Vegetables. Myths, truths and benefits

Myths and truths about legumes .

What if legumes are fattening, if they are not fattening, if they are healthy than if they are not.

What if how do I make them, if they are old, if they were only cooked by our grandmothers and our mothers … STOP legumes are much more than you think , their nutritional value is exceptional and makes them a very complete food in all its varieties .

I’m crazy about chickpeas , beans and lentils. I’m going to explain a little more about our friends, the legumes that on more than one occasion have taken us all out of trouble in the kitchen.

What exactly are they?

They are plants, yes, plants. And they bear fruit in a pod. Lentils, soybeans, chickpeas, lupins, beans , beans, and dried peas are some of them. So if you thought peas were a vegetable you were wrong.

Rich, delicious

Not only are they rich in calcium, iron, starch, fiber and contain very little fat, but they are economical and nutritionally, as I indicated at the beginning of this article, they are great.

Its fats are good and unsaturated and the fat gain, as in everything, will depend on how you do it, the amount you consume, etc.

Soaked or packaged

The big brands are in charge of making our lives easier because with the little time we have many times to cook, if it weren’t for the packaged legumes many times, you wouldn’t even try them.

If you buy in this format, the ideal is that you do not skimp on price and buy them of good quality.

If you are going to buy them in bulk, which I recommend for their starch, quality and favor local trade, the ideal thing is that you put them to soak twelve hours before consumption (if you leave them for a few more hours nothing happens). In the case of lentils you will not need as much time.

The water left over from the soaking depends on each one or the traditions that are followed at home. There are those who say that if you use it to cook the porridge it can be more indigestible and flatulent.

Do not shed the skin

Have you ever noticed that cooking fabes or chickpeas sometimes lose the skin. This is due to the amount of water you are using . I personally recommend that you go from less to more, that you watch your stew and add water or broth depending on the needs of your dish.

In the case of beans the water can be cold, in chick peas the water must be boiling and in lentils warm.

Cooking and salt

Since it hardens, you should add the salt in the last five minutes of cooking . If you are going to use broth to prepare them, you may not even need it.

As for cooking, during the first 5 or 10 minutes they should boil quickly and you cannot cover them .

Remember to remove the foam they secrete with a slotted spoon since it is not advisable to take it. In the case of lentils and beans, cooking begins with cold water and chickpeas with warm water.

Heavy digestions

There is talk of flatulence and heavy digestion, well, I’ll give you a little trick. If you want to avoid them, use cloves injected into an onion or garlic (but remember to remove it when finished) or bicarbonate which also reduces cooking time and avoids this problem.

Reinvent your vegetable dishes

In addition to using them in traditional stews, legumes are currently present in most bars and restaurants. Greek recipes such as hummus or byessar (bean cream) are the culprits, since they are a very easy to prepare, delicious, healthy, digestive and cold snack.

Timeless

For these reasons, legumes are a timeless dish , you can prepare a lentil , chickpea or bean salad with cod in the middle of summer or enjoy some vegetable lentils as soon as autumn begins. They will always be just as good for you and will sit you down delicious!