We bought some frozen falafel bits from Trader Joe’s as an easy snack for our toddlers.
I took some of them to work and while I was munching on them I was reminded I’m eating beans, Fabaceae family.
A lot of bean discourse is around home cooking, often requiring long soaking. These dishes don’t need to be complicated and hopefully aren’t daunting. We should be cooking beans.
But the median, or most common meal an American eats is fast food alone in a car.
Americans in Cars Eating Badly: Why We Need Better Convenience Foods
Beans should similarly be easy convenience food, like these falafel were, or like peanuts or roasted fava beans or red bean mochi buns etc.
In each bean box I’m putting in a snack. So that people can immediately start eating beans. In Bean Box 1 it’s the salted roasted chickpeas. Box 2 is easy tea and licorice candy. Box 3 will have fried peas, and so on.
For a lot of human history food has been eaten as snacks on the go, portable foods while we do our work.
Beans are delicious they don’t need another reason to eat them. But obviously if you’re having a convenient bean snack in lieu of many other fast or convenience food then you’re doing good by the environment too.
I am eager to hear from you what bean snacks and treats you eat? Because of Bean Year are you trying more?
Drop us a note here or on Bluesky.
Im looking forward to it,
Brian
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