The Cardiologist's Wife

Edamame, A Powerhouse Of Nutrition And Tasty Too!

[ Post by Lisa Tedder ][ Post on August 30, 2012 ][ In Diet Tips and Better Eating Ideas, For new Mom's, Salads, Vegetables and Fruits ]

Today I’m featuring a legume instead of a fruit or vegetable in my effort to inspire my readers to eat better (myself included!).  Unless you live under a rock or you have never given any thought to what you eat, you’ve probably heard quite a bit about edamame or soybeans and how wonderfully healthy they are.  While some cultures have long embraced soy in their diet, Westerners have been resistant.  Mention tofu and you’ll get a negative reaction or at best, some joke.  After all, my husband remembers very well the time I tried to make a tofu stir fry.  It tasted so bad we couldn’t even pick out the vegetables and we ate bananas, bread and cheese for dinner as my husband had a meeting to make.  However, I’m as tenacious as a pit bull and seldom give up on any food.  Just because you don’t like it prepared one way, doesn’t mean it won’t be good another way.

 

Why should we eat soy or edamame?   Edamame are the unprocessed soy beans which you can find frozen in most grocery stores.  One half cup of edamame contains about 120 calories, 9 grams of fiber, 11 grams of protein, 10 % of you daily needs of vitamin C,  8% of vitamin A, 10% of iron and 4% of calcium.  Edamame is a great substitute for other protein sources like beef because it is low in fat and cholesterol and costs less to produce.  It has as much fiber as 4 slices of whole wheat bread in that 1/2 cup, which is impressive.  Best of all, there are so many ways to eat soy; edamame can be added to soups, salads, eaten as a snack, made into pesto and added to other vegetables.   Soy milk is a great substitute for milk for those who are lactose intolerant.  It can be used just about any way milk can – on cereal, in soups and sauces, etc.  If you like it, you can also put tofu into many different dishes as well, even desserts.  There are many claims about the health benefits of soy but there are no definitive long term studies to back up these claims.  That said, soy may reduce the risk of heart disease, certain cancers, bone loss and menopausal symptoms.  The biggest drawback to soy is that it is one of the eight foods responsible for a majority of food allergies so if you have any reaction when eating soy, it would be best to leave it out of your diet.  Overall, soy is a very healthy addition to your diet.

 

And of course I have a recipe for you to try.  I had seen this recipe awhile back and like anything I see that is unusual, I have to try it.  Last night I finally got around to it and we all liked the results.  It was also super easy to make.  I washed the green beans and snapped off the ends, steamed them, thawed the edamame, heated the black beans and threw the rest together.  ANYONE could make this.  I also thought about 1/2 to 1 cup of chopped dried apricots would be good added to this salad.  It was a great side to the baked salmon we had but it would be good with chicken too.

 

 

Asian Three Bean Salad

1 lb. fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces

1 10 oz. bag frozen shelled edamame

1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

3 Tbsp. canola oil

3 Tbsp. rice vinegar

1/4 cup 100% fruit apricot preserves

1 tsp. peeled and grated fresh ginger

2 scallions, thinly sliced

salt to taste

Microwave green beans till just tender, about 3 to 4 minutes.  Thaw frozen edamame and combine with green beans.  You can heat the black beans if desired or simply add them to the other beans.  Add scallions to bean mixture.  Combine the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk till throughly mixed.  Pour over beans and toss gently.  Serve chilled or at room temperature.  This will keep well in the refrigerator about 3 days.

Upadated on August 30, 2012

One Response to “Edamame, A Powerhouse Of Nutrition And Tasty Too!”

1. Mary Lee says:

   August 30, 2012 at 4:17 pm

   Thanks for the encouragement and recipe.

   Reply