Lately, a very popular health craze seems to be following a gluten free diet to try help you to lose a few kilos. The question is, is it specifically avoiding gluten that is causing the weight loss or are there other factors that should be considered?
I hope you have been inspired to get creative in the kitchen and include them regularly as a part of your healthy eating plan.
So much nutrition advice is centred on what we need to eat less of, but when it comes to pulses – dry beans, peas and lentils – the message is about eating more! To end off National Nutrition Week here is a quick summary on dry beans, peas, lentils and soya.
I hope you have been inspired to get creative in the kitchen and include them regularly as a part of your healthy eating plan.
It’s easy to be educated on the benefits of eating certain foods, but we mostly want to know how to put it into practice and apply it to our daily eating routine. Here are a few more recipes celebrating dry beans, peas and lentils to inspire you to include them in your diet today.
Dry beans and dry chickpeas (not canned) need to be soaked, whereas split-peas and lentils do not require soaking. It is important to sort and rinse pulses and soya beans first to remove any debris that may exist.
Including dry bean, peas, lentils and soya as a part of your healthy eating plan
Below are some tips on how to be creative with including dry bean, peas, lentils and soya as a part of your healthy eating plan. Remember to gradually add them in order to become more familiar with these foods and minimize gastrointestinal discomfort.
The South African Guideline for Healthy Eating on legumes is: “Eat dry beans, split-peas, lentils and soya regularly”. These should form part of a healthy eating plan with a variety of foods and should be eaten regularly, i.e. at least 4 times per week.
Its National Nutrition Week 2016 and the theme this year is “Love your beans – eat dry beans, peas and lentils!” The theme was chosen in line with the international theme from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: ‘2016 International Year of Pulses: Nutritious Seeds for a Sustainable Future’.
The best way to make sure you have healthy meals is to be prepared! These healthy lunch bowls ahead of time to have your work lunches ready and waiting.
Cold winter nights certainly don’t get you in the mood for salad. So why not take out a tray of steaming roasted vegetables to brighten up your evening!