From my book “What The Fork Are You Eating?” © Stefanie Sacks, 2014
Like many legumes, white beans are produced by plants that grow to about 2 feet tall and yield many 5-inch pods with five or six seeds or beans each. They are usually found dried in bags, and in most grocery stores’ bulk section, as well as cooked, in jars, boxes or cans.
Cook: Like many other legumes, white beans can be purchased dry, then soaked and pressure-cooked. But this is often a roadblock that prevents people from eating legumes. I choose white beans in a jar, box or can, but try to find them without disodium EDTA, a chemical preservative. Just drain and rinse and the beans are ready to go.
Eat: Toss the beans with the greens and it’s a simple, nutritious and delicious lunch or side for dinner.
Store: You can place leftovers into a ball jar – a compact storage container – and toss it in your work bag for the next day’s lunch.
Waste: Be sure to use the stems and leaves of herbs and if you have any other leafy greens going bad, you can easily add them to this salad.
Connect: This dish is easy enough for a child to prepare, so get your kids in the kitchen to help out.
- 1 (15 ounce) can navy beans or other white bean, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 avocado, medium cubed
- 1 small shallot, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup lime juice, fresh squeezed
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups arugula, loosely packed
- Drain and rinse beans in a fine mesh strainer; add to medium salad bowl and combine with all other ingredients except for the arugula. Mix well and pepper to taste.
- Serve on a bed of arugula.
Nutrition: 1 cup cooked yields 15 gram of protein and 68 percent of the daily value of fiber. They are a very good source of folate, copper and manganese, in addition to other vitamins and minerals.