What Are Legumes?
You’ve probably heard that legumes are good for you, but what are legumes, and how can we increase our daily intake of these healthy little beans?
Dole Nutrition state that:
“There are two types of legumes: mature and immature. Mature legumes are the dried seeds found inside pods that hang from the stems of certain plants. They are excellent sources of fibre (approximately 15 g/cup), rich in protein, and low in fat…Green beans and peas, commonly referred to as vegetables, are actually immature legumes because they are harvested before maturing on the plant.”
Well known legumes include alfalfa, clover, peas, beans, lentils, lupins, and peanuts (a peanut is a legume whose pod does not split open on its own).
Why should you eat legumes?
Here are just a few reasons:
- Excellent source of protein.
- Good source fiber.
- Low in fat.
- Most varieties provide half our folate requirements.
- A good source of phosphorus, potassium, iron, zinc, calcium, and selenium.
- Contain Thiamin (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Niacin (B3), B5 and B6.
- Rich in antioxidants.
- Low Glycemic Index.
What counts as a serving?
Flickr: roger smith
A serving is 3 heaped tablespoons of beans. Remember, beans and pulses count as a serving of your daily vegetable requirements, but only as 1 portion, no matter how many you eat.
Interesting facts about legumes
Below are a list of the nutrient highlights from some of the more commonly consumed bean varieties, taken from Dole Nutrition:
- Red beans – top antioxidant bean containing more antioxidants than blueberries when compared gram-per-gram. Reds are also the top bean source of iron.
- Kidney beans – second ranking antioxidant bean on the USDA’s list, and are also a top fibre source.
- Black-eyed beans – these beans contain more calcium than any other bean, as well as being a source of folate and magnesium.
- Black beans – in addition to ranking among the best antioxidant bean sources, black beans are the top bean source of magnesium.
- Pinto beans – the top bean source of selenium, they are also ranked higher than the blueberry in their antioxidant power.
How to eat more legumes
Choose beans as your protein source instead of high fatty meats, or dairy products regularly.
Change your favorite recipe by replacing half of the meat with legumes.
Stock your pantry with a variety of canned legumes for a quick meal, or side dish.
Prepare soups, stews and casseroles with added beans.
Have a vegetarian day once each week.
Try a new legume each week – most supermarkets stock a wide variety of both dried and canned.
Vary your lunches with a bean soup, or salad, instead of your normal sandwich.
Use pureed beans as the basis for dips and spreads.
Snack on a handful of soy nuts rather than crisps or chocolate.
Remember, many canned beans are high in added salt, look out for the ‘no added salt’ versions, and always rinse throughly with cold water before adding to your recipes.
Check out the Lowdown on Food Labels, for more details on what to look out for when purchasing food items.
Note: You may also want to take a look at 6 Ways to Add Legumes to Your Diet. I’ve got a bunch of articles dealing with foods and nutrients that aren’t well understood. Check out What is Chicory, or What is Magnesium as examples.
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22 Comments
CONSPIRACY!!!!!
05.03.2008
The government wants more control, but it wants to accomplish this subtly. It has decided to make up what are now being called legumes. These don’t really exist! It’s just a government experiment so they can see if the public can be manipulated. DON’T GIVE IN!!! WE MUST RETAIN OUR FREEDOM OF THOUGHT!!!!
PEANUTS ARE NUTS!!!
BEANS ARE BEANS!!!
ALMONDS ARENT PEACHES!!!
AND LEGUMES ARENT REAL!!!!
Mary Alley
05.03.2008
Legumes are amazing sources of nutrition! They are very real and tasty! Dont listen to the idiots and ignorant people who try to tell you that legumes do not exist! In my heart, and in my garden, legumes stand strong and true. For all the true believers out there, stand strong! We will win the battle against stupidity!
thanks
Aaron
05.03.2008
I actually agree with Conspiracy. legumes are just a figment of mary’s imagination
Melanie
05.05.2008
Hi all,
Thanks for your comments. I’m not really sure how calling peas, beans and lentils legumes equals a conspiracy.
Can someone explain??
Chris
05.07.2008
Hi Melanie,
Don’t mind them; they have been going on about this legume conspiracy for a couple weeks now. Mary Alley, bless her heart, decided to prove them wrong and found this website. Sorry you had to be brought into the middle of this. They are just being ignorant people.
Mary
05.07.2008
Hey sorry Melanie!
I’m in an argument with a couple friends (rich and aaron) who have decided that legumes dont exist. Its pretty intense. We have now agreed to disagree. But they are still insane, yes you heard me boys, you’re insane. Its good to meet another person who actually believes in reality though. Thanks for your website! Chris, love the comment
Peace and Love!
Bartholomuel aka Conspiracy
05.07.2008
hey melanie, so this all started when my friend and i were told that almonds were a part of the peach family and we said almonds were nuts, not peaches. then someone told us that peanuts werent nuts either, and this might be true, but its more fun to say legumes arent real. its just a bunch of random fun. mary and i have decided to put aside our differences on the issue though and are good friends, even though she calls me insane. i think she is insane, but thats a whole different story. so melanie, dont give up your freedom of thought. that i the whole point. thank you for your concern on this perplexing issue
Melanie
05.07.2008
Oh…now I see!! ;-o
nayoska
10.28.2008
hey Melanie , why are legumes included in the protein group?
and what does it do to your body.
( please answer i need it for a homework)
Melanie
10.29.2008
Hi Nayoska.
Legumes are included in the protein group because they are an excellent source of protein.
Protein is important for growth and repair of the bodies cells, muscles etc. Most people get too much protein from animal sources (red meat etc), so adding more legumes into your diet is a healthy alternative source of protein.
As I stated above health benefits of legumes are:
* Good source fibre.
* Low in fat.
* A good source of phosphorus, potassium, iron, zinc, calcium, folate, and selenium.
* Contain Thiamin (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Niacin (B3), B5 and B6.
* Rich in antioxidants.
Hope this helps!
Kevin
02.12.2010
Hi Melanie,
I’m curious what you mean by this statement, “Remember, beans and pulses count as a serving of your daily vegetable requirements, but only as 1 portion, no matter how many you eat.” How is it that no matter how many servings I eat of legumes (conspiracy or no conspiracy) that this only counts as 1 serving of vegetables? Is this a reference to nutrients?
Please elaborate.
Thank you,
Kevin T.
Melanie
02.13.2010
Kevin,
Yes, it’s in reference to the nutrient content. If possible it’s better to get plenty of variety into your diet, i.e. by eating a green veg, an orange veg, a purple fruit, etc per day. This is because each colour represents a different range of nutrients, and helps to ensure your diet is varied and nutrient packed.
Same way if you eat 5 bananas per day, it really only counts as one portion.
Hope that makes sense now!
Kevin
02.16.2010
Hi Melanie,
Great! Thanks for the reply. Any recommended reading material for general nutrition help?
Thanks again,
Kevin T.
Melanie
02.22.2010
Hi Kevin,
If you check out my welcome page I’ve linked to some popular articles about healthy eating, etc: http://www.dietriffic.com/welcome-to-dietriffic/
Also, I’m in the process of finishing up a healthy eating ebook, which should be finished very very soon. Perhaps that would be helpful for you!!!
Carol
02.17.2010
Hi Melanie: I am still confused about the legumes. so we can eat as many legumes of the same type in one sitting, or do we eat a variety of legumes at any one meal to equal 1 portion.
(please help on a yeast cleans and need to eat legumes)
Carol
Melanie
02.22.2010
Hi Carol,
A serving is 3 heaped tablespoons of cooked beans, peas, lentils Try to include legumes in your diet at least two or three times per week, but preferably more.
So, that could be 3 tablespoons of kidney beans one night, and 3 tablespoons of red split lentils the next. Or, it could be 3 tablespoons from a canned 4 bean mix.
Does that make sense?
Vaibhav
05.21.2010
Hi Melanie,
Still confused with your explanation. So in your replies to Kevin and Carol, what you explain is that legumes make up just 1 portion means they provide just 1 of the nutrients that we need, and we still need to eat other things. Right? Or am I still not getting it?
Melanie
05.24.2010
Vaibhav,
It’s not that legumes only provide one nutrient, but if you eat them at every meal you may be missing out on other important nutrients. Focus on getting lots of different coloured produce into your diet such as red, green, yellow, purple, white, etc.
One serving of legumes is equal to 3 heaped tablespoons, but this can only count towards 1 portion of your daily vegetable needs.
So, if you need to eat 5 portions of vegetables every day, and you have lentils for lunch, you will need to eat 4 other portions of vegetables throughout the day, for example a serving of broccoli, carrots, spinach, and eggplant.
Does that make sense?
Vaibhav
05.24.2010
Yes, finally!
Thanks for your replies!
Vaibhav
05.21.2010
Hi Melanie!
).
Nice page and good information.
Actually beans and lentils/pulses being protein rich is not a new thing to me being an Indian, and son to a caring mother who loves to cook and feed the best (healthy) food to her children.
Now, being a grown up and fond of cooking, I am buying and cooking lentils here in Europe as well.
In Portugal they call vegetables “Legumes” and my girlfriend once taught me “vegetables are vegetables and legumes are legumes” (till then I thought “legumes” are just translation to vegetables.
So today I decided to find out and found your website among others.
Well, all that text above says that legumes are not a conspiracy (in India we eat them DAILY in our lunch/dinner since many centuries).
But yea, some people might be raising their eyebrows because in USA this might be a marketing (like they sell everything with a “health” label).
No offence to anybody.
We are vegetarians (like, it’s not a fashion for us, but just a way of life – we don’t mention we are vegetarians as if it’s very natural being vegetarian, we mention non-vegetarians as non-vegetarians
Have you heard of that Indian lentil(pulse) soup called Dal? Very energy rich.
At my home here, besides 4 kinds of beans, I have at least 5 different types of lentils (pulses). They all have different qualities/properties. Some are easy to cook some take longer. Some are good for fibre some with low fibre. Some are good for digestion, some are to stop/slow loose motion (like diarrhea).
Very often I tell these things to my European colleagues and friends because they think vegetarian diet is something exotic that is not affordable everyday and also doesn’t satisfy one’s dietary needs daily, that it’s just leaves and herbs and not “real” stuff.
Of course we have beans and lentils (LEGUMES).
Love, peace and health to all!
Melanie
05.24.2010
Hi Vaibhav,
Yes, I’ve heard of dahl, I’ve tried it actually. When I worked in London on dietetic placement we visited the home of some Indian ladies, who very kindly showed us how to make dahl and chapatti. Then we got to taste them, very delicious! I am actually going to make some chapatti this week, perhaps I’ve serve with lentils!
Vaibhav
05.24.2010
Oh wow,
How I miss mom’s chapattis here.
In a standard meal, we have Dahl-Rice-Chapatti-Vegetables (DRCV), which could by accompanied by salad, pickles, buttermilk (during summer), papad (or as you might know as its south Indian name “papadam”) etc.
But that standard main course DRCV contains the basic things (protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, oil, minerals, butter, spices etc). We eat chapatti with the vegetable dish (enrolling in each bite using our God gifted fingers
) and mix dahl with rice.
Try also Dal fry (dahl fry) with Jeera(cumin) rice. It’s yummy!
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