Canned Beans: An Unexpected Wonder Tool In Your Caregiver Journey
Caregiver in Fairfax County VA
As a family caregiver for your elderly loved ones, one of your most important responsibilities is making sure that your seniors get the nutrition that they need on a daily basis. Cooking healthy, 
delicious meals from scratch, however, can be difficult when you are trying to fit as much as you can into your care schedule, especially if you are part of the sandwich generation and must fit in your care for your children and partner as well as your parents. This when having a few creative time-saving tools in your caregiver toolbox can help you to keep the time, effort, and expense of your cooking efforts under control without sacrificing the flavor or nutritional quality of the food that you serve your elderly loved ones. One tool that you should always keep in this toolbox is canned beans.
Canned beans may seem like an easily forgettable item in the grocery store, but they can be a powerful player in making sure that you can put healthy, delicious, and affordable meals on the table without putting forth a tremendous amount of time or effort. Canned beans contain a wide variety of nutrients, including:
- Dietary fiber
- Protein
- Iron
- Magnesium
- Folic acid
- Potassium
Since beans, as long as they do not have added meat in them, are free from saturated fat and cholesterol, and low in calories, they make a healthy, filling, and flavorful addition to a wide variety of meals. They are also very inexpensive, with a can often costing less than a dollar. This makes it easy to bulk up your favorite recipes to make them more nutritious and filling and stretch your grocery budget.
Let these ideas inspire you for ways that you can use your canned bean caregiver tool to make getting your parents the delicious nutrition that they need faster, easier, and more affordable:
- Add black beans to a scramble egg and wrap in a high fiber tortilla along with onions, green peppers, and shredded cheese for a breakfast burrito.
- Mash white beans and add to shredded potatoes for bumped-up potato pancakes.
- Replace the ground meat in your favorite chili recipe with kidney beans or add kidney beans to make the meal more filling and less fattening.
- Add chili powder, cumin, garlic, onion, salt, and pepper to black beans and put them in hard shells for vegetarian tacos.
- Mash black beans and chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, together with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders, vegetable oil, cornstarch, and cracker crumbs or breadcrumbs, form into patties, and fry lightly in vegetable oil for a vegan burger that is packed with protein, fiber, and flavor.
- Sprinkle chickpeas or kidney beans on top of salads to add protein, fiber, texture, and rich, earthy flavor. This is a great technique if you are trying to get your parents away from creamy mayonnaise-based dressings such as ranch, blue cheese, or thousand island. Adding beans and drizzling with a combination of oil, vinegar, honey, and Italian spices creates a satisfying mouthfeel and flavor that will help make the salad more palatable to those used to fatty dressings.
If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring a professional caregiver in Fairfax County, VA, please contact the caring staff at LivinRite Home Care. Call Us Today at (703) 369-6677. Serving Northern Virginia, The Valley, and Surrounding Communities
Source:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/546871-the-healthiest-canned-beans-with-high-fiber/
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