Welcome to the Atlantic ICW Kayak Expedition

The Bean is the staple of any low-budget diet. They provide vitamins, proteins, iron, folate, fiber, and complex carbohydrates. Currently, the world genebanks hold about 40,000 bean varieties, only a fraction are mass-produced for regular consumption.

Budget Under Pressure (Beans are the new meat)

By far the most efficient way to cook beans is with a pressure cooker. Add one finely chopped, medium onion to two tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp ground black pepper, a bay leaf, and a ham shank (optional) to the pressure cooker and cook until the onions are soft (3-4 min). Add the beans to the pressure cooker. Add a can of chicken broth, a bouillon cube, and bring the volume up to six cups with water. Add this to the cooker and bring to the boil while stirring occasionally to dissolve the bouillon cube. Once it is boiling, seal the pressure cooker and, bring it to high pressure, cook for 30-35 minutes (depending on the bean you use) on high. Swirl the pressure cooker often to avoid the beans sticking to the bottom and burning. Cool and open the cooker once the pressure is relieved. Remove the bone and skin from the optional ham shank and discard it along with the bay leaf. Serve over boiled rice.
If you have the time, soak the beans overnight in six cups of water and take five minutes off the high pressure period.

• Women, Infants, and Children Nutrition Program

  From Washington State (WIC) comes, the Bean Book.

• From Pulse Canada

  Pulses—Cooking with pulses—beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas. There are other useful articles on their download page.

• Cookbook Shows How To Eat Well On A Food Stamp Budget

  Good and Cheap by Leanne Brown (Free PDF).

• The Dietary Guidelines for Americans is the Nation’s go-to source for nutrition advice

  The 2010 Dietary Guidlines are replaced with the 2015-2020 version.

• The US Dry Bean Council

  The US Dry Bean Council (USDBC) has lots of recipes for all varieties of bean.

• Chef Jack Monroe (Author of A Girl Called Jack)

  Her wonderful Cooking on a Budget series. Jack is a cash-strapped single mum living in Southend. When she found herself with a shopping budget of just £10 a week to feed herself and her young son, she addressed the situation with immense resourcefulness, creativity and by embracing her local supermarket’s ‘basics’ range.

• Student's Recipes

  Students know how to save money using these recipes.

• Polenta

  Using a ratio of 5:1 for water (chicken stock or milk) to yellow cornmeal, pre-soak the polenta in its liquid for several hours before cooking it. Even after pre-soaking, it still took 2¼ hours to cook to where it was coming away from the sides of the pan. Once the polenta is smooth and thick, add 3-4 tbsp butter per cup of cornmeal. Season with salt (optional) and serve.