Broccoli Rising and Beans for Every Human
The new American Dietary Guidelines say we should eat more beans, an excellent source of plant-based protein. RFK, the head of Health and Human Services, doesn’t care, I do.
I’m not rejecting everything on RFK’s agenda. He’s right, ultra-processed foods are a threat to public health and they make up 70% of most Americans’ diets. The thing is, beans are the opposite of UPFs. They’re the OG plant-based protein, and they’ve got something the carnivore diet (yeah, it’s a thing) does not — fiber, which helps lower cholesterol and manage blood sugar.
That’s the clinical bit, but let us not forget the comfort and pleasure of beans. As Marcella Hazan wrote in Marcella’s Italian Kitchen, “In the pursuit of certain lusty gratifications for the palate, no ingredient can take you further than beans. I have never known any beans I didn’t like.”
Oh, honey, me too. Velvety Good Mother Stallards, creamy corona gigantes, nutty chickpeas, meaty lentils, and of course the Marcella bean, named in Hazan’s honor. Each bean has its own personality. But I love ‘em all, and all beans are affordable, accessible, versatile, and culturally appropriate for every culture and cuisine.
But are you eating them? No, or at least not enough. Most Americans eat about 7.5 pounds of beans per year. And 100 pounds of sugar. You don’t need to be a nutritionist to figure out that’s not going to drive human health.
Cheer up, I’ve got loads of bean recipes in Miami Vegan, on soulfulvegan.com and of course right here in Broccoli Rising.
Broccoli Rising and Sexy Beans for You and Your Bae
Big excitement this week — tomorrow is Mardi Gras, a day and night for wild partying, for music, dance, for eating and drinking with abandon. In some parts of the world the party’s already in full swing. So enjoy, let the good times roll, because the next day, Ash Wednesday, is the first day of Lent. Ash Wednesday begins 40 days of being on your best behavior of solemn self-reflection and fasting. That means giving up worldly indulgences like alcohol, decadent desserts, and meat. Latin lesson — c
Broccoli Rising and Beans with Benefits
Feeling the love? Valentine’s Day’s coming, and that’s great, but the love’s already here. Today is World Pulses Day, a loving celebration of beans.
Broccoli Rising and a Hill of Beans for Indigenous Peoples Day.
Imagine how different our world would be if some 500 years ago, Native Americans had thought to deport Columbus. They could hardly be blamed; the guy was clearly crazypants, showing up out of the blue and claiming America for Spain. Like the land was his
Broccoli Rising and Counting on Beans
Tonight, the Muslim holiday of Ramadan begins, with 30 days of fasting, reflection, and prayer. Thursday is Pi Day, the delight of math lovers and pie eaters everywhere. Sunday is St. Patrick’s Day, celebrated with revelry and rivers of green beer. We’re in for a hell of a week. So what do these three diverse events have in common? Beans. It’s a stretch, but stick with me, I can make it work.
I aspire to be like Marcella Hazan and have a bean named after me, but I was madly honored Rancho Gordo included one of my Miami Vegan bean recipes on it’s website.
Beans do good things for us, good things for the planet. They’re about the most sustainable crop you can grow. They’re low water, high yield, and their roots have little nitrogen nodes on them, so they enrich the soil just by growing. They’re natural plant-based fertilizers. I use beans as a cover crop to prepare my little raised bed garden for fall planting. Maybe the Secretary of the USDA doesn’t care about climate change, but I do.
I’m a member of Beans is How, a coalition focusing on doubling global bean consumption by 2028. Why? For all the reasons I’ve mentioned — sustainability, pleasure and public wellness.
Human health requires access to nourishing, whole, affordable food. Beans are all that and more. There’s nothing political about beans. Senate Bean Soup isn’t vegan, but it’s nonpartisan and is served daily on Capitol Hill. And my plant-based version is right here. Because beans are for everybody.
This is a good time to say thank you to all you Broccoli Rising subscribers. Broccoli Rising wouldn’t rise without you. Eat some beans. I love you.
Big September Happenings
September is Hunger Action Month
September 14 6pm ET Join me and Sierra Club Miami at Coral Gables Congregational church — free and open to the public.
September 16 2pm ET Les Dames d’Escoffier presents Vegan Means Business, a virtual presentation with all-star plant-based pros Kristen Hartke, Kathy Gold and me! Register here.
September 17 6:30pm ET Cook a Miami Vegan recipe along with Mark Alyn and me on Mark Alyn’s Culinary Adventures.
September 22 Autumnal equinox
September 23 Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, which we start with sweetness, whether we’re feeling it or not. Holiday recipes galore next week and one right now — Pomegranate Lentils. This is one of my favorite ways to celebrate the new year. It’s easy, yet sumptuous and has Rosh Hashanah symbolism baked right in.
Round foods like pomegranates and lentils represent wholeness, the eternal. Lentils are also one of the most sustainable crops to grow, and most sustainable for us, being high in fiber and protein. Pomegranates, symbolizing fertility, allegedly contain 613 seeds, the same number of blessings as there are in Judaism. Full disclosure — I haven’t counted the seeds to confirm. I can attest the ruby seeds add glam to this recipe and all dishes and they’re one of Judaism’s seven sacred foods.