Very good health care Legumes are versatile

Healthy legumes protect against diseases
Lentils, beans and Co in this country are usually associated with hearty home cooking. But the healthy legumes can not only prepare stews, but also many other delicious foods - even desserts. The high content of protein makes it an important part of the diet.

Positive characteristics of legumes
For a long time, legumes lived a shadowy existence in the local kitchen. Even today, they bring many people only with heavy bean stew or hearty lentil soup in combination. However, this reputation fails to recognize the positive qualities of legumes. Health professionals say they should prevent overweight and help fight cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. But that's not all.

Peas, beans and Co are associated with many people only with hearty home cooking. But the healthy legumes are versatile in the kitchen - even for desserts. (Image: Lukas Gojda / fotolia.com)

Full of protein and important minerals
There are many reasons why legumes are very healthy: "Lentils, beans and peas provide us with vegetable protein and are rich in minerals such as potassium, magnesium and vitamin B", explains the nutritionist Manuela Marin in a message from the news agency dpa.

"Especially people who do not eat meat can satisfy their protein needs."

Nutrition expert Gisela Horlemann of the Consumer Service Bavaria explains in a statement that legumes are the right protein powerhouse: "With about 20 percent protein, pulses are equal in protein content to animal foods." Soya occupies a special position with about 36 percent protein.

Another advantage: "They are easy to store and long, are inexpensive, and have the perfect ecological footprint. They even bring their own nitrogen fertilizer with them, "writes Cecilia Antoni on her blog" Beanbeat "..

Satisfying and super varied
The food blogger also finds that lentils, peas and beans are extremely satisfying and incredibly varied.

The variety of lenses alone shows that: There are brown plate lenses, green, yellow and red lenses, mung lenses, mountain lenses, black Beluga lenses, green Puy lenses and Pardina lenses.

Lentils are not only easier to digest than peas or beans, they also need less soaking and cooking time because of their smaller size.

The legumes also include lupines, which some people already refer to as the new soy due to the increasing popularity.

Vegetarian schnitzel, sausages, flour and ice cream are produced from the plant. Experts recently reported that in exceptional cases poisoning by bitter lupine seeds can occur. An indication of the danger provides a bitter taste of the food.

Never consume beans raw
Chickpeas play an important role in Arabian-Oriental, Turkish and Spanish cuisine in particular: the legumes are pureed, for example, in hummus and falafel. And cooked as a whole, they add couscous, stews and salads with their mild, slightly nutty flavor that certain something.

What is unknown to many: Peanuts are also among the legumes. "The peanut belongs to the same subfamily as, for example, the pea and the bean types," says star chef Achim Schwekendiek in the dpa message.

He cooks unsalted peanuts in milk, purees them and creates an extraordinary side dish.

Beans can also be processed more than in a traditional stew or served as a side dish. Although they are also suitable for cold appetizers or salads, but they are never suitable for raw consumption, as they contain a protein compound called phasin.

The human body can not utilize this compound and reacts with a rotten stomach or intestinal inflammation. When cooking, this substance is destroyed.

Legumes for dessert
According to Cecilia Antoni, some people are frightened of preparing beans. "They suspect toxins, are unsure how to use them and prefer to keep their hands off it," according to the blogger dpa.

Dried bean kernels - as well as peas and lentils - should be soaked overnight before being cooked. She herself likes to make brownies from black beans, for example, and they get their taste from chocolate and dates. The aroma of the bean disappears.

Often one hears or reads the note, beans, peas and lentils should not be cooked in salt water, as this allegedly delayed the cooking process.

"I can not confirm that," says Antoni. "When I accidentally threw some salt into the cooking water, I was surprised: No difference in the cooking time, but in the taste. Suddenly they tasted much more aromatic. "(Ad)