I am Dr. Monique May, Board-certified Family Physician and Founder of Physician in the Kitchen™. Through my best-selling book, MealMasters: Your Simple Guide to Modern Day Meal Planning, and NEW cookbook, Doc Fix My Plate! The Physician In The Kitchen’s Prescriptions For Your Healthy Meal Makeover, and online cooking classes, I help busy households enjoy healthy eating without impacting their hectic schedules.
Hello MealMasters! People choose to adopt vegan or other lifestyles for a variety of reasons, and they are usually related to improving their health. They may want to eliminate the need for medications to treat their cholesterol or high blood sugar, or maybe they want to lose a few pounds to reach an ideal or preferred weight. By cutting out animal protein, you may notice an improvement in chronic conditions such as joint pain or kidney disease. You may also decrease your risk of developing certain types of cancer. For me, in addition to the known health benefits of a plant-based diet, I truly enjoy experimenting with and testing recipes featuring vegetables or other plant-based foods. I also get to create in my “lab” while using my many kitchen gadgets and appliances. This year I am chronicling my journey toward more plant-based meals, and I am sharing with my readers my favorite foods, along with tips and tricks I have discovered along the way.
Next in the series of Dr. Monique’s Favorite Food ABCs is…
(if you missed A is for avocado click here)
B is for Beans: Black, pinto, red, kidney, garbanzo, lima…the list goes on and on! Did you know that there are over 40,000 types of beans?!?
Beans are part of the legume family, which includes peanuts, alfalfa, clover, peas, chickpeas (AKA garbanzo beans), lentils, and soybeans.
These little powerhouses are packed with protein, vitamins such as B, E, K, minerals (including iron, calcium, and potassium), and fiber. They also contain no fat or cholesterol. Dried beans are also sodium-free.
When using dried beans, remember that a little bit goes a long way: a cup of dried beans yields 2-3 cups of cooked beans, making them ideal for batch cooking as part of meal prepping.
I admit that I usually use canned beans, but recently I have started cooking with dried beans. Part of my prior reluctance to use dried beans was the time it takes to soak them, which can range anywhere from 1 hour to overnight. (Soaking and rinsing beans are very important in decreasing the chance of developing the gas that can come from eating beans.)
RELATED: Vegan-ish: Avocado Waffles
Fortunately for me, it was just a matter of time before my love of gadgets/appliances combined in a way that totally changed my mind! I have been “borrowing” my mom’s Power Quick Pot and I discovered that the pressure cooker option has