Beans are pretty fascinating—both nutritionally and botanically.
- 🫘 What they are: Beans are seeds from plants in the legume family, alongside lentils, peas, and chickpeas.
- 💪 Nutrition: They’re rich in plant protein, fibre, complex carbohydrates, folate, iron, magnesium, and potassium.
- 🌱 Varieties: Kidney, black, cannellini, pinto, navy, mung, adzuki, and soybeans are just a few.
- 🍲 Cooking: Beans show up in everything from chilli and baked beans to hummus, soups, curries, cassoulet, and bean salads.
- 🌍 Around the world: Different cultures have developed remarkably different bean dishes—from Mexican refried beans to Indian rajma and Brazilian feijoada.
- ☕ Coffee beans: Despite the name, coffee “beans” aren’t really beans—they’re the seeds inside coffee cherries.
Beans