You've heard of Jack and the magic beanstalk. Well, eating beans won't make a plant grow out of your stomach, but it has a treasure chest of protein, fiber, complex carbohydrates and nutrients. And all for relatively few calories. A diet that's rich in fiber can reduce your risk of developing diabetes and heart disease (by lowering LDL cholestrol levels). Apparently, pairing beans with rice or corn makes it a complete protein. They also have folic acid, copper, iron, and magnesium. People who eat more beans are said to have smaller waist sizes and a 22% lower risk of obesity. Beans can also be loaded with antioxidants, particularly the darker colored ones: red, kidney, black (they beat out blueberries!). So, how about cost? A can of beans in Manhattan is about $1.20, with about 3.5 half-cup servings. This isn't bad, though we worry about sodium and preservatives. People usually shy away from dry, bagged beans, as they seem to take forever to cook. However, they can be much better for you, and cost $1 for a pound, which yields perhaps 6 cups, or 12 servings. That should yield less than 10 cents a serving. So, I would like to offer a 90-minute, no-soak recipe that I tried after coming across a website explaining how to do this.
Preheat your oven to 250 F. Take a certain amount of beans and put it in a decently large pot (beans expand a lot, so make sure you have at the very least 3 times the height left in your pot). Add salt and seasonings, onions, garlic, whatever floats your boat. However, don't add anything too acidic (this will harden your beans, so wait to add lime or tomatoes until either you recook it or toward the end). Cover it with water by a little less than 1.5 inches above the beans. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid. Put it on the stovetop and bring it to a boil. Then, stick it in the oven without taking the lid off. Leave it for 75 minutes. It was suggested that we make sure that there was enough water 45 minutes through, but more water or longer cooking times were needed very rarely. You could probably just leave it and be fine. Test the beans, and see if it needs to cook a tiny bit longer (depending on whether you like particularly soft beans). You don't get much more gas from eating the beans like this. Also, this should work for most beans (except lentils and other faster cooking beans). Put the rest in the refridgerator or freezer to munch on during the week.
Also, you can get bulk bags of rice for a pretty cheap price. I recommend brown rice as the healthier and more filling option, but white rice can do if the price makes enough difference. Brown rice can cost 15 cents or less per half-cup serving. White rice costs less, but is much less filling. Go for the brown rice, and your body will thank you.
Exercise
The cheapest form of exercise is your own body. Make an effort to move more. Walk for 30 minutes a day, anytime (perhaps while the beans are in the oven). Try splitting it up into 10 minute segments. Challenge yourself by walking quickly, by jogging, by lunging, by going up hills. Make sure you are challenging yourself. Otherwise there are plenty of websites that show at-home floor exercises you can do. You don't need to go to the gym. What you need is consistency. You need to make sure you get exercise every day. (Don't feel like a failure though, if you miss a day. The point is to keep it up for the rest of your life, not two months.) If you must be at home to take care of someone, and cannot take them with you, try jumping jacks, boxing, classic push-ups and sit-ups, burpees, but make sure to do it continuously. Or vigorously clean the house for 30 minutes. Don't fall into the habit of working hard for 20 seconds, and then resting for 3 minutes. Again, just make sure you are being challenged, and that you challenge yourself all throughout the 30 minutes. Get encouragement from your family and friends. Put up quotes that inspire you to get it done. Exercise is a big part of a healthy lifestyle and losing weight.
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