There is a very important holiday that falls during the first week of July each year. Care to take a guess? You’re right: it’s Eat Beans Day on July 3rd!
Oh right, The Fourth of July is happening too!
But believe it or not, it is true! July 3rd is Eat Beans Day, a day devoted to celebrating and eating the humble and delicious bean. While we couldn’t find exactly why this day is chosen in particular, it does fall right around the time that beans are starting to be harvested, so that is one likely explanation.
But, we don’t need much of a reason to celebrate and eat beans! It is, however, as good a time as any to talk about all the reasons why beans are such amazing food to include in your diet and why you too should be celebrating this day and eating a bowl of beans right beside us!
Here are some important reasons why you should eat beans on this holiday, and every other day of the year!
Protein is important
Maintaining a healthy diet and ensuring your body receives all the vital vitamins and minerals it needs to stay healthy is important. Protein, however, is one of the most important because of the amount of healthy energy it provides to your body.
The FDA recommends consuming 50 grams of protein a day to maintain a healthy balance in a normal diet. Beans are one of the healthiest non-meat sources of protein around and one of the best ways to achieve your recommended levels of protein each day.
In fact, depending on which beans you eat, you may even be able to get your 50 grams in for the day in one meal! All beans are high in protein, but some like kidney beans and garbanzo beans can provide the recommended amount in just one cup’s worth! Best yet, getting a cup’s worth of beans into your regular diet is easy by simply adding beans to your salad for lunch or dinner or adding them into your next pot of soup.
Beans are a superfood
There are lots of healthy foods out there, but only a few have the privilege of being considered a “superfood” by leading health experts. The humble bean is among one of those superfoods!
The reason beans are held in such high regard is all the health benefits they offer those that consume them regularly, outside of just protein. Beans are also extremely high in fiber, Omega 3 Fatty Acids, folate, and other essential vitamins and minerals as well as being extremely low in calories and carbs.
These all combine to make beans a large roleplayer in reducing the risk of heart disease, increasing heart health, and helping overall body health and functions. When paired alongside other superfoods like quinoa, beans are easy food to include in the diet of anyone looking to improve their overall health.
Beans are great for healthy and hearty meals
Another reason to eat beans every day is that they are oh-so-easy to include into your diet! Beans are a super healthy ingredient in many very healthy recipes, which is of course excellent! But, beans are also a stand out ingredient in so many of the hearty, comfort-food meals that we all know and love.
You can think of beans as a delicious addition to salads or a bowl of quinoa just as much as you can enjoy beans in a hearty chili, soup, or casserole! That is the beauty of beans: they are so versatile that they have a home in just about every recipe you are wanting to make!
On this special holiday, instead of raising a glass to toast beans, we plan on raising a spoonful of beans to our mouth! We’ll be eating beans today as well as this Fourth of July holiday and invite you to join us because of just how darn delicious and healthy they are.
Find your new favorite bean recipe here in our collection, and be sure to download a copy of one of our free bean cookbooks as well!
