Healthy Ham & Beans 
One of our favorite healthy dishes is Ham & Beans. It's got great protein and fiber, and though it's got some fat from the ham, we've discovered that if you use a ham shank instead of ham hocks it reduces the fat and really increases the meat volume. Here is the basic recipe, all of the spices are to taste. I don't recommend adding salt till the last hour of cooking due to the salt content that comes from the smoking process. Give it a try and let us know what you think.
Ham & Beans ala Crock Pot
(Recipe based on a double crock pot)

1 Large smoked ham shank or 2 ham hocks
1lb Assorted dried beans (pinto, red, kidney)
1 Large onion roughly chopped (we prefer Walla Walla Sweets)
1 Bell pepper roughly chopped
Chili Powder
Paprika
Cayenne
Cracked Black Pepper
Salt
Rinse your beans and add to crock pot
Add ham shank and cover the beans and ham with water.
Set the crock pot on low overnight aprox. 8-12 hours
Turn the pot to high for another 4-6 hours or until beans become soft and begin to break down.
In the last 30 min to an hour of cooking add onion, bell pepper, chili powder, paprika, cayenne and cracked black pepper. All times are approximate and recipe is based on a double crock pot.
We enjoy the dish when the beans are about half broken down and all the smoke has infused in to dish. We hope you enjoy the dish as much as we do.

Hearty, Healthy, & Delicious,

Nik & David