Eat more beans! I consider beans the most underutilized and under-appreciated economical superfood. Here are some tips to help you succeed in eating more of them.

• Keep them “top of mind” with the goal of including a serving each day.
• Know that canned beans are just as nutritious (and often more convenient!) than dried, fresh or frozen.
• Add them to your soups, salads, stews, and rice dishes.
• Serve them as a side dish or make more bean salads (here is my favorite bean salad recipe on my website)
• Eat more hummus or other bean spreads.
• Throw canned beans into your meat dishes to jack-up their nutritional quality, lower their caloric density, and to “stretch” your meat dollars. (I always add a can of black beans to my meatloaf and often to my spaghetti dishes.)
• Keep in mind that all varieties of beans in any form (canned, fresh, dried or frozen) are GREAT for you.
• Strive to include at least one meat-less dinner each week and make some type of bean dish your main entree.
• Always rinse canned beans to lower their sodium level and to reduce their gas-producing potential.