Stock Your Pantry Series
Welcome to the Stock Your Pantry Series!
We are so excited to share great tips on a healthy pantry including what to buy and how to make whole food plant based cooking successful and easy. Today’s post is all about LEGUMES. What are they, what are the health benefits of these amazing plants and ideas on how to incorporate them into your pantry to make amazing dishes with Anticancer Method cooking.
What Makes Legumes Healthy
Legumes come from a class of plants called Fabaceae (or Leguminosae). We consume the pod or seeds which are classified as beans, legumes, or peas.
Legumes are a nutritional power house. They are high in protein and fiber along with many vitamins and minerals which make them a great nutritional addition or base to any meal. They are also full of antioxidants and phytochemicals which we are know are key to a healthy diet and our individual health. They are easy to store, easy to cook and cheap!
Incorporating legumes into your routine can have many health benefits. Consuming legumes on a regular basis has been shown to help with weight management, reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, reduce the risk of colon cancer and help to control blood sugar.
Legumes get a bad wrap for being gas producing. As long they are introduced into your diet slowly to allow the GI tract to adapt and prepared correctly, there should be little concern for this side effect. To prepare correctly, rinse the soaked beans or peas with fresh water before cooking. A second rinse with fresh water after cooking will help remove some of the indigestible sugars that are gas producing. Another trick is to add a short strip of seaweed to the cooking pot (or Instapot) which helps release these indigestible sugars.
Recommended legumes to stock in your pantry
RECOMMENDED BEANS:
Adzuki Beans
Black Beans
Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans)
Fava Beans
Kidney Beans
Navy Beans
Pinto Beans
Soy Beans
RECOMMENDED PEAS:
Black eyed peas
Green Split Peas
Yellow Split Peas
RECOMMENDED LENTILS:
Brown
Green
Red
Black Beluga
Storage
Dried legumes are considered non-perishable and can be safely stored for 1-2 years in your pantry. They likely will not go bad after this time period, but will loose their nutritional value over time. Legumes are best kept in a cool, dry environment in an airtight container. We have great recommendations on storage containers in our first blog in the series Stock Your Pantry Series.