Up until the age of 25 I thought legumes were leathery little nuggets that made you fart and only came in the form of Heinz baked beans.

What happened at 25 you ask? I met a Vegan that’s what. He was my housemate and the first Vegan I ever knew. He made incredibly tasty, incredibly easy dishes that he’d share with me, and I realised that this country-girl boarderline vegetarian had a big gaping hole in her cooking repertoire.

The trick is, you just have to know what to do with them. Visit this post to discover how to prepare beans so they don’t give you gas and find out just how much personality different beans have.

1. Bean salad – easy; dress cooked bean of your choice with parsley, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Throw in some diced tomato, diced capsicum (all colours) or roasted diced pumpkin for something a little extra. Let marinate for 10 minutes before serving.
2. Refried bean tacos
3. Cannellini or butter bean dip – gently sauté lots of garlic in lots of olive oil with a pinch of salt until caramelised. Whiz up with cooked beans (you can cheat and use good quality organic canned beans) with a stick blender until fluffy.
4. Cassoulet – my favourite hearty winter fuel. Recipe
5. Mexican Tortilla soup – Recipe
6. Falafel Wrap – I cheat here. My local Lebanese bakery (A1 Bakery for those in Melbourne) stock the BEST pre-made all natural falafel balls. Just pull out of the freezer and cook.
7. Miso soup using fermented soybean miso
8. Dahl – Recipe
9. Bean Croquettes
10. Chinese Steamed Red Bean Bao – filled with aduki beans

Why spend all that time soaking, cooking, then preparing them? Mainly because they’re super nutritious, and secondly because they’re super cheap. Worthy of being known for more than the protein of choice for vegans and vegetarians. Packed with fibre you’ll be pooping like a legend and combined with their damp drying qualities means they’re excellent weight loss staple.