following are 10 things that you should know about legumes:
1. Legumes or beans are among the best of all foods. Not only do they provide healthy nutrients but they are also inexpensive.
2. Legumes come from plants whose seeds split on 2 sides when they are ripe, which is what distinguishes them from other plants.
3. There are several types of legumes: black beans, kidney beans, green beans, fava beans, chickpeas, lentils. They are consumed in a variety of form: fresh, canned or dried.
4. Legumes contain a very broad range of nutrients including :
- Protein
- Complex carbohydrates
- B vitamins
- Minerals such as: iron, zinc, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and calcium.
- Phytochemicals
5. Legumes are one of the world’s best fiber sources. They contain both soluble fiber, which helps lower blood cholesterol, and insoluble fiber, which helps with constipation.
6. Legumes are considered as part of the meats and alternatives group, due to their content of protein and iron, as meat, poultry and fish. But guess what? The big difference is that they have a much lower content of fat and saturated fat, and they have no cholesterol.
7. Legumes are known to cause gases. This is because the complex sugars in legumes are fermented by bacteria in the intestines, producing gas. Eating beans more often lessens the problem. Soaking the beans and changing the water before cooking reduces the amount of gas-producing substances.
8. According to a study on more than 34,000 women tracked for 18 years, it was found that those who ate at least 4 servings of beans/week had a 33% lower risk of colon cancer than those who ate beans no more than once/week.
9. How to add legumes to recipes:
- Prepare bean soups. Serve mashed lentils soup (p.44) or chickpeas soup (p.47) to your beloved ones!
- Make bean salads with drained, canned or cooked beans. Lentils salad (p.21) or colored beans salad (p.22) are very healthy and delicious appetizers!
- Add legumes to your stews with minimum amount of meat. Makhlouta (p.79), chili and meat penne (p.163) or chicken beans stew (p.186) are really very nutritious and yummy dishes!
10. Canned beans are as nutritious as dried beans. The main drawback is the added sodium in canned beans. However, 40% of the sodium can be removed by soaking the beans in water for about 1 minute.
Taken : From: So7i WA Sari3 s.a.r.l
Fri Feb 15, 2013 11:45 pm by 
