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Before we split peas about categories like beans and legumes, for the good of your health, your taste buds, and your planet, the first two characteristics to always look for are organic and locally-grown. That said, what difference do the bean/legume labels matter when either way, it all adds up to the best plant source for protein? (Read: excellent meat substitute.)
For the record, legumes are dry fruits or pods that contain seeds. Peas are cool season members of the legume family but are usually sold and cooked as fresh vegetables. Beans come in two varieties--shelled and edible pods--and are warm season legumes. No matter what you call them, all that matters is that you eat them.
P.S. At the end of our list, we'll raise a stink on the topic of gas.
14 Ways to Gives Peas (and other legumes) a Chance:
1. Adzuki Beans
This reddish brown bean is a good source of magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc copper, manganese, and B vitamins. Popular in Asian dishes, the adzuki makes a great cottage pie.
2. Black Beans
Black in color, of course, and an excellent source of the mineral molybdenum. Ideal for making a bean/veggie burger.
3. Black-Eyed Peas
Became popular in the American South because they add nitrogen to the soil. Black-eyed peas are an excellent source of calcium, folate, and vitamin A and a perfect match for collard greens.
4. Fava Beans
Dating back to ancient Greece and Rome, fava beans remain popular in Mediterranean cuisine for their creamy texture and unique flavor. A good source of dietary fiber, phosphorus, copper, and manganese, and a very good source of folate, fava beans can even be enjoyed at breakfast time.
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5. Garbanzo Beans (a.k.a. Chick Peas)
A nutty taste, a buttery texture, and plenty of molybdenum and manganese. And then there's a little thing I like to call hummus?
6. Green Peas
The tiny green pea is a very good source of vitamin C, vitamin K, manganese, dietary fiber, folate, and thiamin. Peas add a nice texture to pasta and garbanzo beans.
7. Kidney Beans
Red and yes, kidney-shaped, these beans are an excellent source of molybdenum and a very good source of folate, dietary fiber, and manganese. For an Indian flavor, try your kidney beans in a salad with potatoes.
8. Lentils
Quick and easy to prepare, lentils come in an assortment of colors: green, brown, black, yellow, red, and orange. They may be small but they pack a nutritional punch: an excellent source of molybdenum and folate, a very good source of dietary fiber and manganese and a good source of iron, protein, phosphorus, copper, thiamin, and potassium. Try your lentils baked.
9. Lima Beans
Named for the capital of Peru, lima beans have a rich, buttery texture and are an excellent source of molybdenum and a very good source of dietary fiber and manganese. Perfect for vegetarian succotash.
10. Mung Beans
Often sprouted, mung beans are the bean voted least likely to produce gas. The beans are high in potassium, fiber, magnesium, and B vitamins. The sprouts also provide vitamin C. A tasty complement to mixed veggies. http://foodandspice.blogspot.com/2009/06/mung-beans-with-mixed-vegetables.html
11. Navy Beans
A staple of the U.S. Navy diet in the 20th century (hence the name) thanks to its amazing nutritional profile: a very good source of folate, manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, copper, dietary fiber, protein, and vitamin B1. You don't have to be a militarist to enjoy these beans in a soup.
12. Pinto Beans
Easily recognizable due to the Pollock-like splashes of color, pinto beans have a creamy texture and plenty of molybdenum, fiber, folate, and manganese. A good fit when making a hearty chili.
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13. Soy Beans
The most widely grown and utilized legume in the world, soy beans are an excellent source of molybdenum, a very good source of protein and manganese, and a good source of iron, phosphorus, dietary fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, magnesium, copper, vitamin B2, and potassium. There's tofu, tempeh, soy milk, soy "meat," and a zillion other variations...but edamame is as simple and green as it gets.
14. String Beans
Also known as green beans, string beans are unusual in that the bean and pod can both be eaten. An excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin K, and manganese, string beans will add a flavorful crunch to your salads.
It's a gas, gas, gas
Beans are naturally sweetened with a family of sugars called oligosaccharides. Since we humans are not equipped with an enzyme to break down these oligosaccharides, when they reach the large intestine, they become lunch for bacteria. Hannah Holmes of Discovery Online describes what happens next: "As they gulp in the big sugars, they let out gas. In essence, your gut accumulates millions of wee bacterial farts." Fortunately, there are few ways to avoid flatulence:
1. Soak beans before cooking and then discard the water. Boil the soaked beans in fresh water.
2. Eat beans in small portions.
3. Try an over-the-counter supplement like Beano.
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