Jill Nussinow is a bean lover and loves to teach others how to cook beans that make them taste great so that they will eat them every day of the week! Jill Nussinow, aka The Veggie Queen™, is what she calls a hybrid – a Registered Dietitian and a culinary educator who has been teaching plant-based cooking for almost 30 years.

Jill has been on the culinary faculty of Santa Rosa Junior College for more than 25 years, and has been teaching at cooking schools throughout the US, at vegetarian and other festivals (National Heirloom Exposition, Mother Earth News Fair, and Green Festival) and events, farmer’s markets and more. She teaches cooking for the McDougall Program in Santa Rosa, CA where she lives.

Jill is the author of several books including: The Veggie Queen™: Vegetables Get the Royal Treatment, The New Fast Food: The Veggie Queen Pressure Cooks Whole Food Meals in Less than 30 Minutes, Vegan Under Pressure and the DVD; A Fresh Look, Delicious Dishes in Minutes

Q & A with Jill

Why do you encourage patients to incorporate dry beans into their diet?
Because they are versatile, tasty and healthy which is a great combination.

What is your personal favorite bean to eat and why?
It’s a toss up between black beans and chickpeas because they each have their redeeming qualities.

Black beans might be my favorite because of their deep smoky flavor and the fact that the darker the bean, the more antioxidants they contain.

The garbanzo bean has so much going for it because it makes truly amazing hummus, burgers due to its starchiness. The flavor and color and they blend well with many other foods. It can easily be the star of a stew or soup, if you ask me.

What is your favorite bean recipe?
My current favorite bean recipe is black bean burgers, but that’s just because it’s what I am making today.

Jill shares a great recipe for an easy, healthy bean dip.

 Spicy Black Bean Dip
©2106, Reprinted with permission from The New Fast Food© by Jill Nussinow, MS, RDN

Makes about 2 cups

You can use this dip to make veggies more interesting or you can use as a spread for wraps. I have even taken the dip and mixed it with cooked grains to make quick and tasty burgers. I recommend making your black beans from scratch for the best flavor but canned beans work too.

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked black beans
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 teaspoon cumin powder
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 dash of cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons chopped onion
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon Bragg’s liquid amino acids or tamari
4 tablespoons minced cilantro, save 1 for garnish

Directions:
Combine all ingredients except 1 tablespoon cilantro into the food processor. If the mixture seems too thick, add water or lime juice 1 tablespoon at a time until it is the desired consistency. Top with the remaining cilantro.

©2106, Reprinted with permission from The New Fast Food by Jill Nussinow, MS, RDN

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