Serves: 5

Not only do beans taste good, they also are incredibly good for you. Vitamins and Minerals: Most beans are rich in folic acid, a vitamin believed to help reduce the incidence of birth defects and heart disease. Beans are a good source of vitamin B6, niacin and thiamin, too. A one-cup serving of beans provides about 20 to 30 percent of the daily value of iron, plus some zinc, calcium and magnesium.

Protein: One cup of cooked beans has the same amount of protein as two ounces of meat. Unlike other foods high in protein, such as meat, beans contain little or no fat. Less than 1 percent of the calories in beans comes from fat. In contrast, 60 to 85 percent of the calories in meat comes from fat.

Fiber: Beans are full of fiber. A diet high in fiber has been shown to help lower blood cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of colon cancer and possibly breast cancer. Fiber can relieve constipation as well. Increasing fiber can be tricky. It’s best to start slowly so your body can adjust to the complex sugars, called oligosaccharides, that are found in beans. It’s the inability of the body to digest oligosaccharides that may cause gas in some people.

Bean Breakdown

Bean Fiber Protein Iron Folic Acid
(1 cup cooked) (grams) (grams) (% Daily Value)
Black 7 15 20 64
Great Northern 6 15 21 45
Kidney 6 15 29 57
Pinquitos (Pink) 7 15 22 71
Pinto 7 14 25 74
Red 11 11 29 33

From "Betty Crocker's Best of Healthy & Hearty Cooking." Text Copyright 1998 General Mills, Inc. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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