The Food Group You Should Be Eating Every Day — But Probably Aren’t….
LET US LEGUME!
Did you know that beans and peas contain two out of three of your daily MACROnutrients (the ones you need in MACRO amounts — carbs, proteins, and fats?) (Bonus points — they also have prebiotic fibers + vitamins — more on that later.)
Beans and peas are unique because they belong in two food groups (starches + proteins) anddd they contain micronutrients.
Their premier macro group, proteins — like red meats, poultry eggs, dairy, seafood, and fish — highlight them as a fabulous plant-based protein option. You don’t need a ‘flesh’ protein at every single meal, friends. Beans and peas are good sources of protein and deliver iron, a host of B vitamins, potassium, and zinc.
They’re doubly satiating because in addition to protein — they’ve got carbohydrates (major macronutrient you NEED despite what silly diets may say) and fiber. Beans contain a special kind of fiber — prebiotic fiber — that nourishes the PRObiotic communities of live microorganisms that help make up your microbiome – an ESSENTIAL health indicator for everything from digestion to immunity to sleep. Even if you get alllll the probiotics, without sufficient PREbiotic fiber — those probiotics can’t function properly. Full bean ahead!
Hummus and edamame ‘count’ as beans and peas (yay!). But get cuh-razy and try black bean hummus, lentil hummus, white bean hummus, edamame hummus — all the bean hummuses! You can easily make hummus by blending rinsed + drained canned beans + olive oil + garlic + lemon + some tahini (sesame seed paste).
When we ground up some legumes such as lentils and chickpeas — we can also employ them as flours for baking or breading things that amp up the protein, fiber, and vitamin content of the dish.
Aim for at least a serving (½ cup cooked) of beans/legumes per day. Since hummus is so dense — a serving is 2 TBSP of that — but you know that Intuitive Eating should guide your individual portion sizes per meal and day.
Please enjoy this ESSENTIAL LET US LEGUME BURGER recipe:
- ¾ cups lentils, picked over and rinsed
- ¾ cups walnuts
- ½ cup chickpea flour
- 3 garlic cloves coarsely chopped or pressed (I used like 6, more garlic more flavor)
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoon ground parsley
- ½ – 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
- Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
- 4 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 large egg
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 F
- Place the lentils in a small saucepan and cover with 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook until the lentils are tender but still holding their shape, about 15-20 minutes. Drain well and cool.
- Meanwhile, spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until fragrant and darkened, about 10 minutes. Let cool.
- In a food processor, combine the walnuts, chickpea flour, garlic, cumin, parsley, red pepper flakes, 1 ½ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Process until finely ground.
- Add the lentils and 1 tablespoon of oil. Pulse until coarsely chopped. (it’s okay if you have remains of whole lentils)
- In a large bowl, whisk the egg. Add the lentil mix. Roll into balls and flatten with your palms into ¾ inch-thick patties
- Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add the burgers and cook over medium-low heat until crisp and browned, gently flip the burger, 8-10 minutes each side.
- Serve on top, a spread of avocado, tomato cherry and 1-2 red onion rings!
Let it PEA/be that you enjoy these burgers. Try to swap out one ‘flesh’ meal per day with a bean-based protein meal like this.
Not ready to do the legume legwork? Snack on these tasty bean-based purse-friendly snacks!
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Essentially Yours,
Michelle Courtois, MS, RDN