Super Foods ... Beans and Legumes

Super foods in this category includes all the different kinds of beans and legumes including fresh beans like green beans, peas, sugar snap peas and lima beans, as well as all the different kinds of dried beans, peas, split peas, chickpeas and lentils.

There are many different health benefits you can get from beans and legumes ... the following is just a short list:

• Beans and legumes are an extremely healthy way to get your daily protein needs met. Although they are considered "incomplete" proteins, including grains or nuts in your diet will complete the protein. Contrary to previous popular belief, it is not necessary to eat the grains or nuts in the same meal ... even if you eat them any time during the day, it will still complete the protein in the beans.

• Because beans and legumes are not a meat product, they are a low cholesterol alternative to getting your protein needs met.

• Most super foods, including beans and legumes are also low in "bad saturated or transfats", unlike meat which can be very high in saturated fats.

• Beans and legumes are a terrific source of fibre, which in turn helps to stabilise blood sugar and insulin levels as well as lower abnormally high levels of estrogen, (known as Estrogen Dominance). This in turn has many health benefits (click here to see a more extensive list of benefits).

• Beans and legumes are rich in phytonutrients like polyphenols and antioxidants. Phytonutrients again help to reduce symptoms of estrogen dominance and menopausal symptoms, and of course antioxidants are the main "magic bullet" in controlling free radical damage. The main advantage of decreasing free radical damage is that it decreases your risk of developing cancers as well as improving and supporting your immune system.

• Eating more beans and less meat also helps to reduce calcium loss. Eating diets that have too much protein derived from meat causes the body to leach calcium from the bones.

• Research has found that increase in the consumption of foods like beans and legumes has resulted in a decrease in the risk of death from heart disease, as well as a decrease in the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

• Beans and legumes have been found to be just as effective in lowering cholesterol as oat bran, and you don't have to eat as much beans to get the same effect (1/2 cup beans per day is just as effective as one cup of oat bran.

• Beans are a rich source of B-vitamins, including folate, which plays an important part in reducing homocysteine levels. (High levels of homocysteine increases the risk of cardiovascular disease)

• Beans are a high satiety food and will fill you up, decreasing food cravings and overeating.

• Studies have shown that increasing the amount of beans and legumes "Super Foods" you eat may help to prevent certain cancers, particularly breast cancer, pancreatic cancer and colon and prostate cancer.

This is a pretty impressive list of benefits derived from this Super Foods category. I think it may be time for us to rethink adding beans and legumes to our daily diet and to find fun and interesting recipes to jazz up our taste buds, like the following Middle Eastern delicacy:

Check out this delicious Beans and Legumes recipe...

Super Foods Recipe: Persian Lamb & Split Pea Stew

1 pound Cubed lamb
2 tablespoons Tomato paste
1 Chopped onion
Cubed potatoes (2 medium)
Sliced Eggplant
1 cup Split Yellow Peas
Salt & Pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch of Saffron

1. Slice eggplant, coat with salt, let stand for 15 minutes, rinse off salt and saute until brown. Set aside.
2. Add a few teaspoons of boiling water to a saucer and mix saffron and set aside for a few minutes.
3. Saute onions until translucent. Add cubed lamb and saute until browned.
4. Add turmeric to onions and lamb and saute quickly for a few seconds until coated; add tomato paste and saute quickly.
5. Transfer meat and onions to a large pot or dutch oven. Cover with water and add split yellow peas, eggplant and seasonings.
6. Bring to boil and lower heat, cover and simmer for 1 to 2 hours (depending on how tender you want the meat)
7. Last 20 minutes, chop up potatoes and add to stew.

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