Morning all,

I've been following the STW/iDave 'diet' since the weekend and so far I'm doing really well at sticking to it. Feeling a lot less bloated, and optimistic that i might actually be losing weight too.

However, I'm struggling with one particular part of the plan – the use of beans. I've soaked and cooked two separate lots – one containing kidney and adzuki beans, and the other containing canelinni, pinto beans and chick peas. The problem is I can't seem to find anything to do with them that makes them at all tasty.

The kidney/adzuki beans aren't too bad – a sprinking of fajita spices seems to make them edible, but the canelinni/pinto/chickpea mix I have no idea what to do with…

So, anyone got any ideas to share? Also, any other meal ideas most welcome. Someone suggested chicken fajita's without the wraps – that was most delicious. Any others?

mash up cooked butter beans with some garlic, pop under grill.

yeah butter bean mash is pretty tasty

With the canelinni / pinto / chickpeas they have a fairly neutral flavour so anything you might put in pasta (pesto for instance), or couscous (or potatos or anything) will work just as well with them

Look at couscous recipes such as tabbouleh – parsley/mint/lemon juice/spring onion – or red onion/chilli pepper/parsley/lime – just chop everything up and stir in at when the beans are cooked.

Or Couscous Nicoise – anchovies, toms, black olives, parsley , corriander, lemon, garlic and olive oil

Maybe look up recipes for hummous or fallafal, but don't bother to actually make them – just use the flavours and stir them into the beans. Falafel is garlic,coriander, cumin,onion and parsley.

EDIT -and if its just a side dish for something else and just needs a little help – Tamari Soy Sauce will work small wonders with the beans (not tried it with chickpeas)

Another one for your kidney beans:
Just cooked beans 30-40 minutes, not squashy. (Never use disgusting canned beans – they are always horrible)

Grate a big lump of fresh ginger
Grate several cloves of garlic
Add good virgin olive oil. (Never use nasty oil – for anything – ever)
Add some Tamari
Add some cumin seed
Any herbs at all that you can find in the garden. Use lots.
Bit of chilli if you like it.

Mix it all in, leave to marinate for a time, eat cold.

I make a dressing of something like the following (no strict measurements just adjust to taste really):

Extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a little soy sauce, pepper, paprika, a dash of habanero sauce and sometimes a little bit of tomato puree. I also often fry up a little bacon or chorizo and mix that in with the beans to give some nuggets of flavour.

Mix it all up and drizzle it all over them, makes them quite flavoursome and I have been doing that for lunches for weeks and I'm not bored of it yet.

Whenever I make falafel (I use broad beans, the egyptian way, not chickpeas) they're gone in a flash. Deelicious with home made humous (chick peas and sesame seeds). Fartalicious.

When I first glanced at the thread title, I thought it said 'bears'. I'm sure you can understand my disappointment… 😕

Chickpea salad is nice, there're loads of recipe on t'web, here's one:
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/chickpea-salad-with-red-onion-and-tomato/Detail.aspx