Here are some tips for incorporating beans into your everyday menus:

• At least once a week, try a meatless main dish that uses beans, such as tacos or burritos stuffed with pinto beans, chili with kidney beans, or black beans over rice.

• Try kidney beans or black-eyed peas -- they're available pre-cooked, so you don't have to take the time to cook them from scratch.

• Use beans as a dip for vegetables or as a filling for sandwiches.

• Eat soup made from beans or peas, such as minestrone, split pea, black bean, or lentil.

• Try black-eyed peas or black beans as a side dish with meat or fish.

• Add beans to salads. Many salad bars have kidney beans, three-bean salad, or chick peas (garbanzo beans).

Source:  NIH. Action Guide for Healthy Eating.