By: Nicole Dean

Your family budget depends on your ability to stretch your paycheck as far as you can, and then to stretch it even further. Most families will agree that money spent at the grocery store can be trimmed a great deal with some smart shopping and cooking. You don’t have to give up nutrition when your budget is tight if you embrace this frugal classic; the black bean.

If you find yourself wandering aimlessly through the aisles of your grocery store, looking for something to make for dinner that won’t break your budget, take a detour over to the black bean display and check out the price. Considering that black beans are loaded with nutrients like protein, iron, calcium, and potassium, and they are high in fiber, and low in fat and sugar, they really offer a lot of bang for your buck. It’s obvious that black beans should be a staple in every household, frugal or not. So, let’s think up a few simple meals to create with your new best friend… the black bean.

1) Simple Four Bean Soup

Take 1 can each of black beans, navy beans, garbanzo beans, and butter beans, open, drain and set aside. (Yes, you may substitute whatever beans you have on hand.) Now, take a large pot, pour about 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil in, add 1 cup diced onion and 1 cup finely diced celery. Over medium to medium low heat, cook until celery is transparent. Then add 1 clove garlic, crushed, and let cook for a minute or so. Now pour all your beans into the pot along with 1 small can of diced tomatoes, use seasoned tomatoes if you wish, and 1 small can of chicken broth. Cook nice and slow so it’s just simmering for 20 minutes or so. Soup’s on!

2) Multi Bean Salad

You’ll be choosing your favorite canned beans for this salad, keeping in mind color and texture; favorites like black beans, butter beans, navy beans, kidney beans, waxed beans, and whatever else you like. Drain and rinse all the beans and put them in a large serving bowl. To the beans, add some sweet onion, or green onion including the tops, chopped celery, freshly chopped parsley, maybe some fresh rosemary, or whatever herb you like, and top it all with a little shake or two of a very good vinaigrette salad dressing, I use Paul Newman’s Own Balsamic Vinaigrette. You’ve got yourself a kid-friendly and nutritious salad.

3) Simple Black Beans and Taco Sauce

Try it and I guarantee you’ll be wondering why you haven’t thought of this before. My daughter was the person who “invented” this recipe in our family, and now we’re all sold on it. Simply drain and rinse a can of black beans. If you have those little packets of taco sauce laying around, leftovers from carry-out, just squeeze a few in your black beans, give it a toss, and you have an incredibly delicious side dish that is sure to please. You’ll have to try this one to believe it. You might want to try some hot salsa instead of the taco sauce, but use only a little, just enough to flavor the beans. (Throw some shredded cheddar on top and you’re set.)

4) Black Bean Celery Salad with Cottage Cheese

A simple but delicious use for black beans is turning it into a creamy salad. Put a 1 scoop of cottage cheese in a serving bowl, and sprinkle a little salt and freshly ground black pepper on top. Then top with some drained and rinsed canned black beans, about 1/2 cup. Add a bit of chopped celery to the mix and you have a great, crunchy, creamy lunch, packed with protein, calcium, iron and fiber.

5) Use-It-Up Black Bean Burrito

If you have a few staples in your pantry you can whip up this simple burrito. You’ll need a flour or corn tortilla, either heated or not, that’s up to you. Drain and rinse your black beans, then start building your burrito however you want. I add black beans, some diced tomatoes, a little onion, lots of shredded cheddar cheese, a little sour cream, leftover rice, some chopped up pieces of chicken from last night, and whatever else I have to use up. Depending on how I feel that day, I go a little heavier on the black beans and lighter on the other stuff. Get your salsa or taco sauce ready and enjoy.

There are countless ways to enjoy our new friend, the black bean. You will easily be able to take the five ideas I’ve listed here and add your own personal flair to create black bean dishes to suit any taste, even your family’s most finicky eater.

Nicole Dean is the mostly-sane mom behind ShowMomtheMoney.com – a fun and informative website to help moms achieve success working from home. She welcomes you to learn more ways to save money in her Frugal Moms section. Be sure to sign up for her free lessons for work at home moms.