10 Things You Did Not Know About Baked Beans

The popularity of baked beans may be due to their variety of flavors in addition to the fact that they fit well in barbecued foods. You may be a fan of this meal, but have you ever taken a minute to think about its nutritional value? If not, here are some nutritional benefits you receive from baked beans.

 

 

How Healthy Are Baked Beans?

 

Fiber- baked beans are rich in fiber.

Fiber improves bowel movement minimizing chances of constipation. The fiber is also responsible for lowering cholesterol levels. According to various studies, people who take baked bean twice or thrice every week have lower chances of getting heart diseases. It is also common for people to avoid beans due to gas problems. This happens when the bacteria in the bowel digest the fiber. You can reduce that gas problem by minimizing the amount of fiber.

 

Rich in protein

Beans are depicted as poor man’s meat since they are rich in proteins. Proteins are essential in muscle blocks building. When your body muscles are properly developed, you have more energy and hence can work out for longer hours. With the right amount of protein in the body, your hair and nails will also grow strong and healthy.

 

High mineral and vitamin content

Baked beans are good sources of various minerals including folic acid, which is perfect for expectant mother and childbearing women. It is also rich in iron. Iron facilitates the production of blood cells, magnesium that helps in bone formation and cell function, and manganese which improves bone formation, sexual health, thyroid, and food metabolism. Baked beans are also rich in Vitamin B6. This vitamin facilitates metabolic processes in your body. Moreover, beans are rich in potassium, which helps in liquid regulation within the body.

 

It is a strong antioxidant

Baked beans are known for their antioxidant benefits that help in fighting free radicals in the body. These free radicals are responsible for causing cancer, aging, and increasing chances of illness. By taking baked beans, you holistically minimize these effects.

 

Diet

Beans are the best way to incorporate proteins or fiber when you are on a diet. In fact, studies have shown that beans are better sources of vitamins and other minerals than red meats.

 

 

You might be interested: Benefits of Wild Rice

 

Do Baked Beans Have Gluten?

When looking at the nutritional benefits of baked beans, you might be concerned about whether they are gluten free or not, and especially if you are suffering from Celiac Sprue.

Fortunately, for you, most manufacturers avoid using gliadin gluten from barley, wheat or any other rye grains. You may see starch as one of the ingredients, but it comes from corn and hence, it has no adverse gluten effect after you take the beans.

 

Are Baked Beans a Vegetable?

In most cases, canned foods are usually fruits. Therefore, it is not surprising that you might think of baked beans as fruits. Additionally, if you look at beans from a biological angle, you will realize that they are legumes, which automatically make them a fruit of seed of a pod.

However, beyond this official status, beans are used to satisfy two needs, vegetable, and proteins. What you get depends on your diet classification. If you are vegan, then you are going to get your proteins from beans, and if you eat fish, chicken, and meat in general, then you will take beans as a vegetable.

 

 

Are Baked Beans Good For Everyone?

In most cases, people limit themselves from eating certain types of foods with the fear they might be unhealthy. When it comes to baked beans, you might fear to eat them due to causing gas, which is common in beans.

However, if you consider all the nutritional benefits you will receive by eating them, then you might opt to deal with the gas or find ways to minimize it than miss all the benefits. Baked beans offer nutritional value to both vegans and those who enjoy eating meat.

 

Baked Beans Are Also a Good Source of Carbohydrates 

Unlike many veggies, beans are a rich source of proteins and therefore leave many wondering whether they are really carbs.

Well, baked beans are rich in several minerals with fiber and starch being one of them and hence classified as starchy vegetables. For instance, a half cup of kidney beans contains 20 grams of carbs and other minerals.

 

Baked Beans Are Good For Weight Loss

Baked bean are rich in protein and they are a low-calorie diet and hence make an appropriate weight loss diet.

However, you should not take the beans alone but should incorporate with other healthy meals. If you can cut off high-fat foods and alcohol from your diet, and incorporate more of baked beans, then you will shed off extra weight.

 

 

Ways of Incorporating Baked Beans in Your Diet

Many people opt to write off bean from their meal plans because of their flatulence effect. However, before you do that, consider trying using them in any of the following recipes.

Hummus– you can use either hummus rocks or hummus chips. Either way, it is delicious.

Chili– instead of buying meat, which is expensive, beef up your chili with beans

Sandwiches– try replacing tuna or meat salad in sandwiches with baked beans.

 

How Often Should You Enjoy Baked Beans?

You should eat beans as often as possible given all the nutritional values we have seen, and the many ways you can include beans in your menu. As earlier mentioned, eating beans at least twice or thrice a week helps in minimizing heart diseases. It also helps in lowering cholesterol levels.

 

How to Store Baked Beans

If you love cooking more food, then you might be wondering how you can store baked beans. Luckily, for you, these can be frozen and stored that way for six months before they can go bad.

Freezing your beans will help you save time and money. However, you should ensure that you use the entire amount before six months end. Otherwise, the lot will start going bad.

 

 

Can You Freeze Baked Beans?

Now that you know you cannot compromise the quality of your baked beans by exposing them to low temperatures, this is how you go about freezing them like a professional. Before freezing, make sure you moderately cook them to avoid becoming soggy.

• Make sure the batch cools down to room temperature before freezing them. Freezing when they are still hot makes them expand, and doing so might lead to the breakage of the storage container.
• Make sure you store the cool bean in an airtight and durable container such as ceramic or plastic.
• Do not fill the container to the rim. Instead, leave a little room for expansion when the beans finally freeze.
• If you have enriched the baked beans with other foods, then ensure you submerge in the sauce before freezing.

 

There is no restriction as to who should consume baked beans. As long as you have no gas problems, you can enjoy your portion of beans in different recipes and still get the best nutritional value.

 

 

About the Author Lita Watson:

Hi there! I’m Lita, voice of Quick Easy Cook and I’m absolutely in love with cooking blogs. I’m a beginner in cooking and i try my best to make it quick and easy. Even though, it’s not always quick and easy to keep up with fancy dinners… so i keep learning and blogging about quick and easy ways to create delicious and yummy foods for my two kids and a wonderful husband.