There is insoluble fiber and insoluble.
Veggies have insoluble fiber. ie. they do not break down and dissolve in water or your gut. Some of it might but it remains intact somewhat and adds bulk. And it good for keeping your intestines moving along and preventing or helping with diverticulitis and all sorts of intestinal diseases.
Beans are soluble fiber. Meaning the fiber dissolves in your stomach, not just from the acids but just from the water. It helps to lower glucose, lower cholesterol, has a pant-load of antioxidents and about ten grams of protein per can which is not a lot but is a contribution of a different type of protein to add into your daily mix. Black beans are alleged to be one of the reasons why why of the Blue Zone populations in Central America (can't remember the country, probably Costa Rica). Black beans are almost "a perfect food/protein" except they are missing I think one of the amino acids but if you eat them mixed with a white or red bean you get that. One of the big bennies of beans/insoluble fiber is that is dissolves easily and kills your appetite/satiates rapidly in a healthy way and stabilizes your blood sugar. Then the dissolved fiber goes into your intestine that forms like a gel and all your gut biome bacteria become very happy and productive.
I often eat a low spiced bean chili in the morning because I get up very early on the west coast before the market, and therefore drink lots of coffee. The beans give you a base to work with and keep the coffee from making your blood sugar all spikey and jittery. Plus you are good to go just by microwaving what you have in the fridge. Thinks need to be ultra-convenient in the morning.
If eating the beans is too dull for you, consider simmering them in chicken broth, low sodium el cheapo from Walmart or wherever. I use 50/50 mix broth/water. And I use some garlic gloves in the mix and it does not end out being garlicky because the garlic has not been sauteed which would make it much stronger. Put a little bit of cumin in. I grind the seeds but whater. It gives it some flavor without adding anything that barks back at you. Then if you are prone to using high quality olive oil put a few slugs of that in the broth while it is simmering. I don't actually do that, I add it to the bowl of beans because I don't want to down grade the oil by heating it but whatever. The addition of the olive oil also adds some fat to your beans in a healthy way. (oil is liquid fat, eh). Simmer for a couple hours or whatever you want. The canned beans are already cooked but some additional simmering makes things come together.
Anyway, soluble fiber versus insoluble.
