Nina Curtis/Botanicalchef

🥣 It's Meatless Monday, and there's never been a better time to put beans at the center of your plate.

Beans don't just add protein. They add delicious possibilities.

One example is my award-winning Haystack, a dish built with layers of black rice, black beans, lentil walnut "meat," plant-based cheese, fresh vegetables, pico de gallo, and chipotle aioli. It didn't just win an award. It won hearts and taste buds by proving that bean-centered meals can be bold, satisfying, and unforgettable.

To my fellow college and university chefs: never underestimate the influence you have. Every menu you create helps shape how students eat, introducing them to new flavors and building lifelong habits that nourish both their bodies and their minds. We have an incredible opportunity to make bean-centered meals exciting, memorable, and craveable.

That's why I'm excited to be part of the Beans Can campaign with BITE @biteimpact, helping make climate-smart food choices more delicious and more accessible.

✨The new Beans Can website is now live!

Beans Can is a national dining campaign helping make beans, pulses, and legumes the stars of the menu by driving flavor, excitement, and joy in dining halls across the country. The website gives campus dining teams the playbook and resources to bring that vision to life.

Visit beans-can.org to learn more about the campaign and how Beans Can are changing the conversation, one delicious plate at a time.

Now tell me...what's your favorite bean dish? 🫘👇

#BeansCan #MeatlessMonday #PlantBasedChef #ClimateSmartFood