LEGUMES
Beans, Peas and Lentils - Sun Hyland

Legumes are a versatile source of protein and helpful to those who wish to have less animal products in their diet. Although many people find them difficult to digest, this is often due to incorrect preparation or inappropriate food combining. But prepared correctly and combined with the right foods, legumes can provide us not only with protein, but also potassium, calcium, iron  and B vitamins, as well as carbohydrates and unsaturated fats. If you are just introducing legumes into your diet, eat small amounts at first to allow the body time to develop the enzymes required for effective digestion, and be careful to prepare them correctly.

Preparation
There are several steps and hints that are essential for the correct preparation of legumes- it might make it seem complicated at first, but once you get the idea, its easy!
Soaking All legumes, apart from red lentils, need to be soaked before cooking. Soaking softens the skin, releases the phytic acid (so minerals become more available) and releases the gases that cause flatulence. Use 4 cups water to 1 cup legume. Some legumes can be soaked for a shorter time, but in general 12 hours or overnight is a safe amount of time. Be sure to discard the soaking water before cooking.

Cooking
Legumes need to be simmered for at least 1 hour, although many prefer to use a pressure cooker which halves the cooking time. Adding a piece of soaked Kombu (seaweed), or a Bay Leaf can help the cooking process. Use 3 cups of water to 1 cup of legume, more for the longer cooking beans like Chickpea, Soy Bean or Lima Bean. Simmer at a low boil, don’t boil vigorously!
Hints If a foam forms on top of the water during the cooking process, be sure to scoop it off. Don’t add salt at the start of the cooking process, they will not soften. Adding some salt right near the end of the cooking process will, however, improve their digestibility. 
Once larger beans are cooked (i.e Lima, Chickpea) leave them to soak in the cooking water for an hour or so for a buttery soft, consistently cooked bean.
Always cook twice what you need and then freeze half in an airtight container- they will keep for months and defrost quickly in warm water.
Generally the cooking water is discarded, however the cooking water for aduki beans makes a nourishing drink, and Chickpea cooking water is often used in cooking for Hommus or soups.
1 cup of dried beans will yield approximately 3 cups of cooked beans.

Eating
To improve digestibility, there’s a number of things to consider. Always chew legumes well. Serving legumes with vinegar or lemon and some good quality oil helps to break down the protein chains and make them more accessible to the body- it’s preferable to marinate the beans if possible. Warming spices and herbs are always helpful also. For maximum digestibility, avoid combining with large quantities of grain or starch foods, but this is not always necessary- it depends on your constitution and how carefully the legumes have been prepared.

Aduki Bean Also known as Adzuki, Azuki or Red Bean, Aduki beans are quite easy to digest and very high in protein (21%) These little red wonders only take about 1 ½ hours to cook and are helpful for detoxification and weight loss.

Chickpeas Also known as Garbanzo Beans, Chickpeas are high in unsaturated fat and are also a good source of iron. Their sweet flavour benefits the spleen and heart. There are a number of different sizes and colours available, the smaller ones still need to be soaked overnight and will take 2-3 hour to cook.

Lentils You can find about 50 different types of lentils in India- but it seems that most have similar nutritional properties. They are generally easy to digest as they lack the sulfur contained in beans. Lentils are high in calcium, sodium, potassium and vitamin A as well as protein, and they can help lower blood cholesterol and regulate blood sugar. You can get away with soaking them for only a few hours (red lentils don’t have to be soaked at all but I like to give them half an hour or so) and they will generally be cooked in under an hour.

For more detailed information on legumes, their preparation and nutritional properties, refer to Healing with Wholefoods, Paul Pitchford, 2002, North Atlantic Books or
The World’s Healthiest Foods http://www.whfoods.com

Sun Hyland 2007

For more information on lentils and beans, check out our wholefood glossary:
Lentils
Chickpeas
Adzuki Beans