White beans are the most versatile and nutritious processed food in my kitchen. Anyone that has eaten my food, knows that many of my best dishes, contain beans! And why not, they are easy, tasty and bean purée can be used as a natural thickener.

By processed, it means that canned beans are manufactured by placing dry beans in a can with brine, heated and sealed. So, that whenever I need to boost iron, fibre, protein and minerals, all I need to do is open a can of beans and rinse well. Done. To read more about the nutritional composition of various beans, click HERE.

I am going to share some of my favourite hacks to use canned bean purée which you can offer to baby as one of their first foods and in also in everyday family recipes BELOW.

This image is of a baby food tray with white navy beans portioned off. When I need to add some to a recipe, I can pop out a puck, thaw then quickly fork mash.

The fork-mashed method to break up white beans do not blend into recipes as uniformly as pureeing the beans. The recipes I will share use the All-Purpose White Bean Purée recipe.

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White Bean Purée

PREPARATION: 2 MIN | COOKING: 0 MIN | MAKES: 2 cups

Ingredients

· 1 can (540mL) white kidney beans, rinsed-well, then drained

· ½ cup boiling water

Directions

· Puree using a hand blender, regular blender or food processor

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Egg Salad

PREPARATION: 5 MIN | COOKING: 0 MIN | MAKES: 2 cups

Ingredients

· ¼ cup chilled white bean purée

· 2 tablespoons plain yogurt

· 2 tablespoons mayonnaise

· 6 chilled hard boiled eggs, cooled and chopped

· Dried dill to garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Whisk together bean puree with yogurt and mayonnaise

2. Place chopped eggs in a bowl and stir in dressing

3. Top with a sprinkle of fried dill if desired

Yield: 2 Cups

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Cheesy All-Purpose White Sauce

PREPARATION: 5 MIN | COOKING: 10 MIN | MAKES: 3 cups or enough sauce to coat 400 grams dry pasta

Ingredients

· 2 garlic cloves, chopped very finely or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

· 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

· 1 ¼ cup water

· 1 can 2 % evaporated milk (370 ml)

· ¼ cup flour

· ½ cup white bean puree

·½ cup shredded cheese

·tablespoon parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In a medium size pot, add the oil and garlic.

2. Cook for about 1 minute on medium heat. Stirring quickly using a fork or a whisk, add the flour. Stir until it becomes a smooth paste.

3. Continue to stir quickly and slowly pour in the water and milk.

4. Continue to heat the sauce stirring often to prevent lumps.

5. Once the desired consistency is reached whisk in white bean puree and the cheeses.

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Nutrition Boosted, Jarred Marinara Sauce, click HERE

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Almond Berry Overnight Oats with Bean Purée

PREPARATION: 5 MIN | COOKING: 6 MIN | MAKES: 2 servings

Ingredients

· 1 cup quick oats

· 250 mL milk

·1 tablespoon almond butter

· ½ cup raspberries

· 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup

· ¼ cup white bean puree

Directions

1. Put raspberries and honey/maple syrup in jar or container

2. Smash raspberries using a fork

3. Add oats, milk and bean puree and stir well

4. Refrigerate overnight

5. Top with more berries to serve and whole nuts (for adults only)

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Beans really are on on the regular rotation over at my place.

Another one of my absolute favourite recipes in Not-Fried-Refried Beans which I use in Buddha Bowls, Quesadillas and Fajitas. Click HERE for the recipe.

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Special thanks to Sabrina Mastrangelo, 3rd year nutrition student at Ryerson University who did the research for this post.