Sheri's Balanced Beans
ala Fuhrman

The following makes a thick flavorful bean stew. Add more water if you prefer a soup. This recipe results in a bean dish with an ANDI score of almost 200.

To start. collect every type of dry bean you find at the grocery store. Black Beans, Navy, Pinto, Great Northern (white) beans, Black Eyed Peas, Small Red Beans, and Lintles. Sheri likes to use about an equal part black beans to all the rest (1/2 black beans). But the proportions vary. Note that the dark beans, the black and red have slightly more anti-oxidants. The Lintles are a protein balancer.

Mix beans and lintels in a large container. We start with 16 to 18 pounds of beans, use 7 or 8 pounds and store the extra for next time.

Ingredients:   Makes a large batch of about 11 to 14 quarts (10 to 13 liters) of beans. This lasts two of us a month to six weeks.

Put the mixed beans In a 12 to 16 quart pot. If you do not have this large a pot reduce the recipe accordingly. Cover with water and soak overnight OR parboil, then pour off water. Cover beans with water plus about 2", bring to boil.

While beans are heating chop all the vegetables except the kale. Saute' the vegetables in a frying pan to reduce moisture. Use a thin coat of cooking spray in the pan. When soft and slightly browned add to pot. Add garlic and spices.

Remove seeds from peppers. Dice the peppers into small pieces or chop in blender. Add some water from the beans if necessary. Add to beans. For more see Cooking with Hot Chilli Peppers

Add whole kale and cook until soft, OR microwave in closed container. Remove kale and place in blender. Add some water from the pot (or fresh water if beans need more water - kale will have some of its own water). Blend until smooth and return contents to beans. If Kale is not available use spinach greens. Do not pre cook spinach, chop and put in blender with water. Blend and add to pot. Cook for about 1 hour turning the beans as necessary.

Add barley and sesame seed last as these only need to cook about 1 hr. Total cooking time is 3 to 4 hours.

Spices

We usually add spices toward the end since the amounts of peppers and garlic vary. Here is our typical spicing for beans with some zing (includes those from above). All values approximate. We add, then taste, then add some more.

• 2 Tbsp. No-salt Salt (potassium chloride)
• 4 Tbsp. Regular Chili Powder
• 4 Tbsp. Bueno Special Reserve Red Chili Powder *
• 1 tsp. Powdered Cloves (use carefully)
• 2 Tbsp. Oregano (about 1/4 volume to the Chili Powders)
• 1 Tbsp. Celery Seed
• 1 tsp. Black Pepper
• 1 tsp. Dry mustard

* We use half and half regular and Bueno chili powder because the Bueno is hard to get. It is a rich dark red and much more flavorful than the common grocery store type. We would use nothing else if we could get it readily. If using 100% Bueno reduce the total amount of chili powder reduce the amount by 1 Tbsp. If using only common grocery store chilli powder increase the total by 1 Tbsp OR to taste.

Divide beans up into suitable containers and freeze.

Serving size 1/2 to 1 cup

Heat and serve as a side dish, or with salads, top with salsa. These are a very nutritious bean dish with balanced proteins. The kale boosts the nutrient value as do the other vegetables to an ANDI of nearly 200. If you like more kale, 2 pounds will raise the ANDI to about 230. The barley which helps balance the proteins actually tempers the ANDI value due to having an individual value of only 32. This is one of the dichotomies of nutrition. The very BEST things are not enough alone, variety is necessary.