Legumes: Health Benefits and Culinary Approaches to Increase Intake

Rani Polak; Edward M. Phillips; Amy Campbell

doi:10.2337/diaclin.33.4.198

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Legumes: Health Benefits and Culinary Approaches to Increase Intake

Rani Polak¹,
Edward M. Phillips¹ and
Amy Campbell²

¹Institute of Lifestyle Medicine, Joslin Diabetes Center, Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
²Good Measures—Education Content Development and Training, Boston, MA

Corresponding author: Rani Polak, Rani.Polak{at}joslin.harvard.edu

Clinical Diabetes 2015 Oct; 33(4): 198-205. https://doi.org/10.2337/diaclin.33.4.198

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TABLE 1.

Practical Pointers for Increasing Your Intake of Legumes

Make sure you always have lentils in your pantry. They are the quickest legume to prepare.

Buy legumes even if you are not sure when you are going to use them. Dry legumes are good to have on hand and rarely spoil.

The next time you enter the kitchen to cook, even just for 20 minutes, boil a pot filled with water and lentils. Once you finish your dinner, the lentils will be ready to cool and store in the refrigerator for later use.

Save time by preparing the whole package of lentils instead of just what you need right now. Store half of the leftovers in the freezer and the other half in the refrigerator.

Soaking legumes? Make a double portion and freeze the soaked legumes for future cooking.

Use the cooked legumes in your refrigerator as a side dish with your dinner, or add them to your next soup or stew.

Bring a legume salad to work for lunch.

When your refrigerator legumes are almost gone, defrost some frozen ones to replenish your supply.

Once you become comfortable cooking legumes, try preparing two different kinds at one time.

TABLE 2.

Tips for Cooking With Legumes

Soak larger legumes such as chickpeas and kidney beans for 24 hours in cold water before preparing.

When preparing legumes other than lentils, add the salt at the end of the cooking process.

Legumes absorb a lot of water. Add at least 3 cups of water to each cup of legumes you cook.

Drain prepared legumes well before storing. It will increase their shelf life and improve their quality for later cooking.

During cooking, use a ladle to occasionally remove the foam that rises to the top.

Legume salads taste even better when allowed to marinate with the other ingredients for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Use the legume cooking liquid instead of water when you process legumes to make hummus or other types of spreads or dips.

Add legumes to meat recipes. The taste combination is great!

Add a squeeze of lemon any time you feel that your legume salad or soup needs more flavor.

Ready for a challenge? Try undercooking legumes for salad, until they are just partially soft. Then let them stand in the dressing for more than 30 minutes for a great texture and taste.