Black Bean Beef Chili Recipe For Health

By Jessica King


Chili is a great dish for busy people, since it takes little time to prepare and pretty much cooks itself on the stove while you do other things around the house. A black bean beef chili recipe is great for company, for family dinners, or for weekend cooking to make sure there are easy-to-fix, appetizing leftovers for quick meals during the week. It is also one of the healthiest meals you can make for many reasons.

Black beans are native to North and South America, but are now found all over the world. They are small, tasty legumes with many health benefits. They are packed with minerals, phytonutrients, bioflavanoids, and fiber. They are considered 'good carbs', being lower on the glycemic scale than many other legumes.

With seventy percent of its calories in the form of 'carbs', you'd think this would be a food to limit or to avoid. However, its carbs are what is called 'resistant', meaning 'hard to digest'. Rather than breaking down in the stomach, they pass on to the large intestine. There isn't a quick delivery of glucose to the bloodstream, so there's no insulin spike even though the meal is carbohydrate rich. The legumes nourish the large intestine, as well as enhancing total digestion by providing a lot of fiber.

The black bean is rich in phytonutrients, which are concentrated in the seedcoat. They rank with red onions, red cabbage, and blueberries in flavanoid content. They contain anthocyanins, another class of nutrient that gives color to vegetables. They are a good source of quercetin, an immune-system booster that helps prevent or reduce allergic reactions to pollen and also lowers cholesterol.

Black beans are one of the best sources of zinc, since the mineral is especially bio-available in these legumes. Men especially need a consistent supply of zinc for prostate health, but all benefit from it, especially in cold and flu season. The phytates in the beans, which act as antioxidants in the body, don't seem to bind the zinc, as researchers had feared.

These small, flavorful beans work in any recipe. Merely substitute them for red kidney, white, or pinto beans. Canned beans can be added directly, but dried beans should be rinsed and culled. Many people like to presoak them to make them more digestible. Just cover them with cold water and allow them to stand overnight. For faster cooking, bring them to a boil, remove from heat, and allow to stand until the beans are tender. You can use the soaking water for the final dish or pour it off and just use the beans.

For great chili, saute onion and brown beef, adding several cloves of garlic. Add tomato sauce and diced tomatoes, precooked or presoaked beans, and spices.(Add spices after beans are cooked to keep them tender and reduce cooking time.) Season with red chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. (Add black pepper after cooking to preserve the valuable antioxidants in the pepper.) Garnish with fresh cilantro, shredded cheese, and sour cream.

Use black beans for their great taste and their nutritional benefits. Chili is only one of the great dishes you can make. Try these nutritious legumes in soups, salads, dips, and tacos. Enjoy.




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