Legumes

Beans and other legumes are the poster child for high-fiber foods. A single serving can provide 15 grams or more of fiber. They also have been proven effective at keeping you from feeling hungry the longest and have been linked to reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes, and certain kinds of cancer.

Of course, as I said, you probably won’t eat beans every day, but you should strive for two or three servings a week. And there are lots of ways to incorporate legumes into your diet. This book contains 70 recipes that feature just legumes and a number more where they are included as an ingredient along with other high-fiber foods.

Here are a few suggestions for including more legumes in your diet:

• Use legumes as snacks. There are a number of recipes here for bean dips, spreads, and other snack items. True, most of them only contain 2 or 3 grams of fiber, but combined with a high-fiber dipper like fresh vegetables or whole wheat pita chips, they can contribute quickly to your daily fiber goal.

• Add them into other recipes. Beans and chickpeas make a great addition to many soups, salads, and dishes like rice or grain side Add them into other recipes. Beans and chickpeas make a great addition to many soups, salads, and dishes like rice or grain side

• Think of different ways to use them in dishes. True, you can make chili or baked beans, but there are also things like burritos, split pea soup, and marinated bean salads.

Here are examples of the amount of fiber in a serving of a few common legumes:
• Navy beans—19 grams
• Split peas—16 grams
• Lentils—16 grams
• Black beans—15 grams
• Lima beans—13 grams
• Kidney beans—11 grams
• Black-eyed peas—9 gram

This Tip was published in '500 HIGH-FIBER RECIPES by "DICK LOGUE" - p24 To p25'