[JD_UTDallas]

This is a surprise? It’s been proven everywhere around the world the first thing people do when they get into the middle class is drastic increase in animal protein consumption followed by increased energy usage for comfort and transportation. China and India both added half a billion to the middle classes and they have had to build power plants, roads and cars at breakneck speeds to keep up with the demands of their new and fast growing middle classes

[broken_clock]

Maybe the question to ask is how much bean consumption the illegal invaders consume, not what the smart Mexicans eat back home as they adjust to a modern diet.

[datura]

Mexican can food has always been my favorite- even though it’s not so authentic this far north.

[ChildOfThe60s]

I happen to like all beans.
Hint: you can live on beans and rice. And both keep well for a long time.
Things go sideways, we may get tired of them, but we are not gonna starve.

[TaMoDee]

Beans, Beans, The musical fruit
The more you eat
The more you toot!

[Southside_Chicago_Republican]

An old Mexican gentleman I knew used to finish every dinner with a bowl of beans. I could eat them every day, but I don’t.

[real saxophonist]

I Love Beans by Brak

[lee martell]

I’ve had real tamales only a few times. I’m never quite sure what to do with the corn husk wrapped around it. Eat it?
I don’t think so.
I just discreetly throw it away.

[Mariner]

One of the healthiest foods on the planet, and I consume them regularly.

[Romulus]

I’m eating beans and rice right now.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

It is amazing what people have learned and discovered through trial and error over thousands of years. I never thought about the Mexican gastronomical "trilogy" like that before:

• Corn in the tortillas provides calories in the form of carbohydrates, as well as a small amount of protein, but the human body doesn’t process these proteins easily.
• Beans provide the main supply of high-quality proteins, which are much more easily processed by the body and, when combined with those in the corn, approximate to the levels of protein derived from meats.
• Spicy chiles provide the same things that any other fruit provides: vitamins and minerals.
• Capsaicin in pepper helps the body better process those stubborn proteins in corn.

"The well-balanced diet of this trilogy has been nurturing bodies in this part of the world for thousands of years."

By the way, Casa Lupe on Main Street in Los Altos is struggling and may have to close after being there for almost 50 years. Stop by and get some of their fantastic Mexican food and keep them going! It's a small-town favorite, great people, wonderful food, and lovely decor. Don't let what happened to Frankie, Johnny, and Luigie's Too happen to Casa Lupe!

[Yardstick]

I’m having a hard time believing that spices cut down on the bean magic. Anybody heard of this?

I’m also not convinced that you can prepare beans so they don’t produce gas. I had heard this claimed so often that I figured there must be something to it, but then I read an article, I think by Kenji Lopez-Alt over at Serious Eats, where they tested various preparation methods and carefully observed the results and found them to be equally musical.

[dfwgator]

[P.O.E.]

Two words:
Pasta
Fazool

[TigersEye]

I love Mexican food. Although the best of it was invented in Texas, New Mexico and Southern California.

Free cervezas for anyone who knows the origin of that pic.

[Sparticus]

The average height for a Mexican man back when everyone subsisted on corn, beans and chilies was under 5’4”. Today, it’s almost 5’8”. I think the argument that beans are a “subsistence” protein based on stunted growth has some legitimacy.