratwurst on next week’s menu. Yum!
Mark

I eat beans and rice EVERY DAY (throw in a cubed avocado!) – I will be forwarding this show’s link to everyone at work! I tell them all the same thing – so good for you and your wallet!
JE

I’m planning on using beans as a snack during the day, what would you recommend? Something mobile and not too salty.
- Cherylwarrenkuelgen
  
  you can throw cooked or canned beans in the blender with 1-2 garlic cloves and salt and get a nice dip to eat with cornchips. if its too plain, add cayenne pepper, cider vinegar or lemon juice. very packable and high protein
  - http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
    
    GREAT suggestion, Cheryl. Also, steamed green beans with something nice to dip ‘em in, like what you suggest, or commercial hummus, or tofu mayo or one of the dip variations from Bean by Bean…
Anonymous

My kids don’t like beans, any suggestions for kid friendly recipes? Thanks!
- BEEZ
  
  I put some into omelettes…
  Have they ever tried Latino rice and beans? Everyone loves rice and beans!
  - Anonymous
    
    Thanks! I’ll try the rice and beans
    - http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
      
      also in tacos/burritos/ enchiladas…
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  Also bean-burgers. Commercial or homemade… there are several in Bean by Bean and also a listener kindly posted her recipe for black bean burgers on this thread. Tom and I also talked did a talk-through of general bean-burger making. Good luck!
Carl

Thought you would be honored to know that this is the first time in 20 years that I haven’t immediately changed the station during a show about cooking and food — and I now plan to buy my third cookbook ever. It will sit next to “Diet For a Small Planet” and “The Joy of Cooking”. And Tom, so sorry to hear that you’re buying blueberries all the way from Easter Island… otherwise thanks for this great show; good for the kitchen and the planet.
- Anonymous
  
  Before you go bean crazy, I suggest that you read Loren Cordain’s book “The Paleo Answer”. We haven’t had a lot of science in nutrition for years and his book resolves this issue very nicely.
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  Carl… THANK YOU! I AM honored!
Jill

“Rootin’ tootin’ factor.” This is why I love Tom Ashbrook!
Anna Giraldo-Kerr

Ms. Dragonwagon, Do the recipes in your book have nutritional information per serving (carbs, sodium, etc)?. If not how could we know how many carbs are we eating? Thanks,
- Jo Y
  
  The nutrient information for various beans can be found here: http://www.fruitsandveggiesmat… Enjoy!
  - Jo Y
    
    sorry, have another go at that link: http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/month/beans.html
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  I’m sorry, Anna, they don’t. There are computer programs which do this, but, I’m more a “food person” than a nutritionist, so have stayed away from this in my books.
  
  I have a general idea of which nutrients what I eat gives me (and one can Google nutritional info for almost any individual ingredient) and that’s enough for me. When I was young I had phases where I obsessed about calories, carb and fat content, etc; unless one has an illness, such as diabetes, where it’s vitally necessary to be precise, I think just eat good, healthy food, organic and fresh as often as possible, low on the food chain, varied… work out and do a lot physically… and that’s enough… at least, has taken me to age 59 healthy, high-energy, happy, and not fat (also not thin). Of course, that’s just me!
Joan Sax

I have at least eight varieties of beans on hand at all times. I use only dried beans, and I not only save space in my pantry, I am helping reduce trash in landfills. 1 Mason jar of beans is the equivalent of about 4 cans of beans, and furthermore you can control the salt content of your dish. I also use the pressure cooker and cook up a large batch and freeze the cooked beans.
Janetrinaldi2

Just started using beans, quinoa, lentils etc. Love them because of their versatility & great taste. I’m losing weight and my breathing problems have
lessened. Thanks for the great ideas.

Jan in Waterbury, ct
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  You are so welcome. Happy beaning!
John

As a way to introduce beans to the skeptical, any ideas for beans served with small quantities of fish or meat?
Elizabeth

This program is terrific. I’ve been looking for a bean book.
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  Thank you!
Shirley

******One important thing you should tell people about beans is that if NOT completely COOKED they can lead to poisoning. My husband just discovered the fact awhile back since we cook kidney beans. We cook lots of beans, lentils, and are getting onto Indian dishes. We grow our own green beans & I can them yearly. I tried dried beans this year but the output wasn’t very productive wasn’t good in a smaller garden here in Southcentral Ky.
http://www.foodreference.com/html/artredkidneybeanpoisoning.html
- Anonymous
  
  Yes, beans are loaded with toxins. Soaking them and cooking them remove some of these toxins but not all of them. Go for a good steak–no anti-nutrients.
  - shirley
    
    I was wanting everyone to know to cook they til done & tender so that they are safe, for they all have a different cooking time. It shocked us when he found it out.
    We’ll keep cooking, raising beans & peas ourselves. �
    By the way Blue French lentils are really good too.
nj

Nice to see attention being paid to this. For many of us, eating beans as a regular part of our diet since the days of Frances Moore Lappé’s Diet for a Small Planet and Recipes for a Small Planet in the early 70s.

Growing one’s own beans opens up another whole dimension. Beans which are hard to find in markets are fun and easy to grow in the backyard garden. There are so many great, heirloom varieties available, and they’re beautiful, too.
Alyssa Fry

I’m from Texas and come from a Mexican-American family, and pinto beans have always been common. These are commonly made with pork for flavor. I’ve also been a vegetarian and therefore made my beans pretty “different.” After cooking the pintos for about two hours, I add tons of garlic, chopped bell pepper and onion, cumin, and I’ve taken to adding a few tablespoons of adobo peppers, for a smoky flavor.

I brought some of these beans to a coworker once, who’s family is from Mexico. He brought them to his mom, and she didn’t believe him that they were vegetarian! She didn’t think there was any way to get that flavor without using pork. She absolutely loved the flavor.
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  My experience too, Alyssa!
Jmahoney102

Crescent mentioned organic beans. i’d like to know more about the level of pesticide use on beans. should we buy only organic dried beans? thanks, joyce in berlin, CT
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  For sure, buy only organic GREEN beans… they are one of the more heavily sprayed commercial crops. http://www.gaiahealthcare.com/sprayed_fruits_and_veggies.html
  I don’t know on dried beans, but since even organic dry beans are so much less expensive than other protein sources, I’d go ahead and buy ‘em. I always do. Also very easy to grow, if that’s a possibility for you.
  
  But, even non-org? Still lower on food chain than non-org meat.
  - Jhalshawavery
    
    i am amazed at how low in carbs green beans are, i always load up on them when i am on a low carb diet, also, almond milk and soy milk (the vanilla added variety) are yummy and i use it in my bown of cereal, cannot tell the difference between regular cow’s milk and these two… and they have almost no carbs, because they are nuts…also, re: organic, i try to buy everything organic even tho it is more expensive, i just cut expenses in other areas, no potato chips in my house, other nutrition-challenged foods i try to stay away from
BHA in Vermont

I would think that some of the salt is absorbed into the beans. I have no idea how one could find out how much.
Jwilliamsbergen

We grow all the beans we eat and they are great. We have home canned our dry beans to have some on hand if in a hurry, and the kids think these canned ones are heavenly! Sometimes when I cook dry beans and have not planned ahead, so I do what has been called a “quick soak”, which is, I boil them for one minute, then turn off the heat and let them sit covered for one hour. Then I drain this water and cook in fresh water to finish them up. Don’t know if this method comes approved by the guest, but it works for me.
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  I approve! In the book I offer a number of different ways and the quick-soak is definitely among them, and often used by me, too. The key is draining them (to lose the oligoschyrides). Thanks… what varieties do you grow, and in what part of the country do you live?
Anonymous

Tom:

You missed the point of my post. It has nothing to do with the hard to digest sugars in beans making them “musical fruit”. Anti-nutrients are actually toxins. That why you need to soak and cook beans because otherwise they would be highly toxic. Unfortunately these measure don’t totally eliminate these toxic substances. It’s not about the toots–it’s about the toxins.

William L. Wilson, M.D.
- nj
  
  There are toxins in all foods, and in most plants we eat. Most beans aren’t particularly special in that regard. Meat is toxic, as well, especially meat from factory farms. And the entire process of raising meat on a large, commercial scale generates all manner of toxins in the area where the animals are raised and processed.
  
  What’s the point of ragging on beans? The toxins can be greatly mitigated by the appropriate preparation measures.
  - Jhalshawavery
    
    not to mention that raising cattle, pigs, chicken, etc. also pollutes the environment, soil, water, are those not also toxins!!
- Bean-eater
  
  In Jamaica, they regularly eat this tree fruit called ackee. It’s their national fruit. As a tourist, it’s the signature dish that you will be presented: ackee and saltfish.
  
  The thing is that unripe ackee is deadly poisonous. Not kind-of sort-of toxic. Deadly toxic. Ripe ackee, when the fruit opens and is exposed to sunshine, is perfectly fine and delicious.
  
  So harping on about “anti-nutrients” in beans where epidemiological studies consistently show positive health associations with high bean consumption isn’t particularly helpful.
  
  “Legumes: The Most Important Dietary Predictor Of Survival In Older People Of Different Ethnicities, Asia Pacific Journal Of Clinical Nutrition, 2004.”
  http://goo.gl/ZouXa (PDF)
BEEZ

“expand your spectrum of culinary possibilities”
We Americans really need to take this advice to heart; literally!
Brandi Fox

I have long been a lover of beans and on the end of the eating spectrum, married to an unapologetic carnivore who is pleasantly surprised at how delicious beans can be; more dramatically I have a former roommate who SWEARS she hates beans and yet I have found at least 3 dishes that she can’t get enough of… the simplest involves cooking a can of kidney beans and a can of corn on low eat until all of the moisture has been cooked off; then eat layered with Spanish rice; American cheese, (sour cream & black olives), on top of tostadas …. if you too swear that you hate beans maybe you can give it a try.
shirley

Also I get migraines when I eat peanuts, I haven’t come across any other legume yet that triggers the headache. What is higher in peanuts than other legumes that is my trigger?
- Terry Tree Tree
  
  Good luck to you, on getting a quick, accurate, answer!
- Ellen Dibble
  
  My doctor’s office has had a shiny flyer from some organization listing triggers for migraines, and I couldn’t see anything in common among them. It might be peanuts, chocolate, red wine. You might google “migraine triggers” and find the list, but it gets complicated when it seems one person has peanuts as a trigger but not chocolate, so if there is something in common, that substance is not precipitating headaches in the same set of people.
  - shirley
    
    Thanks Ellen, I have a list but was wondering why the peanuts are so bad for allergies & migraines when other legumes haven’t bothered me. They don’t occur that often anymore since I’m going through the change of live too & knowing my other triggers such as MSG is a really big one too. Thank goodness Chocolate isn’t one or wine (which I developed an allergy to alcohol in 1992- so I don’t drink it so much either. I mostly take it at communion, but that allergy has lessened some also).
  - Jhalshawavery
    
    just goes to show that we are (our individual chemistries) are unique, i get optical migraines (no pain just a shiny c shape which gradually grows to the pt i need to lay or sit down as it takes over my entire field of vision) something is triggering it, cannot figure it out
Sarah

My children and I delightfully grown a variety of dry beans in norhtern Vermont; Black Coho beans, Marfax, Vermont Cranberry, Maine Sunset. And we enjoy eating them all winter long.
Eric

I WISH there were still a camera in the studio! I really, really, REALLY want to see these foods and the look on Tom’s face!
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  He was truly enthusiastic! Which of course was gratifying… My partner snapped a few pictures. During the breaks and after, he and the whole show team truly, again gratifyingly, dug right in… not a thing left!
Pamg213

I make black bean burgers and they’re yummy.

1 can black beans drained and rinsed
1/4 c corn meal
1/4 c flour
1/4 c salsa (your fav.)
salt and pepper to taste
dash of ground cumin

Mash up black beans and mix other stuff in. Fry in olive oil until crispy on outside and hot in middle.
- Jhalshawavery
  
  For those who are gluten sensitive, flour can be substituted with almond flour or probably something else, this sounds yummy, i throw in a little flax seed meal for additional fiber,
BEEZ

I wonder if Clinton being a veagan now has diminished any of his “animal desires”?
- Terry Tree Tree
  
  CUTE! FUNNY! ACCURATE?
- Anonymous
  
  I suspect so. Studies have clearly shown that vegan diets are associated with lower levels of testosterone. Perhaps not so good for Bill, but probably good for the Interns!
  - Bean-eater
    
    @font-face {
    font-family: “Cambria”;
    }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { color: blue; text-decoration: underline; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: purple; text-decoration: underline; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; }
    
    Not this study…
    
    Research Title:
    
    Testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin, calculated free
    testosterone, and oestradiol in male vegans and omnivores
    
    http://goo.gl/X3kv1
    
    Abstract:
    
    “Total testosterone (T), total oestradiol (E2) and sex
    hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) concentrations were measured in plasma samples
    from fifty-one male vegans and fifty-seven omnivores of similar age.”
    
    Quote from the paper:
    
    “Total T was 7% higher in the vegans than the omnivores, and
    this difference was reduced to zero by adjusting for SHBG.”
    - Bean-eater
      
      Not this study…
      
      Research Title:
      Testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin, calculated free testosterone, and oestradiol in male vegans and omnivores
      http://goo.gl/X3kv1
      
      Abstract:
      “Total testosterone (T), total oestradiol (E2) and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) concentrations were measured in plasma samples from fifty-one male vegans and fifty-seven omnivores of similar age.”
      
      Quote from the paper:
      “Total T was 7% higher in the vegans than the omnivores, and this difference was reduced to zero by adjusting for SHBG.”
      
      (Second post to try and resolve formatting issues.)
Ellen Dibble

Tom was just saying something “tastes like peace,” meaning international satisfaction, more or less. I’m thinking, hey, we forgot about peas. Aren’t they legumes too? As a child, I was fed pea salad, mayonnaise and chopped-up cheese, and a little bit of chopped pickle, but 95 percent peas (frozen not canned, and everything served chilled; I loved it). I think of that recipe as vintage 1950, right along with pink jello with red-dyed maraschino cherries and marshmallow cubes, but I’m sure it was healthier than that.
- Terry Tree Tree
  
  You’re right, that peas are a legume too. I did hear them mentioned.
  That pea salad, sounds like a recipe that my Grandmother served rather often, as it was consumed pretty fast!
- BEEZ
  
  Well, the guest was saying with all the troubles in the world, if we could just sit down and break bread together, maybe we could overcome our differences.
  - Ellen Dibble
    
    Right, and especially with Rose of Persia cake, which is cited above. I have to say, after the Iranians more or less kicked off the Arab spring, out of the Persian heartland, I have felt a wellspring of goodwill for the Iranian people, and I cannot think of placating the Chinese (with their weaponry and their cyberthievery and their human rights attitudes) while viewing very similar attributes in Iran as provocations.
    MUCH better to break bread, or cake, as the case may be, and seek understanding. If “they” seek to be provocative, I ask, is this the people of Persia saying “bring it on,” more or less, or is this an administration (an administration with wobbly support)?
  - http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
    
    Thanks — exactly what I meant, Beez.
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  YES, peas ARE beans. (As are peanuts, and —weirdly — jicima — all members of leguminosae). There are many updated non-50′s pea salads (I remember the one you cite too, Ellen… update with tofu mayo and it would still be good). On the show we did a sugar-snap pea with oranges, a ginger-mint vinaigrette… very fresh and delightful. I think On Point put the recipe up.
Cynthia

I think organic is the only way to go for many many reasons
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  Me too.
Rsll

Don’t forget edamame (edible) soybeans. You can grow them, pick them when mature but before they “dry,” put them in a freezer bag, in the pod, and freeze them without any processing, get them out, steam them for 8 to 10 minutes in (salt) water and you have a delicious finger food you shell as you eat them. Yumm!
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  I love edamame. They’re mentioned in the book… they just didn’t come up in the talk with Tom. In the pods, addictive! (BTW, I am wore an edamame necklace on the show…)
Lawrence Kaplan

The outlook for beans as a solution to protein shortages for the 7 billion and growing human population of the world is not bright unless traditional diets persist in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. North America and Western Europe are hopeless in this regard. Overall yield and protein yield per hectare is much lower in legumes than in cereal grains like rice, corn and wheat. That means that legumes except for soy cannot compete with cereal grains for land. As a result legumes are relatively costly when compared with cereal grain products. Unless productivity in legumes can be increased, their role in providing protein for the coming billions will be limited.
- Anonymous
  
  Is this because they don’t respond to high uses of petroleum-based fertilizer? Since many if not all are nitrogen fixers, it also might be that high nitrogen fertilizers slow down that process and other growth?
KAWC Grad – Larry

TIP – used this for years. Never soak beans overnight again! Using hot water, fill a bowl of fresh beans until you just begin to see the water. Cover with a plate and wait about a half hour until the water disappears. You’re ready to cook.
- Sheenakd
  
  My spanish Mother-in-law made the best red beans and this was her method-then the pressure cooker
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  This does work, but leaves you with way more oligosachyrides (those pesky indigestible sugars)… The more water you soak with in proportion to the beans, and the better you drain and rinse, the fewer oligos.
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Anonymous

There was a study which showed that the protection afforded by soy came only if you started eating it while young (before puberty). Whether this has been confirmed or not, I do not know.
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  Have never heard this, Don_B1, but will look into it.
Anonymous

It depends on what in the peanuts, etc., cause the allergy and the reactor’s chemistry:

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/AllergiesFood/story?id=4521234#.Tz1Oy5jWo8M

There are tests that a doctor can give for a lot of foods if you want to determine if it will engender a reaction.
Gordon Judy

Listening to Crescent Dragonwagon this morning brought back wonderful memories of our stay at the Dairy Hollow House in Eureka Springs, AR, in the early ’90s. We enjoyed the great food, the quaintness of the cabin and the breakfast deliveries provided by her late and dearly beloved husband Ned. We will definitely order her new “Bean by Bean” cookbook as we are two fat diabetics who need all the help we can get.
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  I am so glad you have sweet memories of Dairy Hollow House and darling Ned… xxoo
Marlene Hobart

Beans were never called Mortgage Lifter. That was a tomato and it is still being grown. Please get your facts straight.
- Deb S
  
  I just did an Internet search, and it looks like there are indeed “Mortgage Lifter” beans, as well as tomatoes.
  - http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
    
    Thank you, Deb! (If only I had read further down the comments list before responding I would’ve seen your kind defense of my fact-checking.)
- http://www.deepfeast.com/ Crescent
  
  There is a variety of beans called “Mortgage Lifter.” There is a variety of tomato called “Mortgage Lifter.” We’re both right! http://www.kokopelliskitchen.com/products/Mortgage-Lifter-Beans.html , and http://www.purcellmountainfarms.com/Mortgage%20Lifter%20Beans.htm
  
  That said, at my local co-op organic tomatoes run about $5.95 a pound; beans, in general, .99 cents to $2.59 a pound. I have a mortgage… beans are helping me stay well-fed while lifting it much better than tomatoes do… regardless of variety or name.
- Jhalshawavery
  
  GET A LIFE
Waldro, Suzanne

When Tom introduced Crescent Dragonwagon,he grabbed my attention. There could be only one, and I knew it had to be the hospitable hostess of the Dairy Hollow House where my husband and I dined 20 or more years ago in Eureka Springs. What a memorable dining experience it was!!! She autographed my cookbook which I still treasure and I often make the Herbal Tea which was served to us. Loved the bean dialog. Thanks. Suzanne Waldrop, KY
Elenaonpoint

We lived mostly below the poverty level while we were raising our two sons
Willisshe

Cresent, loved hearing you as I drove home tonight. Met you years ago in a whole different context. I had the priviledge of meeting and working with you for a week at the North
Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching. You were there as the visiting children’s author working with teachers who were interested in writing for teachers. It was a great and memorable week in Cullowhee, NC. You presented each of us with a great cookbook from your farm in Arkansas–I believe it was Dairy Hollow House. Thanks for bringing back some great memories.
Elena

We lived mostly below the poverty level while we were raising our two sons without having to resort to food stamps. Our protein came mostly from beans. Our sons were and are hardly ever sick and are very healthy. I have so often wished for more intelligent approaches to helping people whose budgets must stretch. It is sad to see what people buy with their food stamps. Surely there are ways to revise the food stamp program to incorporate economics and health information.
Jrsl

Great topic . . . but the guest interrupted Tom, callers, anyone she could interrupt. A good show could have been great except for this woman’s self-absorption. Have her go head to head with Charlie Rose and see who can interrupt more! Too bad . . . but gotta love the beans.
- appelle
  
  Piers Morgan wins the Academy Award for interrupting
Jdstevenson

I started eating black blean soup “feijoada” in Brazil as a Peace Corps volunteer 40 years ago. I taught my French wife how to make my version of it and our children consider black bean soup one of our family recipes. We all make it and enjoy it.
Grins

don’t forget “Bean Vine Blues”, John Fayhe instrumental
Kevin

More beans Mr. Taggart?
J. Arnon

I always knew On Point was full of beans.
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Art Mullen

I work at Rick Bayless’ casual restaurant Xoco, where we have a bean to cup chocolate program. The day of the World of Beans podcast we received a custom job cacao bean winnower from our cacao bean supplier in Seattle. I blogged about the bean synchronicity- http://3rdarm.biz/2012/02/17/seven-layer-middle-eastern-mountain/
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Anonymous

I love beans and cook with them a lot. I make a pretty good vegi chilli, and do a host of other dishes using them.
However, I had to turn this show off.
The guest was very hard to listen too.
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Anonymous

Beans do not cause weight gain at all. The Anti Obesity drug makers and diabetes drug makers take in 10 billion$$$$ every year with no cure!!
Food Chemicals are the cause of the diabetes and obesity crisis
The FDA and Drug makers know this and are laughing to the Billionaire$$$ bank
The food chemicals break the gut(insulin) and this is the cause of the diabetes and obesity crisis

The lesson of thin people was shown here on Midland News Click here http://www.ourmidland.com/voices/health/article_062da990-12cf-11e1-a523-0017a4aa8e72.html
Traconbob

I wanted to share this with a friend the next day via pod cast…where is it…
- MS_interested
  
  I found their link and am listening to it now.
  http://onpoint.wbur.org/media-player?url=http://onpoint.wbur.org/2012/02/16/beans&title=The+World+Of+Beans&pubdate=2012-02-16&segment=2&source=onpoint
Alrobnett

I am puzzled by those who found the speaker difficult to listen to. To each his own.
I am also puzzled by the fact that the pod cast was never available for download.
Mplcreative

Please have this available for us who couldn’t listen in when Crescent was on the show.
Sy2502

My mom used to make this revolting pureed black eyed peas soup, and since in my house kids ate what was in front of them, it always turned into the most painful and horrible dinner, having to cram that stuff down my throat until my plate was clean. Since then I hate beans with a passion, I can’t even stand the smell, and my stomach turns only thinking about them. Good job, mom!
Darrell63b

please put this up on the podcast. thanks
Nick

If you’re in the New England area make sure to try Baer’s Best beans! They’re one of the last growers of heirloom beans in the region.
Funny Guy in NBPT

Beans, beans the magical fruit…The more you eat, the more you …
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http://www.facebook.com/ellenjaffejones Ellen Jaffe Jones

Thanks for this! Beans have saved my life. Literally! I almost died of a colon blockage from a lack of fiber 30 years ago and was told I would need to be on meds forever. Eating beans (& greens) for protein has allowed me to continue to place in 5K races for my age group and dodge breast cancer that got my mom, aunt & both sisters. I became so grateful that I wrote a book comparing the price of beans to other forms of protein… and it has become my publisher’s #1 seller. As a former Emmy-winning TV investigative reporter, avoiding succumbing to diseases of the sickest family in America, became the investigative reporting job of my life. I didn’t get all the good genes. I’m still waiting to be studied, but there’s no money in beans or broccoli.
Heaviest Cat

man, this show was a gas
Slipstream

Great show! I love beans! That was not always the case, however. In my youth, beans were considered an inferior food, the butt of jokes, flavorless and the cause of flatulence. Most of the beans I saw were of the canned baked beans or franks’n'beans variety.

Now I am a proud and happy bean eater. I am continually discovering wonderful new ways to cook these inexpensive little marvels. Italian style cannelini beans with tomatoes, olive oil, and garlic. Cooked with various curry powders. Ethiopian shiro. Wonderful stuff – delicious and healthy. Once you have a few varieties down, you can experiment with different herbs and other items. Make a big pot and freeze them – they respond perfectly well to being frozen. And on dry vs. canned, yes dry is time-consuming, but then you can cook them with things and they will absorb the flavors. Canned are OK. I will have to look into pressure cooking & Ms. Dragonwagon’s book.

I regularly fantasize about opening up a little bean business.
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Vera34

Why won’t my Spunky Coconut bean bread recipes rise? I follow the recipes exactly.
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May 21, 2013

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New Yorker writer George Packer’s inside history of the great unwinding of America’s 20th century way of life and where we stand now.

On Point Blog

Switching Shows For Our Second Hour Today

Friday, May 17, 2013

Adventures in live radio. Richard Snow, our guest for our show on Henry Ford, was held up — possibly by a faulty Model T? — so we’re running a terrific archive show on great quotations.

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Floyd Abrams On Obama Vs. Nixon

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Floyd Abrams — one of the country’s leading authorities on the First Amendment — joined us today to talk about revelations that the Justice Department seized two months of phone records from the Associated Press.

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Dr. Judy Garber On Angelina Jolie’s Cancer Decision

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Dr. Judy Garber — director of the Center for Cancer Genetics and Prevention at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute — joined us for the final segment of our show today to talk about star Angelina Jolie’s decision to undergo a preventative double mastectomy.

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