#Beantok?

I keep seeing posts in my newsfeed lately about the benefits of beans - besides the economic benefits, I've been seeing posts about how beans can improve your cholesterol level, reduce inflammation, lower your blood pressure, balance your blood sugar, help with weight loss, and even help with perimenopause symptoms.  I'm a little wary of Instagram trends posing as health advice, so I did some reading. Turns out there's actual science behind it. 

A 12-week study of 72 people with prediabetes randomly assigned each participant to eat either 1 cup of black beans, chickpeas or rice (control) for 12 weeks.  Cholesterol, inflammation, and blood sugar, and glucose tolerance were tracked.  Although glucose metabolism was unaffected, the group consuming chickpeas saw their cholesterol drop from an average of 200.4 milligrams per deciliter at the beginning of the study to 185.8 milligrams per deciliter. For those eating black beans, the average level of pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 — a marker of inflammation — significantly decreased from 2.57 picograms per milliliter to 1.88 picograms per milliliter.  This study was presented at Nutrition 2025 by Morganne Smith, a doctoral candidate at Illinois Institute of Technology.

A 4-week study, reported in 2021, found that daily consumption of 1 cup of canned beans decreased total cholesterol by 5.46% and LDL cholesterol by 8.08% in adults with elevated LDL cholesterol.  In this study, participants consumed a variety of bean types. 

And another study, reported in 2020, found that consumption of black beans helped with insulin resistance by modifying gut microbiota and improving glucose response.

As for the perimenopause angle, some of that seems like it might be more anecdotal.  Having said that, though, eating beans every day will naturally boost your intake of iron, magnesium, vitamin B, fiber, protein, and phytoestrogens - and all of those are beneficial!

If you're on Instagram, you might already have seen posts by My Healthy Dish, GenXTaste, or Kelly Ann Gorman, as #beantok has been going a bit viral.  (Who'd have thought?!)  Based on some of their posts, I have been trying to incorporate beans into my daily diet and have managed most days.  Here are a few quick ideas for single-serving meals, if you'd like to do the same but don't want complicated recipes!  They won't satisfy any gourmands out there, but they come together quickly for easy and economical meals.  (You can also literally add black beans or chickpease to just about any salad mix and it will work out.)

Chickpea Tuna Salad

1 can flaked tuna
1 can chickpeas
chopped cucumber
chopped tomato
chopped red onion
chopped green apple
lemon or lime juice
drizzle of olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Mix everything together in the amounts that you prefer.  Add some mayo if you wish, instead of the oil.  Serve as is, or on lettuce, or in pita pockets.

Easy Black Bean Quesadilla

2 small tortillas
1 cup black beans
taco or similar seasoning
shredded cheese

Mix 1 cup of black beans with taco seasoning.  Place a small tortilla in a lightly greased hot frying pan.  Spread the beans on top and sprinkle generously with shredded cheese.  Place another tortilla on top.  Flip carefully when the bottom tortilla is starting to get browned. (Tip - use this strategy to flip it using a plate to avoid mess!)   Cut into triangles and serve with salsa.

Alternatively, do the same as above but use half a cup of beans per tortilla, and fold each tortilla in half over the beans instead of making it a full circle. 

Easy Chickpea Wrap

1 large tortilla
1 cup chick peas
lettuce leaves
shredded cheese
seasoning of your choice

Mix 1 cup of chickpeas with your preferred seasoning.  (I like to do finely chopped onion and tomato, harissa paste, and a little bit of cayenne.)  Heat through.   Lay out the tortilla, place the lettuce leaves in it, spread the chickpeas on top, then sprinkle with cheese.  Fold up the bottom of the tortilla then wrap gently but tightly.

Minestrone Soup

1 can low-sodium minestrone or vegetable soup
1 can kidney beans

Boost the bean content of any canned soup by simply adding a can of beans to it.  I usually do this by adding kidney beans to vegetable or minestrone, but some other ideas could be adding white beans to cream soups or chicken noodle, or adding chickpeas to canned chili.

Quick Chickpea Curry

1 can chickpeas
onion
chopped or shredded carrot, frozen peas, and/or baby potatoes (optional)
yellow curry powder
salt & pepper
chicken broth or cream

Mix whichever vegetables you're using in a frying pan with a bit of oil or butter.  When soft, add beans and seasonings and mix well.  Add a small amount of broth or cream, to your preference.   Heat through.  Serve with naan and/or rice.