Soak your beans for better digestion and less embarrassment!

For most of my life I was under the impression that my body wasn’t able digest beans and legumes, so even though I cooked them for my husband, I avoided them like the plague despite really liking their flavour. Put it this way,I didn’t even want to be near me if I accidentally ate them! (so embarrassing!) Not only that, but I had painful stomach aches and poor digestion for days afterwards.

It was not until a few years ago that I discovered why I had such a hard time with beans. Low and behold, I had been preparing them all wrong!

Traditional societies, whose diets are legumes based, prepare them with great care to make them as digestible as possible, allowing their bodies to absorb as much of the nutrients as possible.  It would appear as we evolved into this quick-fix, convenience based society, we just started skipping all the important steps.

Beans and legumes contain what are called phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors, which not only makes them hard to digest,  but also blocks the absorption of many of the beneficial nutrients. These acids and inhibitors can only be neutralized when the beans are soaked for 24 hours. (12 for small beans or lentils)

Trust me, it seems like a long time to soak, but it makes a world of difference. You’ll actually enjoy beans without any kind of stomach upset and you’ll also be able to absorb all the beneficial nutrients.

Just plan ahead! Put them in a bowl, cover them with plenty of water and forget about them for 24 hours.

Once the beans have soaked, drain the soaking water and place in a pot with fresh water and cook according to cooking instructions on the package. Some legumes like chick peas are a bit more high maintenance and can take 6-8 hours to cook, so plan to cook them on the weekend when you’re around, or put them in a slow cooker and forget about them.

What about canned beans? Although the high temperatures and pressure they are cooked under reduce phytate content, many of the nutrients are lost and the proteins become denatured. So eat these sparingly.

So with all that said, and to encourage you to test this out, I’m sharing one of my favorite snack recipes with you. “Yummy hummus”, made with soaked chickpeas.

Yummy Hummus

2 cups cooked chickpeas
2 cloves of garlic minced
3 tbsp raw organic tahini
4 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp sea salt
2 tbsp filtered water

Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth.
Consistency should be a smooth paste, so add a bit more water for a creamier consistency.
Have a quick taste and add a pinch more salt of necessary.

Drizzle with olive oil, and enjoy with sliced cucumbers and carrots. Yum!

Advertisement