This Is How To Eat Legumes For A Smaller Waist

Legumes are familiar dietary staple for vegetarians and vegans but their benefits can extend to meat eaters as well! Legumes are a great source of plant based protein but also contain, B-vitamins, potassium, iron, zinc and several other important minerals. They are a low-fat, complex carbohydrate and fiber source. AND, they can reduce cholesterol, reduce the risk of heart disease, improve insulin sensitivity and keep blood sugar levels stable. Perfect, right?

It gets better. People who regularly eat legumes have been shown to have smaller waists! Time to stock up on common legumes like black beans, butter beans, cannellini beans, chickpeas, soybeans, kidney beans and lentils. But remember, they all have varying degrees of vitamins and minerals so makes sure you are getting a variety. One of the best parts is that they can be easily worked into your meals and often cost far less than meat!

The only real drawback to legumes is that they can make you feel gassy and a little bloated. This can be helped by soaking and rinsing them first. It is actually a really important step. Rinsing and soaking makes the legumes easier to digest which will give you the most bang for your nutritional buck. It will increase nutrient absorption and prevent gas from developing. It is not necessary to soak lentils but it is a good idea to rinse them after cooking so you don’t get bloated.

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How to add them to your diet

Here are some ways you can easily add legumes to your meals:

• add them to your salad. They will not only provide substance and texture but extra protein and fiber!
• add them to your meat sauce. By including beans or lentils in your sauce, you are increasing the nutrient profile while making it heartier.
• add them to your soup. Adding lentils and beans to your vegetable soups is another great way to bump them up. Or, why not just make lentil soup?
• make a curry. Legumes are wonderful in a curry. For real.

Try this delicious soup to get you started!

Coconut Curry Lentil Soup

 

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp coconut oil (or olive oil)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste (or ketchup)
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• ½ tsp hot red pepper flakes
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 400ml can coconut milk
• 1 400g can diced tomatoes
• 1.5 cups dry red lentils
• 2-3 handfuls of chopped kale or spinach
• salt and pepper, to taste
• Garnish: chopped cilantro (fresh coriander) and/or vegan sour cream

Instructions

1. In a stockpot, heat the coconut oil over medium heat and stir-fry the onion, garlic and ginger until the onion is translucent, a couple minutes.
2. Add the tomato paste (or ketchup), curry powder, and red pepper flakes and cook for another minute.
3. Add the vegetable broth, coconut milk, diced tomatoes and lentils. Cover and bring to a boil, then simmer on low heat for 20-30 minutes, until the lentils are very tender. Season with salt and pepper.
4. {Make-Ahead: May be cooled, frozen in air-tight containers, and re-heated over medium-low heat.}
5. Before serving, stir in the kale/spinach and garnish with cilantro and/or vegan sour cream.

What are your favourite ways to eat legumes?

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