Digestible beans

1. Rinse and dry the beans
2. Place them in a pot and add water until it’s around 3 inches above the beans, over the pot and place in the refrigerator
   * At least one hour for small beans and six hours to overnight for larger varieties
3. Drain the water the beans have soaked in
4. Refill the pot with fresh, cold water for cooking
   * 3 cups per cup of soaked beans is the general rule
5. Add a large strip of dried Kombu seaweed to the pot of beans and water prior to boiling. Remove the Kombu once cooking is finished
   * This helps to further reduce the gas-producing properties of beans
6. Bring to a boil in a pot with a lid. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer, tilt the lid slightly to allow steam to escape
7. Leave the beans to cook for about an hour and a half or until tender. Cool the beans in the same liquid without draining.Transfer to refrigerator containers, still with their cooking liquid. Beans will keep for one week refrigerated or can be frozen for up to three months.

Tips and Tricks:
* Almost all legumes (split peas and lentils being the exceptions) should be soaked prior to cooking. Soaking improves digestibility and decreases cooking time.
* You can also cook your legumes in vegetable stock instead of water for added flavor, but do not add any salt or acidic ingredients like tomatoes or lemon juice – either will toughen the beans and greatly increase cooking time.
* Wait until beans are done or nearly done cooking before seasoning.
* You can find Kombu in your local natural foods store or in ethnic markets.

More Ways to Reduce Gas and Bloating Properties of Beans:
* Add a slice or two of ginger, fennel, or cumin seeds.
* Discarding the foam during boiling is also an effective means of gas reduction.
* Don’t use the water the beans were soaked in for cooking them. This water is full of difficult-to-digest starches that can cause flatulence and other digestive issues.

Sources: http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART03206/Cooking-With-Legumes.html