Memorize These 3 Words and Eat Well Forever

Every other Wednesday, Bon Appétit food editor at large Carla Lalli Music takes over our newsletter with a sleeper-hit recipe from the Test Kitchen vault, a cooking technique she’s really into, or an ingredient she can’t stop thinking about. It gets better: If you sign up for our newsletter, you'll get this letter before everyone else.

This one time, at the farmer’s market, I asked my wise friend Stefan Parisi what was for dinner. His reply: “Beans, greens, and sardines.” I have never forgotten Stef’s rhyming culinary philosophy, and I have been thinking about it a lot lately. I don’t know if he knew it then, but the message behind his meal plan is gospel these days. If you want to feel good and feel like you’re doing good for the planet, a legume-forward, plant-based, and sustainably seafood-centric diet is a great way to go about it.

I’m not here to set resolutions for you or anyone else, self included—I just ate a chocolate biscotti while writing this. But I did come back from the holidays thinking a lot about Stef and his BG&S diet. It’s tough to lean into a produce-focused diet right when winter is really hitting its stride, which is why I keep coming back to beans. This video details the method I use to make a batch every weekend—and with that, you get it all! Protein, fiber, deliciousness, plus a broth that helps you use up your random herb scraps, lone onions, and floppy carrots. Legumes are good for you, their flavor profile can be customized to any preference, and they’re not red meat. Plus, canned beans are one of the world’s great shelf-stable items: keep garbanzos and black beans stocked, and you’re a third of the way to dinner.

These three recipes are some of my favorite bean preparations:

Basically’s 15-minute refried beans
Fancied-up canned beans with celery
Brothy beans with farro and mushrooms

Greens! We should all be eating more greens. Leafy ones, tender ones, sprouty ones, herby ones. Cold weather is cruciferous season: your cabbages, kales, and turnip-y things are very tasty right now. I’m always down for a simple garlic and olive oil sautéed situation, but to put the beans with the greens, try one of these:

Literally greens and beans on crusty bread
Spicy stewy beans and wilted greens
Lentil salad that lasts for days in the fridge