Legumes - how to make them a superfood
Legumes - one of nature’s superfoods, mineral-rich, full of loads of beautiful cancer-fighting nutrients, tasty, versatile, and better in your burgers than meat. We’ve been consuming them since humans started tilling the land and yet we don’t consume them in the ways that we used to that took advantage of these great properties but I am going to show you how and it’s incredibly simple.
Legumes contain some tricksters who can be problematic:
Phytic acid - this acts an an anti-nutrient because it binds to the minerals in your foods (including whatever else you are eating it with).
Lectins: these are part of the plant’s defence strategy to not get eaten and can make digestion and absorption difficult.
Oligosaccharides: difficult to digest carbohydrates) that are responsible for bean’s gassy reputation.
Vegetarians and vegans can benefit from eating mineral-absorbing enhancers, such as garlic and onions which increase the bioavailability of iron and zinc in plant foods. But soaking your legumes in brine and cooking them correctly is something that everyone should do because it breaks down the phytates, lectins and oligosaccharides, which then means that the beans contain far more minerals AND those minerals are easier to absorb AND they stop you getting gassy. Win win win.
Here’s how:
Add 1 teaspoon unrefined salt
1 cup of red beans, peas, or lentils to
3 cups of water
Place all in a jar with a lid and set aside to soak at room temperature for 24hrs, ideally somewhere warm (25-38º). You will notice bubbles forming as they ferment.
Drain and wash them thoroughly under running water. Place them in saucepan (ideally a heavy pot for even heat distribution) with enough water to just cover and bring to the boil. Skim off any foam that forms (that’s where any remaining oligosaccharides are hiding ) and reduce to the most minimal simmer. Top up the water if required, there should be barely any left when they are ready, and cooked this way the beans will be buttery soft. You have not tasted chickpeas until you’ve cooked them this way!
Pulse Cooking Time
Black beluga lentils 20mins
Whole lentils (put, brown etc.) and small beans (adzuki, mung etc.) 30mins
Black-eyed peas, butter beans 50 mins
Dried Whole peas 70 mins
Cannellini beans, black beans, borlotti beans, dried broad beans, kidney beans, pinto beans. 2.5 hrs
Haricot beans 3.5 hours
Chickpeas, black pinto beans 4 hours
Many people struggle to digest legumes especially if they are challenged with digestion in general. I found them hugely problematic as I was healing but mostly I was able to eat them, or certain types of legumes when prepared this way. Even though I can now eat legumes no matter how they are prepared, I still choose to eat them this way because they are both way more nutritious and perhaps more importantly, way more delicious.