Community Food Box : Beans

Welcome to my Tuesday ! Today’s post is my monthly blog post about our community food box program and a recipe inspired by the food box. The monthly delivery is packed and handed out at our library for everyone in need in our community. Volunteers are always need to package and manage the drive up service.

Todays recipe : Beans and Rice with Ham

1 pound dry great Northern beans
½ pound cooked ham, diced (or sausage)
1 small onion, diced
½ cup brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried parsley

rinse beans in a large pot; discard shriveled beans and any small stones. Add 8 cups of cold water. Let stand overnight or at least 8 hours. Drain and rinse beans.
Return beans to pot and add ham, onion, brown sugar, salt, pepper, cayenne and parsley and water to cover. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until beans are tender. Add more water if necessary during cooking time.

Serve with rice, greens and corn bread

Beans :

Beans have been cultivated for thousands of years. Today, they’re an important food source worldwide.

Black, kidney, navy, fava, and pinto beans are common in the United States .

Nutritional profiles differ from one bean to the next. However, as an example, 1 cup (171 gram) of boiled pinto beans offers (2Trusted Source):

Protein: 15 grams
Fat: 1 gram
Carbs: 45 grams
Fiber: 15 grams
Iron: 20% of the Daily Value (DV)
Calcium: 8% of the DV
Magnesium: 21% of the DV
Phosphorous: 25% of the DV
Potassium: 21% of the DV
Folate: 74% of the DV

Beans also contain decent amounts of zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, and vitamins B1, B6, E, and K.

February Update : Why Change page name ?

Small Town

An incorporated place or Census-designated place with a population less than 25,000 and greater than or equal to 2,500 and located outside a metropolitan area.