If you serve legumes often...

Posted: Mon, Dec 15 2008, 12:28 pm Post subject: if you serve legumes often...

If you serve legumes (lentils, beans, chickpeas) often, how often do you make sure to serve a "real" protein like meat, chicken, fish, dairy or eggs? Is that reserved just for shabbos, or do you make sure to serve "real" protein occasionally during the week as well?

Posted: Mon, Dec 15 2008, 12:29 pm Post subject:

Why is this amother?

Legumes are a real protein.

Moderator Joined: Dec 26 2005 Age: 33 Posts: 11430

I don't understand the question. Just because legumes aren't meat doesn't mean they are not real protein.

We eat a lot of beans during the week because it's cheap and we like them a lot.

Diamond Member Joined: Aug 03 2007 Posts: 4448

They are protein but different protein than those coming from animal sources (eggs, milk, meat), I guess that's what amother means?!

Posted: Mon, Dec 15 2008, 12:42 pm Post subject:

Moderator Joined: Dec 26 2005 Age: 33 Posts: 11430

I didn't assume that you were the same amother from the other thread. I thought it was someone that was putting down people that eat protein alternatives to meat.

Platinum Member Joined: Aug 12 2007 Posts: 20492

If I were serving beans and legumes a lot during the week, I think I would take a break 1-2 weekdays (could be Shabbat leftovers) just to vary. I know there is a whole world out there where beans/legumes/rice are the mainstay of their diet but for some reason, growing up in my household, I still think of meat and fish as "the main course". I think that slowly, with the way the Western world has got to change now, people will lose some of that mind-set.
Is that a good answer, amother?

We eat a lot of legumes. We have meat at least once a week other than shabbos. I wouldn't mind going meatless during the week but DH cooks one night and I guess it's his perogative to make chicken... We also have salmon or tuna (canned) about once a week.

there is a great cookbook "The Family Vegetarian Cookbook" by Nava Atlas that has a lot of recipes with beans (and tons of other ones too) that make them interesting. I also like to prepare legumes in different ethnic styles - Mexican, Indian, etc.

You can make a complete protein by pairing beans with rice. Other legumes I think work the same way but I'm not sure with what foods.

Posted: Mon, Dec 15 2008, 12:57 pm Post subject:

Posted: Mon, Dec 15 2008, 12:57 pm Post subject:

Nava Atlas is good. Also great is Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

Platinum Member Joined: Aug 12 2007 Posts: 20492

I think I read that the "pairing" of legumes with each other or rice to produce a whole protein, is bunk. I haven't been seeing that mentioned in modern literature (recent articles).
If you think you don't eat enough veggies, then add more cukes (cheap) with the skin on, oranges (juice oranges are cheap in Israel), bananas. People need far less food intake than we have been led to believe.

I try to vary our diet as much as possible (quinoa, bulgur, brown rice, chickpeas, split peas, rye flour) and serve larger portions of grains than of animal protein (eggs, dairy, fish, chicken). Yes, it is cheaper, but I also believe that it's a healthy way to eat a truly well-balanced diet.
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Posted: Mon, Dec 15 2008, 2:14 pm Post subject:

Amother, another thing you can do is use the beans to stretch the meat (esp. lentils & ground beef I find). You can do chili w/ some beans and some meat. You can do tacos the same way, shepard's pie also.
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We eat lots of legumes: beans, lentils, dried peas, soy. All the protein a person needs for a day can be found in a peanut butter sandwich, it's really not that much. You don't need to think of legumes as "the protein source" in the meal as you would with a traditional "meat, potatoes and veg" plate. Grains also have protein, so do vegetables to some extent. Each food by itself may not contain every amino acid but by varying what you eat, you'll cover all your bases very easily. So for grain don't just think wheat (I.e. pasta, bread, bulghur) but try rye, barley, spelt, oats, millet, quinoa. Many of these are very cheap especially if bought in bulk. Store them in the freezer if you have the ability to do this, they'll keep better. Many vegetarian recipes balance out proteins by adding even quite small amounts of nuts or seeds to a grain dish to add those few missing amino acids. E.g. sprinkling toasted sesame seeds, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, throwing in some roasted cashews, stirring a little peanut butter or tahini into a sauce.

Hope this helps.

Senior Member Joined: Nov 20 2006 Posts: 154

Very good moonmama. Can you suggest some good recipes, please?