Rita Bingham is the daughter of Esther Dickey, who more than 30 years ago wrote Passport To Survival - the first comprehensive book on using and storing basic foods. The New Passport To Survival, by Bingham and Dickey, was completed in late 1998.
Since 1966, Rita has taught and encouraged healthy eating. She uses nutritious, basic foods (lots of BEANS and GRAINS!) and imaginative techniques to create fast, high fiber recipes using grains and beans for every meal of the day, even snacks and desserts! Her husband (the bean artist!) and 5 children, as well as thousands of seminar participants, have given Rita's recipes rave reviews.
Rita has consulted with a number of companies to help solve their food problems and create marketable products.
Wholesome GRAINS and BEANS have been shunned because
they
"take too long to prepare" for most people in today's
busy world. However, cracking and grinding these foods allows
them to be cooked in as little as 3 minutes!
Rita most often prepares them in advance, canning dry beans and freezing quantities of cooked brown rice, cracked wheat, whole wheat berries, barley, and oats, allowing her to use these foods to make a complete meal in as little 15 minutes. FAST, but still wholesome.
These foods, along with fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, are the BASICS used to create the recipes found in Natural Meals In Minutes.
Country Beans introduces beans, peas and lentils ground to a fine flour which cooks in only 3 minutes, producing creamy, fat-free soups without adding wheat flour or milk. This has been very helpful for the many thousands who are gluten- and lactose-intolerant.
Using a variety of beans, peas and lentils opens up
a whole new world of flavors and exciting recipes. Exciting
you ask? Yep, beans are one of the best foods in the whole world!
Besides being high in protein, they combine with grains to form
a perfect, complete, very usable protein.
Rita has worked with the following organizations on the promotion of bean flours:
| Bob's Red Mill - provided information on the uses of bean flours and assisted in developing a line of bean, pea and lentil flours to market, complete with recipes for their use. |
| SOUPerior Bean Company - developed 8 instant vegetarian Bean Flour Soups for their powdered "So Creamy" line. |
| Country Store and Kitchen Specialties - developed a line of dips, gravies and cream soups for the institutional and food storage markets. |
| Colorado Dry Bean Advisory Council - provided education on the uses of bean flours and continues to promote the use of bean flours in Private Volunteer Organizations. |
| Benson Institute, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT - education on bean flours and uses for use in developing countries. |
| Brigham Young University Agronomy Department - education on bean flours, including new strains of beans being test-grown in this country |
| Ricks College, Rexburg, Idaho - seminars on nutrition, fast ways to use basic foods, including bean flour soups and dips, powdered milk cheeses, sprouting, and great ways to serve whole grains. |
| EMPAC, Orem, Utah (Emergency Preparedness Action Committee) - 4 years, taught ways to prepare basic foods such as beans and grains in emergency situations, as well as in a well-stocked kitchen. |
| Colorado Dry Bean Council - newsletter articles on bean usages, including recipes, provides education on bean flour. |
Rita has introduced, educated and encouraged companies to market
Bean, Pea and Lentil Flours for soups, sauces and gravies, as
well as the traditional usage in breads. Bean flour is now being
sold across the U.S. and in Canada, milled and marketed by Bob's
Red Mill, Milwaukie, OR. Call the mill at (503) 654-3215 for your
free catalog or Bob's nearest distributor.
A full-length video (Quick Wholesome Foods) as well as 4 books (Natural Meals In Minutes), (Country Beans), (1-2-3 Smoothies), (Food Combining). Tons of helpful information has been produced to be used as training tools for groups and individuals interested in learning how to prepare beans and grains to make low-fat, nutritious meals...FAST.
Rita's newest book is The New Passport To Survival 12 steps to self-sufficient living. This book is designed to help you eat better for less, to afford, USE and maintain a year's supply of food and other essentials, and to save money so you can get out of debt!
When she's not playing with beans, teaching, talking on the phone, away at a preparedness show, or doing a radio interview, Rita enjoys putting together letters and packages for her 4 grandchildren and for the 4 children living away from home, as well as painting, graphic design, writing, learning more about health and fitness, walking, reading, and the great outdoors.