Beans For A Weight Gain Diet

Beans are one of the oldest known foods, dating back at least 4,000 years, according to Sharon and Ron Herbst, authors of "The Food Lover's Companion." Beans continue to be a dietary staple in many countries today, valued for their high protein, vitamins and minerals. Whether you need to gain weight after an illness or surgery or to make up calories burned during strenuous physical activity, choosing beans to help you do so is a healthy and versatile choice.

Calorie Density of Beans

To gain weight, you need to eat more calories than you burn each day. Adding foods that are calorie-dense, like beans, helps you do that. MayoClinic.com explains that burning 500 calories each day allows you to lose about 1 lb. a week, so adding those 500 calories will add pounds. For example, 1 cup of canned white beans contains 299 calories, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Nutrient Database. Adding one-quarter cup of those beans to your salad or pasta every day gives you more than enough extra calories to start gaining weight.

Bean Nutrition

You'll find beans of all types on any list of healthy foods. In addition to being high in protein, beans are also high in calcium, phosphorus, iron and the B vitamins, niacin and folate, according to Sharon and Ron Herbst. The authors point out that soybeans are especially high in protein, calling them "the most economical source of protein in the world."

Beans for Breakfast

Follow the example of fast-food restaurants and make burritos for breakfast. Spread canned, refried beans or whole beans, mashed slightly with a fork, onto a tortilla. Add a sprinkling of cheese and microwave for 1 minute. The Every Diet website suggests this burrito as a between-meal snack as well as an item on its gain weight diet plan.

Beans for Lunch

Add at least one-quarter cup of kidney beans, garbanzos or soybeans to your salad when you visit the salad bar at your local grocery to turn a healthy salad into a higher calorie lunch. Or, make up a batch of black bean, navy bean or lentil soup to keep in your refrigerator to have alongside your lunchtime sandwich.

Beans for Snacking

You'll find soybeans, or edamame, in the frozen food section of your grocery. Cook these and keep a supply in the refrigerator to grab for snacking anytime. Or buy roasted, salted soybeans to carry in your purse or briefcase for a crunchy snack.

Beans for Dinner

BreastCancer.org recommends adding beans to pasta sauce for women wanting to gain weight after cancer treatments. Noted Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis adds garbanzo beans to a pasta salad, kidney beans to macaroni soup and white beans to lasagna. Add fresh or roasted soybeans as a topping for salads and 1 cup of any canned beans to all your soups and stews.