Andrea Soranidis - The Vegan Bean Cookbook: High-Protein, Plant-Based Meals That Are Better for Your Body, Schedule and Budget

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DEDICATION

To Noah, my most delicious creation yet.

Welcome to The Vegan Bean Cookbook!

Im so excited you decided to pick up this cookbook. Brace yourself, because we are about to start a journey into the bean world. Believe me, youll be amazed by how many things you can do with these tiny little powerhouses. If youve ever thought that beans are boring, Im here to change your mind with these vegan bean recipes for everything from lasagna, meatless loaf and tacos to curries, frittatas and sandwiches, and yes, even desserts! Well, especially desserts.

Beans are inexpensive, easy to find and loaded with plant-based protein and lots of other healthy goodness. I mean, whats not to love?

When I first started incorporating more beans into my cookingboth for my blog, The Petite Cook, and in my daily dietI didnt have a clue. I would spend hours on the internet or flicking through my cookbooks trying to find delicious ways to cook with beans. I wont lieit was a challenge! Thats why I decided to put together a cookbook that featured all my favorite classic recipes made easier and bean-loaded.

The 60 recipes in this book will show you just how easy it is to build meals from legumes for your daily menu. Some recipes take as little as twenty minutes to make, such as the . These two recipes are perfect proof that you dont have to give up familiar flavors to embrace a meat-free lifestyle.

And lets not forget about the desserts! I know you might be a bit skeptical when you bite into your first bean-based dessert, but I promise you, it will leave you completely astonished. Desserts with a pulse addition not only taste delicious, but they also have a welcome nutritional boost, so its a win-win situation! Start with the and go from there. Trust me, once you give bean-based desserts a try, youll be making them over and over again.

Im not a fan of labels in general, especially when it comes to dietary beliefs. Therefore, I didnt create these recipes just for vegans, but for anyone who wants to incorporate more plant-forward recipes in their daily diet. Whether youre newly looking to reduce your animal-product consumption or you have already adopted a plant-based lifestyle, Im here to help you discover how beans can help you through your journey.

I was new to the plant-based world myself when I started crafting these vegan bean recipes, and I wanted to make this cookbook as accessible as possible, so I focused on just legumes rather than other well-known vegan protein sources, like tofu, tempeh and seitan. However, most of the recipes are incredibly versatile, and you will find it pretty easy to add in some crumbled tofu, tempeh or seitan in the curries, stews and salads featured in this book, if youd like. And you are most definitely welcome to add a sprinkle of nutritional yeast or vegan cheese to the pasta recipes or even into the omelet and frittata recipes featured here.

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Ultimately, I hope youll use this book as a creative outlet to gather the inspiration you need to embrace more beans in your life. Pulses can do so much more than merely act as an extra add-on in soups and saladsthey can easily turn a classic dish into an exciting, protein-packed meal.

Most importantly, remember to have fun in the kitchenhappy cooking!

To make the most of this cookbook, Ive put together a few helpful tips that will make cooking easier and tastier!

If you have time, using dry beans is a very convenient and inexpensive solution, but theres a tiny thing to note. When you cook dry beans, you might notice that theyre still pretty hard even after cooking them for hours. That probably means the beans are too old. If that is the case, unfortunately they wont get more tender as they cook, and theres not much you can do to salvage them.

If you opt to use already-cooked beans, I recommend going for jarred beans over canned beans, because ultimately, they taste better, and I find they also have a better consistency.

Whenever canned/jarred beans are mentioned in the cookbook, they are always with no salt, sugar or anything else added inthey are just beans and water.

Try to buy as many organic and seasonal ingredients as possible; they taste so much better, and they are much better for the environment!

To avoid food waste and buying vegetables out of season, try to pack your freezer with frozen veggies.

Batch cooking is always a great idea! When trying recipes with longer cook times (recipes like ), try doubling up the ingredient amounts, and freeze your leftovers into portions. This way, whenever you dont feel like cooking, youll always have something delicious and nutritious waiting for you.

All the recipes that require baking have been tested in the oven with the oven fan option off. If youd like to use the fan option, remember to decrease the baking temperature by 40F (20C) for best results.

To make things easier, most of the recipes in this cookbook (unless specified) call for canned beans. Ive written them this way because canned beans are so quick and convenient, and most of us usually have a few cans or jars stored in our cupboards at all times.

However, if you have a little extra time on hand, I always recommend buying dried beans and cooking them yourself. Dried beans are cheaper and have a much better flavor and texture when cooked. If youve never used dried beans before, dont let it intimidate you! The following steps explain how to prep and cook dried beans; the tips will work well with most legumes. The most important thing to remember is that theres no strict timeline when it comes to cooking beans. Even if youre using the same variety on two different occasions, youll notice that the cooking time will change depending on the beans age and where exactly they came from. Luckily, if you follow these steps, youll be able to make a batch of perfectly cooked beans every single week.