Easy Ways to Boost Your Bean Intake
Here are a handful of ways to easily add more beans and legumes to your sports diet.- Hummus: A tasty dip with carrot sticks, or an alternative to mayonnaise on a turkey sandwich.
- Refried beans: Canned vegetarian refried beans are fat-free. Heat some beans in a microwave oven, spread them on a tortilla, spoon on some cottage cheese and salsa, and then wrap it up like a burrito.
- Chili with beans: Make a potful and enjoy for lunch or dinner that week.
- Salads: Spoon on black, white or red beans, and you'll have a super salad that offers carbs to fuel and protein to build muscles.
- Soups: Minestrone, lentil, black bean and split pea soups make hearty, wholesome meals. You can also add beans to almost any soup to add substance and nutrients.
- Baked beans: Serve them like they do in England: on toast. A small can of baked beans can also be a filling snack.
- Pasta: Toss a can of pinto or white beans into spaghetti sauce. Serve over pasta shells.
More: Easy Pasta Dishes Under 500 Calories
Beans and Gas
The average adult produces one to three pints of gas per day. Beans can be gas-producing because they contain raffinose. Humans do not possess the enzyme needed to digest raffinose, so it passes undigested through the stomach and upper intestine. In the lower intestine, it gets fermented by gas-producing bacteria, which do possess the necessary enzyme. The by-product of raffinose digestion is carbon dioxide, methane and hydrogen sulphide.To reduce gas associated with eating beans:
- Gradually introduce beans into your diet so your body gets used to digesting them.
- Drain the liquid from canned beans and rinse them well. This will decrease the amount of gas-producing carbs.
- Try an anti-gas product, such as Beano. It contains the digestive enzyme that breaks down raffinose.
More: Beans Glorious Beans
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