String beans and plums in a sauce with buckwheat mash (žganci)

Beans are a legume that often appears on our menus today, regardless of whether you eat a predominantly plant-based diet or not. The plant originated in South America and was first mentioned in Europe only in the 16th century. Before that, we only knew beans, chickpeas, and lentils in Europe. In the past, it was rightly called the “meat” of the poor, as it has a high energy value and a lot of protein. 100 g of cooked red beans contain 127 kcal, of which it contains 8.7 g of protein, 0.5 g of fat, and many vitamins and minerals (Table 1).

This time we used string beans in our main dish, which contains fewer carbohydrates per 100 g, namely only 7 g, a little less fat, 0.2 g and less protein, 2 g, and contains more of some vitamins and minerals ( Table 2).

Table 1

 

Cooked kidney beans

(100 g)

% Daily needs

Quantity

Energy

532 kJ (127 kcal)

Carbohydrates 

22.8 g

Fiber

7.4 g

Fats

0.50 g

Protein 

8.7 g

Thiamine (B1)

14%

0.16 mg

Riboflavin (B2)

5%

0.06 mg

Niacin (B3)

4%

0.58 mg

Pantothenic acid (B5)

4%

0.22 mg

Vitamin B6

9%

0.12 mg

Folic acid (B9)

33%

130 μg

Vitamin C

1%

1.2 mg

Vitamin E

0%

0.03 mg

Vitamin K

8%

8.4 μg

Calcium

3%

28 mg

Copper

12%

0.24 mg

Iron

22%

2.9 mg

Magnesium

13%

45 mg

Phosphorus

20%

142 mg

Potassium

9%

403 mg

Natrium

0%

2 mg

Zink

11%

1.07 mg

 

Table 2

 

String beans

(100 g)

% daily needs

Quantity

Energy

131 kJ (31 kcal)

Carbohydrates 

6.97 g

Fiber

2.7 g

Fats

0.22 g

Protein 

1.83 g

Thiamine (B1)

7%

0.082 mg

Riboflavin (B2)

9%

0.104 mg

Niacin (B3)

5%

0.734 mg

Pantothenic acid (B5)

5%

0.225 mg

Vitamin B6

11%

0.141 mg

Folic acid (B9)

8%

33 μg

Vitamin C

15%

12.2 mg

Vitamin A

4%

35 μg

Vitamin K

14%

14.4 μg

Calcium 

4%

37 mg

Iron

8%

1.03 mg

Magnesium

7%

25 mg

Manganese

10%

0.216 mg

Phosphorus

5%

38 mg

Potassium

4%

211 mg

Zink

3%

0.24 mg

 

However, since we had plums (when we prepared this meal it was still autumn), we decided not to use them for jam, but to spice up our sauce. So this time we prepared an unusual vegetable sauce from string beans with plums, which we served with buckwheat mash.


Recipe, preparation, and price of a meal

 

Quantity

(g or ml)

Price for 4 person

(EUR)

Buckwheat žganci

Buckwheat flour

250

0,70

Salt

5

0,00

Olive oil 

15

0,09

Sauce 

Peppers

300

0,36

String beans

400

1,39

Cabbage

200

0,12

Plumbs

200

0,40

Almond flour

15

0,50

Olive oil 

30

0,18

Salt 

5

0,00

Salat

Cabbage

650

0,38

Olive oil 

20

0,12

Salt 

5

0,00

Together 

4,25

 

To prepare our special sauce, we first fried sliced ​​fresh cabbage in olive oil, then added sliced ​​red pepper and fried it all together, then watered it a little with water to simmer it all together until soft. String beans were added during stewing. This time we used quite frozen, which we had to consume due to the expiration date. Towards the end, we added pitted and sliced ​​fresh plums to our sauce, seasoned with salt and freshly ground pepper. Plums added a special extra flavor to our sauce and made it very refreshing. To get a creamy sauce, we added two more tablespoons of almond flour, which enriched the sauce with its characteristic flavor. If you don’t have almond flour, you can use some other, or ground flaxseed.

While cooking the sauce, we set about preparing the buckwheat mash. We have already written about them and their preparation, almost at the very beginning of our creation. You can read more at The Philosophical Pumpkin: Reflections on lentil soup, buckwheat, and side dishes.

This time we used the “second” method of preparing porridge, where we first quickly fried buckwheat flour, added water, and kneaded the resulting lump.

In addition to the main course, we also prepared a cabbage salad, which we seasoned with olive oil and salt.

The price of our lunch for 4 people was € 4.25, which is a little over € 1 per person. In doing so, we must be aware that almond flour is one of the more expensive and the price could be lower if we used some other flour or simply ground flax seeds.


Nutritional value

With lunch consumed quantity

% From daily needs

Energy

505

kcal

25

Proteins

14

g

26

Total fats

19

g

44

Carbohydrates

75

g

 

Starch

37

g

 

Sugar

20

g

 

Fibers

17

g

68

Calcium (Ca)

167

mg

17

Iron (Fe)

5

mg

52

Magnesium (Mg)

230

mg

58

Phosphorus (P)

349

mg

50

Potassium (K)

1198

mg

60

Sodium (Na)

1508

mg

274

Zinc (Zn)

3

mg

29

Copper (Cu)

1

mg

57

Manganese (Mn)

2

mg

88

Selenium (Se)

5

µg

10

Vitamin A

172

µg

17

Vitamin E

6

mg

37

Vitamin D

0

µg

0

Vitamin C

191

mg

191

Thiamin (B1)

1

mg

41

Riboflavin (B2)

0

mg

28

Niacin (B3)

6

mg

42

Pantothenic acid (B5)

1

mg

21

Vitamin B6

1

mg

67

Folic acid (B9)

197

µg

49

Vitamin B12

0

µg

0

Vitamin K

197

µg

281

 

With lunch, we introduced 25% of daily calorie needs into the body, consuming 26% of daily protein needs, mainly at the expense of buckwheat flour, cabbage, and string beans. We also consumed as much as 68% of the required fiber, which is mainly found in buckwheat flour, peppers, and cabbage, and smaller quantities in other ingredients. They play an important role in the diet as they have a beneficial effect on the regeneration and functioning of the intestinal mucosa. Our lunch was also rich in vitamins and minerals.

Of the minerals, we consumed the most magnesium, iron, and potassium in the body daily, as well as a sufficient amount of other minerals. We consumed only a little too little calcium and selenium. Of the vitamins, we consumed the most vitamin C, vitamins B1 and B3, vitamin E, and others. Slightly below the 25% limit, we consumed only vitamins A and B5 and vitamins D and B12, which are difficult to find in a vegan diet.

The percentage of daily needs for total carbohydrates and starch is not stated because of the differences between individuals depending on the other nutrients consumed. However, we do not necessarily need free sugar in our diet.

If you want more detailed insight into the calculated nutritional value or have other questions and comments, you can write to us at info@hungry-pumpkin.com.  We look forward to your emails!

Have a nice sunny weekend,

Your Hungry Pumpkin