Eating beans and legumes is a great way to add fiber to your diet and promote gut health during March's colon cancer awareness month and beyond.
"Beans are full of fiber and protein, but aren't typically a fun food to eat. It's easy to change that," said Alex Govern, a chef for Intermountain Health. "Dressing legumes with fats and acids, like olive oil and lemon zest, fresh tomatoes and peppers, herbs and seasonings, creates a more beautiful, and much tastier, experience."
Gut health is essentially the health of the digestive system. Because the colon is part of the digestive system, the food plays an important role in the colon's health.
Beans are high in fiber and can increase the volume of good bacteria in the gut, supporting gut health. They also are a cost-effective plant-based protein that can be part of plant-forward meals, or those that make plant foods – most often, vegetables – the focus of each meal, without necessarily excluding animal products.
"People should try to replace one animal-based protein with a dish containing beans or legumes twice a week," Govern said. "It's a cost-effective change and will have lasting benefits to their gut and colon health."
Govern recommends trying Intermountain's recipe for Rustic Cannellini & Tomato Pastiche – or hodgepodge mixture – to dress up beans. He also offers a tip: Soaking dry beans overnight can improve their texture, bring out their flavor, and reduce gas in the digestive system.
"Spring is almost here, and we love this dish," Govern said. "It's full of textures, bright colors, and lots of love. To your health!"
Rustic Cannellini & Tomato Pastiche*
Recipe yields 4 servings
Ingredients
- Dried cannellini beans – 8 oz (4 oz cooked per person)
- Zest and juice from 3 lemons total – (2 for dressing the beans, 1 for the garnish)
- Fresh dill, minced – 1 tsp (additional dill for garnishing the dish)
- EVOO – 2 fl oz, additional for garnishing the entire dish
- Roasted garlic – 1 tsp
Ingredients continued
- Arugula – 8 oz
- Baby kale – 8 oz
- Cherry tomato, halved – 4 oz
- Bell pepper, thinly sliced – 4oz
- Rough-chopped pistachio – 2 oz
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Scallion and fresh dill to garnish
Soak the beans overnight in the refrigerator; use a 2:1 ratio of water to dried beans
Drain the uncooked beans and boil in lightly salted water – approx. 60-75 min or until tender
Drain the cooked beans, gently toss with EVOO, lemon juice, lemon zest, and roasted garlic, and reserve at room temperature for the dish assembly
Using a large platter for family style consumption, or several smaller plates per identified need:
Combine the kale and arugula, creating a base for the rest of the outlined components
Top the greens with tomato and bell pepper
Lightly drizzle with EVOO
Gently add the dressed cannellini beans
Garnish with pistachio, lemon zest, lemon juice, scallion, and dill
Season with salt and fresh cracked pepper
For more information please visit intermountainhealth.org.
