Fish and Bean Recipes for Lent

Today’s Mardi Gras, which means some of you will be observing Lent. For many, that means no meat on Fridays. So why not mix things up with these delicious fish and bean dishes? Beans give an extra, delicious punch of protein that means you’ll keep focused and full all day long. Whether you’re observing Lent or just want a few new recipes in your arsenal, you’re sure to love these fish recipes:

Salmon and Mixed Bean Soup

You don’t see many recipes for salmon soup, but you’ll love this warm, brothy soup. Ginger, turmeric and chills give it an exotic, Eastern flair while mixed beans make it filling and familiar. Don’t forget to use Randall Beans Mixed Beans in this recipe to enjoy seven delicious varieties of beans all in one jar.

Seared Scallops with Warm Tuscan White Beans

The sweetness of scallops pair perfectly with the creaminess of white beans in this Italian-inspired recipe. Scallops are seared simply over high heat and served on a bed of wilted baby spinach and white beans seasoned with basil, garlic and white wine. Remember, whenever a recipe calls for cannelini beans, you can substitute great northern white beans.

Seared Tuna Salad with Pinto Beans and Fennel

Tuna is a heart-healthy food bursting with healthy fats, omega-3s, fish oil and lots of flavor. Lightly cooked fish is paired with soft, moist pinto beans, crisp fennel and a delicate dressing with Dijon mustard and anchovy paste. Mix things up and try this recipe with salmon, shrimp or even canned tuna!

Fish and beans are a natural combination–what’s your favorite dish?

Can Beans Save the World?

You know that beans are delicious, but did you know that they’re one of the world’s oldest domesticated plants, one of the world’s most sustainable sources of protein and an inexpensive way to feed our hungry planet? Recently, the National Public Radio program “On Point with Tom Ashbrook” covered the surprisingly fascinating history of beans. Beans have long been a source of nutrition on almost every continent on the globe, from soy beans in Asia to pinto beans in North America to white beans in Europe.

But increasingly today, beans are more than just a tasty dish: They’re a sustainable, healthy alternative to meat. It takes 16 pounds of grain to produce a single pound of beef, and hundreds of gallons of water. On the other hand, beans just need water, a little fertilizer and sunshine to grow, not expensive grain.

It was definitely food for thought. Click here to hear the full program, and tell us what you found most fascinating about the show! Did you learn any new recipes you’re dying to try?

Spread Some Beans on It!

When you think of bean recipes, do you just think of a big, old-fashioned crock of pintos? Those are delicious, but there’s so much more to versatile, nutrient rich beans! One of the most interesting uses for great northern white beans or pinto beans is to use them on a sandwich or wrap. Here are a few ideas to help liven up your lunch box:

Chile Grilled Cheese with Pinto Bean Spread

Nothing takes you back to your childhood like a warm, gooey grilled cheese sandwich. This sandwich takes the classic nostalgia meal to a very grown-up place, with salsa, poblano peppers melted together with Montery Jack cheese. Spread with pinto beans to add moisture and a sweet smokiness to your sandwich. Pair with some spicy tomato soup for a delicious lunch for kids or grownups.

Creamy Avocado and White Bean Wrap

Wraps are a great way to cut down on all the calories and carbs of bread while still having a satisfying lunch. This wrap mixes beans with smooth avocado and a spicy cabbage slaw for crunch. The creaminess of avocado and beans means you won’t need a fatty dressing like mayo or Ranch. For those who insist it’s not a meal without a little meat, add slices of smoked turkey or leftover rotisserie chicken for a carnivore’s dream.

Open-Faced White Bean, Mozzarella and Prosciutto Sandwich 

This elegant sandwich is perfect for a lady’s lunch or a light brunch. With the mozzarella and prosciutto, it has a decidedly Italian flare, but the creaminess of the white beans, the freshness of the soft cheese and that slight pepperiness from the arugula means this sandwich is completely unforgettable.

What’s your favorite bean sandwich recipe?

Lydia’s Pinto Bean Salad

Lydia’s Pinto Bean Salad

My daughter made this bean salad before practice today, and it looked so nutritious and healthy, a picture was in order.  As you can see, she chopped up some veggies, added some rinsed Randall Pinto Beans and tossed it with lemon juice and olive oil.  Not many ready-on-hand protein foods can be sprinkled, added and combined with such finesse as our beans.  Put a jar of Randall in the sight of your hungry, in-need of nutrition and protein teenager and miracles can happen, like Lydia’s Pinto Bean Salad.

Smart Ways to Get Kids to Eat More Veggies

You know kids should be eating lots of healthy vegetables, but what’s a busy mom or dad to do when Junior only wants to eat chicken nuggets? Beans offer a great opportunity to sneak veggies into kids’ favorite dishes in a way they’ll love. Here are just a few suggestions to get your kids saying “yum!” instead of “yuck!”:

Great Northern White Bean Hummus with Spinach

No kid can resist a tasty dip. Kids will love dunking their carrot and celery sticks into this colorful and fun hummus. Did you think hummus was only for chickpeas? No way! White beans make a fantastic, creamy dip or spread, and spinach makes this an even bigger nutrition home run. Use this as a dip with fresh veggies, or spread it on sandwiches with turkey and avocado. You can even thin it out with a little more olive oil and create a great salad dressing.

Pinto Bean and Quinoa Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes are sweet, messy and a huge part of childhood. But all that ground beef can be greasy and doesn’t provide much nutrition. Swap it out for pinto beans and quinoa for a dish with all of the flavor, texture and protein of the original and a fraction of the fat. Tomato sauce and bell peppers add sneaky hidden vegetable power.

Gluten-Free White Bean Cakes 

Stuck for a creative after school snack? Smash together beans, carrots and a little cornmeal with chives. Chives have a slight oniony flavor that won’t turn kids off. Cook them in a little oil and serve them on top of a slice of tomato. It’s a fun, simple dish with tons of protein to get kids through a busy afternoon of playing and homework. Or, the dish is elegant enough to serve as an hors d’oeuvre.

How do you sneak veggies into your kid’s meals?

Make Ahead Bean Recipes

You’ve got a lot going on in life. Between work, running the kids around town, doing errands and all the thousand other small things you have to do in a day, sometimes it’s hard to remember to get dinner going! One of the best ways to make sure you always have a delicious, healthy meal to feed your family is to use make-ahead secrets. Beans are a great option for making meals in advance: you can throw a bean soup or stew into the crockpot in the morning and have an incredible dinner that night with no effort, or you can freeze beans for a quick meal-on-the go. Here are some of our favorite make ahead bean recipes–what are yours?

Crockpot Northern White Bean and Bacon Chowder

This recipe is incredibly simple, but with a taste the whole family will love. Combined cooked bacon with great northern white beans, vegetables, chicken broth and milk and let it cook all day. While the recipe calls for dried beansm,The slow cooking means you don’t even have to use cream to get a silky smooth texture–milk gives the chowder its body without adding all that fat. For even more time savings, cook the bacon and chop your vegetables the night before. The next morning, just dump it all into the crockpot and turn it on!

Crockpot Pinto Beans

Who doesn’t love a good crock of pinto  beans? Again, skip the step of soaking dried beans over night and use ready-to-eat Randall Beans pinto beans in the glass jar. Add water, spices and jalapenos and let cook all day. In the evening, you can mash these into refried beans or mix the beans with rice and smoke sausage to make it a meal.

Frozen Pinto Bean Burritos

Frozen burritos are convenient, but grocery store burritos are laden with fat and preservatives. When you make your own, you’ll have quick lunches or dinners at your finger tips made just the way you like them. Cook your pinto beans with onions, garlic and tomato paste, then combine with rice and corn salsa and wrap in a tortilla. If you’re freezing for later, just wrap a few assembled burritos in foil and pop them into the oven for great meals any time.

White Bean Game Day Dip

Today’s the day for the big show down in Indianapolis.  Since we don’t want to put off any football fans that might be rooting for the less-than-loved-but talented other team we decided to make a neutral yet delicious bean dip.  Honoring our nations love of wings on this festive occasion, we’ve created a very delicious, healthy and easy White Bean Buffalo dip recipe.

One stalk of celery chopped, 2 Tbs chopped red onion, 1/4 cup your favorite Buffalo sauce and two cups Randall Great Northern Beans with some of the reserved liquid, puree all ingredients, and et voila you’ve got yourself  White Bean Game Day Dip!

Hitting the Gym White Bean Tuna Salad

White Bean Recipe

You know the Super Bowl is right around the corner.  You’re eyeing Sunday like Tom Brady looking for Gronkowski in the end zone.  Think chips, dips and chili (and don’t worry we at Randall plan on aiding and abetting you this coming weekend  with some delicious party food suggestions).

But you still need to honor that New Years resolution for a little bit longer.  You’ve been hitting the gym and that body of yours needs some additional protein.  Think beans and tuna!

This simple white bean recipe is made with tuna, our Great Northern Beans and a little mayonnaise, scallions, red onions and lemon juice.

While you could use canned beans, it really taste better with our beans because of the naturally sweet, creamy flavor of the beans.  ( And you don’t have to use as much mayonnaise, so it is healthier too! )

Give it a try, and tell us what you think!

Eating Natural Doesn’t Have to Be Hard

These days, we’re all a little more conscious about what we eat. We want to make sure we’re feeding our families food that not only tastes good, but is healthy and contains as few artificial chemicals and preservatives as possible. But we’re all working on tight budgets, and organic food can be expensive. But there are plenty of other ways to eat healthy, natural foods without breaking the banks:

• Cook at home more. When you eat out, you never know exactly what you’re getting or how it’s been doctored with chemicals. You also have no way of controlling the fat content–many of your favorite restaurant dishes are loaded with butter, oil and other unhealthy fats. Cooking at home lets you choose the ingredients and the cooking method, and makes it easy to account for allergies or likes and dislikes.
• Read the labels. Do you really understand what’s in the food you eat? Ingredient labels can stretch a mile long these days, full of strange chemicals and preservatives. A good rule of thumb: if you can’t pronounce an ingredient, you probably don’t want it in your food.
• Eat less meat. This might be a difficult concept for the committed carnivore, but eating less meat is good for your waistline and can reduce unhealthy cholesterol. Regain the lost protein by eating healthy, plant-based forms of protein like nuts, tofu and yes, even beans.

At Randall Beans, we strive to give you food that’s natural, affordable and above all, delicious. We use only natural ingredients, with no harsh chemical preservatives for flavorings. And beans are naturally high in protein, with a taste your whole family will love. When it comes to eating healthy, there’s no better choice than Randall Beans!

How Beans Might Lower Your Stroke Risk

We all know that beans taste great, but did you know eating beans might just save your life? New research indicates that a diet high in magnesium can significantly reduce your risk of stroke. Beans are one of the best sources of magnesium, with a cup of cooked pinto beans offering 94 milligrams of magnesium, while white beans offer a whopping 134 milligrams per cup.  Research indicates that eating just 100 extra milligrams a day can reduce your risk of stroke by up to 8%.

Doctors believe that getting your dose of magnesium through food is better than taking a vitamin. So to really up your daily intake, try white beans with spinach (147 milligrams of magnesium) and pine nuts (132 milligrams), or pinto beans with okra (94 milligrams). Yum!