Sweet (Secretly Bean-y) Spreads

Yes, you read that right: Sweet. Bean. Spreads.

I recently read Vegan for Life, an overview of vegan nutrition written by two registered dietitians.  It was a tremendously helpful book, and one of the most important messages I took from it was that I'm probably not getting enough protein!

Image via TheVeganRD.com.

But, to be fair, I suspect that I wasn't getting enough before I went vegan, either--as someone who ate very little meat, few beans, and a scattering of dairy products, how could I? But now I know that the daily protein recommendation for women is around 45 grams (more if you're more active) and that my default vegan diet was leaving me as many as 10 grams short per day.

Moreover, the Vegan for Life authors recommended getting most of one's protein through legumes like peanuts, peas, and beans. Peanut butter? Oh, yeah, check! Peas? Sure, I can add those to a lot of dishes--check! Beans? Ummmm, that's harder. I get sick of beans--beans on salads, beans in pasta sauce, beans on tortillas, beans in curries and soups, beans for every meal, beans in and coming out of my ears!

Image from ABCNews.go.com's nice little article about vegetarian protein sources.  (Well, it's nice until they include beef. But I'll take it.)

So what to do? Well, I bought some protein powder for smoothies, learned how to make seitan (more on that later!), and started thinking of ways to sneak beans into my diet.

Thus began my new love affair with bean-based sweet dips and spreads. It sounds weird, I know, but with a good food processor and a can of beans--particularly the miraculously creamy great northern/navy bean--you can get the creamy, rich texture so often associated with butter-based frosting. And you get it with much less fat and more iron and protein than frosting can give!

Fudge dip! (These little containers never last very long . . .)

First, I tried the fudge dip found in Everyday Happy Herbivore (which is pretty much my favorite cook book ever). This stuff is incredibly tasty when spread on a whole wheat tortilla, multigrain bread, or a rice cake. AND it's low-calorie (less than 50 per serving, according to my calorie counter). AND it's full of protein. AND it satisfies my crazy chocolate addiction.

Mmmm, freshly processed goodness. Don't forget to lick the bowl!

Two notes on this recipe: 1) In my opinion, using navy beans is absolutely vital. The cannellini bean version is okay, but the navy beans are much smoother and have a milder flavor. 2) I always make the variation that includes peanut butter. Yeah, it adds fat, but just a tablespoon or two contributes a lot of richness and helps you get away with using less sugar!

More recently, I tried this chocolate chip cookie dough dip from Chocolate Covered Katie because . . . Wait, does anyone really need an excuse to eat raw cookie dough? That's pretty much a gimme.

Cookie dough dip! (Or raw vegan cookie dough. Or whatever you have to call it to make it okay for yourself.)

The brown sugar is really what makes cookie dough taste like cookie dough, and the same is true for this dip! I would definitely use brown sugar as your sweetener if you have it on hand. Also, this is a very forgiving recipe because it doesn't have to be baked, so feel free to make it to taste. And while it's not exactly low-calorie (my version clocked in at over 65 calories per tablespoon), I could still justify walking around my apartment licking it off the spoon as an after-dinner treat!

It's okay on bread, better on rice cakes, and best when eaten alone!

The moral of this story is that I still love beans, but sometimes I like my beans to be seen but not tasted.

Also, you can never trust a vegan: we will hide beans (or kale or quinoa) in everything.