Beans as a Quick Food

Using Your Food Storage – Bean Flour

(A lot of these ideas come from Rita Bingham’s books) (Natural Meals In Minutes and Passport to Survival)

Bean flours - For Quick, High Protein, Healthy Meals

You probably think the only way to use your dried beans takes hours.
Beans can be prepared as a quick meal. Here are some instructions to make creamy bean soups, refried beans, and bean dips from bean flour in as little as three minutes.
So, get those beans out of your storage and start using them!

Grinding Bean Flour

When added to boiling water, bean flours thicken in only 1 minute, and in 3 minutes are ready to eat. Bean flours added to baked goods increase vitamins and minerals and provide a source of complete protein.

Dry beans can be ground to a flour using a hand grinder for small quantities, or electric mills for larger quantities. Bean flour stores for up to 6 months on the shelf, 1 year under refrigeration. To help prepare quick meals it is great to have on hand for "instant" soups, sauces, dips, sandwich fillings and gravies, and to add to almost everything you cook or bake.

Baby lima beans, yellow split peas, and white beans can be used to make great cream sauces and soups. These are gluten-free, wheat-free, fat-free and dairy-free. These flours can also be added to recipes calling for wheat flour to achieve protein complementation and to add additional fiber and essential nutrients. Other favorites are pinto, small red and garbanzo.

You can use an electric grinder that will grind beans. A hand grinder will also grind grains and beans to a flour, although not quite as fine. Some high-end blenders will grind beans. When the flour is not as fine, cooking time will be a bit longer

Mills with grinding stones must be cleaned after each 2 cups of beans by grinding 1 cup of hard wheat. Do not grind soy beans if your mill uses grinding stones. If beans are too large to go easily into the grinding chamber of your electric mill, crack first with a blender or hand grain cracker.

Sort beans, checking for broken, dirty beans or rock pieces. Grind following the manufactures instructions. Turn on grinder and grind your beans. You now have bean flour.

Beans which have absorbed excess moisture will cause caking on electric grinder parts. Thoroughly brush away flour residue from mill after each use with something like a clean, stiff paint brush. If using a mill with grinding stones, run 1 cup of dry grain through the mill to clean out internal parts, then use something like a clean, stiff paint brush. Store flour in an air tight container, preferably in the refrigerator.

3-Minute Bean Flour Soups

Cream soups made from bean flours cook in only 3 minutes! Four tablespoons white bean flour and 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon combine to make a creamy substitute equal to a can of store-bought cream soup.

Use 2 T. white bean flour per cup of liquid for thin soups or just to add flavor and color, 3 T. for medium-thick and 4-5 T. for thick soups, stews or gravies. Whisk into soup stock, or use hot water flavored with 1 t. meat-based or vegetable soup base per cup of water.

Cook and stir 3 minutes. Blend after cooking, if desired, for a creamier soup. For pea and lentil soups, use only 1 T. flour per cup of liquid for thin soups, 2 T. for medium and 3 T. for thick soups.

To thicken already-cooked soups containing vegetables, noodles, etc.: For 6 c. soup, blend 1/2 to 1 c. bean flour (depending on how thick and creamy you want the soup to be) and 2 c. cooled soup broth on high speed for 1 minute. Whisk into hot soup mixture and cook 4-5 minutes over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. Note: Blending is not essential, but produces a creamier texture.

Bean Dips

Commercially packaged "instant" refried beans are extra-fluffy, requiring more than four times as much space as the bean flour and seasonings the 5-Minute Refried Bean Dip takes the same amount of time to prepare! To make a meal in a flash, spread flour tortillas with bean dip, fat-free cottage cheese, and salsa. Bake or microwave until heated through. Serve topped with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes and onions, and sprinkle with chopped olives.

5-Minute Refried Beans and Bean Dip Mix

• 3 c. pinto or black bean flour
• 1 t. cumin
• 1 T. chili powder
• 1 T. salt
• 1/4 t. garlic powder
• 2 t. instant minced onions (opt.)

Mix and store in airtight container. Store up to one month on the shelf, indefinitely if refrigerated. 
To prepare, whisk 3/4 c. of mixture into 2 1/2 c. boiling water.

Cook, while stirring, over medium heat for about 1 minute, until mixture thickens. Reduce heat to low. Cover pan and cook 4 minutes.

Add 1/2 c. Picante sauce (or to taste). Mixture thickens as it cools and will stay thick even after reheating.

*You could also add cream cheese with or without Picante sauce for a different flavored dip.

White Bean Gravy

• 2 c. hot water
• 2 c. hot water
• 3-4 T. white bean flour
• 2 c. hot water
• 2 t. chicken or vegetable bouillon
• salt and pepper to taste

Bring water and bouillon (or soup base) to a boil. Whisk bean flour into seasoned water. Stir until mixture thickens. Reduce heat and cook an additional 2 minutes. 
Note: I like adding a dash of the liquid seasoning Kitchen Bouquet

Replace Fat in Baked Items

To replace one cup of butter in baked items try 3-4 Tablespoons of bean flour. 
do not use in something were you are using butter for the butter flavor. 
More is not better, unless you want your food to taste like Play-Dough. 
some things taste better the next day, like brownies, if you can keep them that long. 
this dough will not taste as good if you are used to eating raw dough made with butter or shortening.

Have fun experimenting!