Why everyone should eat more legumes

[Major Nikon]

I try to eat several servings of legumes each week. I thought I would bullet some of the reasons why and add a few cooking tips to hopefully inspire some of you fellow foodies. I'm using pinto beans as an example. Other types of legumes will have somewhat different virtues.

■ Low in calories

One serving of pinto beans has only 120 calories

■ Very high in fiber

One serving of pinto beans has 8g of dietary fiber which is 32% of the USDA RDA.

■ Very cheap

One pound of pinto beans sells for less than a dollar and will make 13 servings

■ Good source of protein

Legumes aren't as high in protein compared to things like steak and chicken, but for a vegetable, they are quite high. One serving of pinto beans has 8g of protein.

■ Low glycemic index

If you have problems with blood sugar, legumes are an excellent source of carbs because they are a more complex carbohydrate than sugars or refined flours and they contain lots of soluble fiber. This translates to a low spike in blood sugar. Even if you don't have blood sugar problems now, a diet rich in legumes may lower your chances of developing type 2 diabetes.

■ May reduce your cholesterol count

Several studies have shown that switching to a diet high in legumes resulted in dramatic reductions in overall cholesterol and LDL cholesterol.

■ They taste great

Who doesn't like beans?

■ Very easy to prepare

The basic method of preparing dried beans is to cook them submersed in water until they are tender. Although there are many variations and methods for achieving this, it really is that simple.

Cooking tips:

To pre-soak or not to pre-soak? My basic recipe for cooking pinto beans is here. One thing you will notice is I don't pre-soak pinto beans. Pre-soaking your legumes does have merit because it reduces cooking times and thus reduces the amount of energy required to cook them. If you discard the soaking water, you can also reduce the chances of flatulence because indigestible starches will leach out into the soaking water. The problem with this is that discarding the soaking water also discards much of the flavor and nutrients that you get from legumes. I prefer to cook them slowly at sub-boiling temperatures (I've found 190F is ideal). Slow cooking breaks down the complex sugars found in legumes, which reduces or eliminates the chances of developing painful gas effects (not that this is a huge concern anyway). I put them in the slow cooker in the morning, and by dinner time they are done.

[Graybeard]

1. How do you pronounce the word?

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These are all great tips thanks.

It brought to mind something that bothered me lately. On the cooking shows I've heard people saying lay-gooms. But we always pronounced it
leg-yumes. What say you?
.

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. We avoid the linguistic dance

and just call them beans.

[Major Nikon]

9. All beans are legumes, but not all legumes are beans

But calling them "beans" is close enough for most to know what you're talking about. I noticed in Europe they tend to call them legumes more often.

[pinto]

3. I say leh'-gyooms. Anyway it's said, I love them.

[Major Nikon]

8. Leg room

Except substitute a Y for the R.

[cbayer]

4. Beans, beans - the magical fruit

The more you eat them, the more you toot.
The more you toot, the better you feel.
So eat your beans at every meal!

[hobbit709]

18. Beat me to it.

[cbayer]

19. Blast from the past, right?

[rdharma]

5. Looking for recipes for Corona Beans (Spagna Bianca)

It looks like this thread has gathered some legume aficionados....... so I thought I'd ask.

I remember Lynn Rosetta Casper raving about them on her NPR program so I got a kilo of them when I was shopping in the big city.

[Major Nikon]

7. Never tried them

But do let us know how they turn out. I'm always looking for more legume options.

[rdharma]

14. I tried a downsized version of your basic pinto bean recipe with some minor variations.

Man, are those good! And simple.

I soaked 1 cup of pintos overnight at room temp covered. Used four fat strips of bacon at medium to start and then added about a half cup of chopped red onions, a chopped seeded poblano, and a chopped partially seeded jalepeno. Sautéed those ingredients for a couple of minutes then dumped in a 14 oz. can of low sodium chicken broth, the soaked drained beans and about a half cup of chopped cilantro into my little 4 qt. pressure cooker. Brought it to pressure, reduced heat and let it go at 15# for 8 minutes. Used the natural release method...... and they turned out perfect!

IMHO, there's only two ways to cook dried beans..... a slow cooker or a pressure cooker. No more of that monitoring them simmer for 1 1/2 - 2 hours on the stove for me. A waste of time and electricity/gas.

[pinto]

6. Pasta e Cici - Garbanza Beans with Pasta

http://adribarrcrocetti.com/main/2013/02/27/pasta-e-ceci/

This is similar to a dish I learned from Sicilian in-laws. Their take was much simpler. Basically garbanzos, cooked till just soft, then sauteed in olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes. All as a sauce over the pasta with some bread crumbs and grated parmigiana, parsley. Great simple dish.

They called it Aglio e Olio con Cici Fava. Without the garbanzos it was simply Aglio e Olio. One was usually a lunch, the other a dinner side dish.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/spaghetti-with-oil-and-garlic-aglio-et-olio-recipe/index.html

[MiddleFingerMom]

10. "Who doesn't like beans?"

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Anyone in my vicinity postprandially.
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[Major Nikon]

11. Looks something like my last road trip

[Goblinmonger]

12. As you eat more beans, you will experience less gas.

Your stomach "gets used to it" and creates the environment needed to properly break them down.

[livetohike]

13. I love legumes....all of them

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[dem in texas]

15. Dry Beans So Good, So Health for you, so cheap!

yes, I cook mine in the slow cooker too. Being from Texas, pinto beans are my fav, although I have cook lima, navy and great northern too. I don't soak them either. I do give them a good rinse with hot water. Cover with water, put in a chopped onion, a few chopped tomatoes (if I have any on hand that are getting too ripe to use in salad), a ham hock and some chopped ham steak. I cook them on low overnight and they are ready the next morning. I take out the ham hock, pull any meat off the bone to put back in the beans. I put the ham hock skin in the dog dish for their supper. Then I add a chicken bullion cube. I make sure there is plenty of broth in the beans. We eat our main meal at noon, so we have them with corn bread or French bread, with some chopped tomato and onion on the side.

Split peas are another favorite at our house. They make a great soup. Same method, don't soak, cook overnight, with chopped onion, one chopped carrot and two stalks celery. If I have some ham steak or a ham hock, I will put that in too, but it is not the end of world if I don't. Next morning, take out the ham hock, remove meat to put back in peas, give left over ham hock to dogs for their supper. Add a chicken bullion cube. In the mean time, fry 5 or 6 strips of bacon until crisp. Drain and crumble and add to peas. Let cook a little longer. Keep them a little on the dry side. About 30 minutes before serving, mash the pea mixture, I have a little masher that works well, you could put some of pea mixture in the food processor. The mixture should be thick. I don't mash it completely, I like it to be a on the lumpy side. I thin it down with milk to the consistency I like. Season with salt and pepper, a few shakes of Tabasco and two or three tablespoons good balsamic vinegar. Let simmer a few more minutes. Cool down the left over and refrigerate. It will get very thick. To warm, add a little water or milk and simmer a few minutes. Split pea soup is my husband's favorite.

[Major Nikon]

16. I love split pea soup!

I like mine with a bit of diced ham.

[kestrel91316]

17. I find that if I eat enough dried legumes I don't need to take lysine for my cold sores,

because most legumes are high in lysine.

Good thing I love them!