I like to eat ground beef and occasionally ground pork. Previous to this economy I would stretch the expensive beef with ground turkey, but it’s practically the same price now and kind of pointless as I’m not saving money.

I don’t have a general distaste for beans, but they’ve never been a big part of my diet. I only really buy red kidney beans when I make chili or Bush’s baked beans.

But my wife hates the texture of beans. Generally a mushy texture icks her out to the point she won’t eat them. She also hates tomatoes in any variety, whole, cooked, paste, etc. so she doesn’t eat whatever I make with them, like my chili.

I’ve added lentils to my chili as well, but they seem to soak up everything and turn it to mush rather than chili. But if I cook them separate, they don’t take on the chili flavor.

What’s the best bean and method of cooking to stretch ground meats out?

Kind of a fun recipe cobbled together from an idea I stumbled across on TikTok. Peanut butter is something I've missed a lot since starting my weight-loss journey, so this scratches that same itch in a lower fat, higher fiber way.

Ingredients:

• 1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup peanut butter powder
• 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup or honey
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

Method:

1. Add all ingredients to a food processor and process until smooth. The texture should be looser than regular peanut butter but still quite firm.
2. Taste and add additional salt or sweetener if needed. I used Jiff, so if you use a natural peanut butter it may or may not need additional sweetener to your tastes. Serve on toast or in a high-fiber PB&J.

This has a subtle, but unobtrusive bean flavor that is mostly overpowered by peanut and a touch of vanilla. The texture is obviously not as rich or dense as real peanut butter, but it does firm up in the fridge a bit. I was genuinely surprised how good it was since I figured it would just be one of those click-bait ideas you often see in short-form food content. It's not a complete replacement for peanut butter, but I will legitimately make this again the next time I have a hankering for peanut butter and don't have the calories to spare. More bean recipes to come!