This week’s whole food recipe will be a compilation of various bean recipes Darlene has done over the past year. These recipes include black beans, red beans and garbanzo beans. Darlene is away showing her art this weekend, so I (Rob) will be posting on her behalf.

Being low on the glycemic index, beans not only provide fiber to your diet, but also have very little, if any, impact on blood sugar.

Not All Protein Is Created Equal

Ounce for ounce, black beans provide the same amount of protein as ground beef, but have no saturated fat, no cholesterol and provide 9 grams of fiber. As well, 4 ounces of black beans are almost one third the calories as ground beef.

We love this delicious red bean cake recipe (aka burgers) that uses kidney beans. Darlene explained how the mayo clinic advises women eat 21 to 25 grams of fiber a day while men should be getting 30 to 38 grams daily. What’s staggering is that the average North American only gets 12 to 15 grams of fiber per day. Make this recipe and increase your fiber consumption. Your colon will love you for it!

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Next is a black bean soup with carrots, celery and garlic. Yumm.

When it comes to three basic categories of nourishment - protein, fiber and anti-oxidant related substances - few foods have as solid a nutritional profile as black beans. Containing 15 grams of both protein and fiber per cup, omega 3 fatty acids and antioxidants, this black bean soup recipe should become a staple in your meal planning.

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We found an amazing cold bean salad featuring black beans and corn in the Vegan Planet Cookbook. Darlene made it with some modifications and brought it to my office for me to sample. I couldn’t stop eating it was so good!

Darlene explains that you can sprout the beans before cooking them to reduce the amount of farting. Soak the beans overnight, then spread them out on a damp cloth for another 12 hours. When they have the slightest little bit of sprout forming, all the available sugar has been used up and they’re ready to cook. Sprouting them should reduce the cook time as well.

The Gold and Black Bean salad recipe is truly wonderful and should be in your fridge all summer long.

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Darlene found an African Peanut Stew recipe that knocked our socks off. This stew features the garbanzo bean (chic pea) in all it’s nutritional goodness. Garbanzo beans are a good source of protein and calcium as well as being high in iron.

We made this stew during the winter, but feel that it’s great at any time. Yes, that’s my hand in the photo.

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Black Bean Sweet Potato Almond Butter Burgers round out today’s recipe selection. Based around the black bean, this burger contains nourishment from the starchy sweet potato and some good healthy yummyness from the almond butter. We’ve made this a few times and when we do, we double or triple the recipe and keep the burgers for a week in the fridge.

They’re great as the main portion of a healthy wrap (spelt wrap spread with a little hummus, the black bean burger, mixed greens, avocado and a spray of braggs), so they’re great to make if you know you’re going to be working away from home, traveling or camping. These are absolutely the best veggie burger I’ve eaten yet.

Thanks for letting me post this week’s recipe links while Darlene is away. She’ll be back next week with another fantastic whole food recipe for your collection.

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Recipe Photo Credits: Her View Photography

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