The Fabulous Gluten-Free Bean Bake

Bean bakes are the best thing to come my way, foodwise, since I learned that I was not only lactose intolerant and needed to diet but also gluten-sensitive. Seriously.

I’ve now made three versions:

• Lemon Bean “Cheesecake” with Fruit Sauce
• Cauliflower Bean Bake with Cheese, Dill, and Olive
• Banana-Coconut Bean Bake

 

The taste of each isn’t like anything I’ve had before, but is delicious and, most amazingly, doesn’t have a hint of beans. Taste is important but it isn’t the best part of the story.

A bean bake has a cake-like texture because it rises as it cooks. The result is that the bean bake tricks my body. I feel as if I’m eating carbs—thus satisfying my carb cravings—when what I’m actually eating is primarily protein, very nutritious, and filling, despite being low in calories.

Now, that’s fabulous!

And there’s more:

• Bean bakes are versatile. First, they can be sweet (with a fruit) or savoury (with a vegetable), depending on what’s in your kitchen. Secondly, whether sweet or savoury, you can eat a slice at breakfast or as a snack, a side dish at lunch or dinner or, in the case of a sweet bean bake, a dessert.
• Bean bakes are extremely easy to make. You put all the ingredients in a food processor, mix, and then bake.
• Bean bakes are inexpensive. Two cups of white navy beans, three eggs, one cup of fruit or vegetable, maybe one-half cup of cheese, some spices—compare the price of that with eight servings of meat.
• Bean bakes get along with my digestive tract. In addition to diagnosing gluten-sensitivity, my doctor told me I had IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). While many foods/dishes can upset me—for example, a daily intake of too many flour-baked products (no matter how gluten-free). Bean bakes, on the other hand, leave the irritable beast slumbering away.
• Bean bakes and the spouse are happy together. I consider my husband as the acid test of anything I make, particularly in this case because he’s far fussier eater than I am. My guarantee: if he likes bean bakes, other people will too.

 

The possibilities for bean bakes are almost endless, considering the many fruits, vegetables, spices, and extracts to draw from. I’m going to keep on experimenting and letting you know what happens.

Notes:

1) Did you know that white navy beans top the charts for fiber? For more information about these beans, check out:

• Ontario Beans: Nutrition & Health
• The World’s Healthiest Foods: Navy Bean

 

2) Taste tip: Bean cakes are more flavourful the day after cooking. Also, savoury bean bakes taste best warm; sweet bean bakes taste best cold.

3) Calorie calculation: Cauliflower Bean Bake with Cheese, Dill, and Olive

• 1 19 oz. can (2 cups) white navy beans = 508 calories ( The World’s Healthiest Foods)
• 3 large eggs = 222 calories (The Calorie Counter)
• 1 cup cauliflower (cooked, no salt) = 28 calories (The Calorie Counter)
• ½ cup non-cow’s milk parmesan or romano = 200 calories (Whole Foods for the cheese I used—Pecorino Romano, a sheep cheese)
• ¼ cup fresh dill weed =  1 calorie (Calorie Count)
• 4 jumbo olives, pitted = 48 calories (Calorie Count)
• 1 tsp. baking powder = 3 calories (Calorie Count)
• ¼ tsp. salt = 0 calories (Calorie Count)

Total calories:

• Entire bean bake: 1,010
• Per 1/8 serving: 126.25

 

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Author Information, Claire Harrison, Ontario, Canada
In her blog, The Food Refashionista, Claire Harrison discusses food issues and adapts a wide variety of recipes for people who are gluten-sensitive, lactose-intolerant, and dieting for their health.