Recipe: Tuscan Beans

I stumbled across a super easy, super healthy recipe in one of my many magazines and decided to make it for dinner last night. Seriously, it was really tasty, filled us up and best of all was healthy. Alex didn't eat anything for dinner because he was in a mood, but Brennan gobbled it up.

Ingredients:
1lb white beans
8 cups water
garlic
Italian seasoning
Salt & pepper

Directions:
1. Rinse beans and place in a crock pot. Cover with 8 cups of water.
2. Add in garlic and Italian seasoning to your liking.
3. Cook on high until beans are soft and tender and most of the water has been observed.

A couple of things....
1. The original recipe said to cook the beans on high for 3h 15m. I'm not sure what is wrong with my pot because it took more like 7 hours. Last night's dinner was actually tonight's dinner because the beans were still too hard at 5pm. Once the beans were cooked I placed them in the fridge. I think they actually tasted better this way because the flavors had a chance to mesh.

2. I used diced garlic from the fridge. I buy this little glass container of garlic that is already diced and ready to use rather than using dried garlic. Schnucks was totally out of fresh garlic otherwise I would have used that. I have no clue how much I used, maybe 2-3 tablespoons?

3. The original recipe called for cannellini beans. I looked at Walmart, Schnucks and Shop-n-Save with no luck so I went with white northern beans as the recipe said it would be a good substitute. I wonder if subbing these beans altered the original cook time?

In addition to the beans I served a green salad, crusty french loaf bread and a small side of clementine oranges. The oranges were mainly for the boys because getting them to eat salad is like asking them to eat a turd! It was a healthy, filling dinner that's for sure!

Beans are an excellent source of nutrition. They are high in minerals, fiber and protein. One cup of white northern beans is about...........200 calories; 12 g of fiber; 12% of the recommended daily amount (RDA) of calcium; 21% RDA magnesium; 35% RDA potassium; 45% RDA folate; 16% RDA of vitamin B6; and 20% RDA iron. These beans are also very low in sodium. Beans are a wonderful addition to soups, salads, stews and as a main dish.