Protein Pairs - Matching Grains & Legumes

But…beans and legumes are an incomplete protein…

I am a big proponent of lentils, legumes, and whole grains. They are an ancient food and staple in all traditional cultures, our digestive systems adapted over centuries to be able to digest them.

They are some of the most cost effective and sustainable foods to grow. Something we need to consider as we face more and more sustainability issues.

Most lentils and legumes are not complete proteins. Their amino acid profile is lacking in adequate amounts of tryptophan and methionine. Not a problem— by adding the right whole grain to the right lentil or legume you can complete their profile. We will look at soy later, as it deserves its own category – let’s look at a few lentils and legumes and their matches.

Aduki beans — Highly nutritious and tender.  Adukis are small, tender red beans that are used extensively in Japanese, Asian cultures and macrobiotic cooking. They are used in stews, soups, as a sweet bean paste in mochi and red bean ice cream. Energetically, adukis are neutral, sweet and sour.  They nourish the Heart,  Small Intestines and Spleen. They tonify, astringe and drain and are fabulous for treating edema, diarrhea and aiding in weight loss. Stay away from aduki if you are very thin, frail or Yin deficient. Combine adukis with barley and you get a complete protein profile.

Mung beans —Native to India, these little green beans have become a big part of the Chinese diet. Energetically, mung beans are cool and sweet. They nourish and drain excess from the Gall Bladder, Liver, Heart and Stomach. Very detoxifying, we use mung beans to treat excess patterns like Summer Heat, high blood pressure and to clear out heavy metals. They also clear the arteries and help lower cholesterol. Avoid mung beans if you are chronically tired, fatigued have heavy watery diarrhea or are chronically cold.  Combine with barley for a complete protein.

Lentils and peas — Lentils are members of the pea family and native to India. They are high in calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sulfur, vitamin A.  The grow easily, don’t need to be pre-soaked to cook and are the easiest legume to digest. Peas and lentils are a great starting point if you are new to legumes.  They are good to eat with wheat or peas (not a typo – eat dried peas with fresh peas) to make them a complete protein. Lentils are neutral and sweet. They nourish the Heart, Kidneys, Spleen and Stomach. Safe for excess and deficiency conditions. They stimulate the adrenals and increase vitality. Combine with wheat berries for a full protein profile. Organic wheat berries will be much lower in gluten and allergen triggers than the varieties of wheat that have pesticides, herbicides and gmo’s on them.

Black beans — Black beans are used heavily in Spanish and Mexican cuisine. Native to Spain, these beans are packed with nutrition but are very low in lysine. Black beans energetically are warm and sweet. They nourish the Kidneys and Spleen are used for treating Kidney disharmonies, backaches, reproductive issues, weak ankles and knees, and hot flashes. A whole grain rice (not Uncle Ben’s) which is naturally high in lysine is the perfect match for black beans.

Garbanzo beans or chickpeas — Used in Middle Eastern and Basque cooking, chick peas take a little longer to cook.  They are very high in calcium, iron and vitamin A and potassium. Chickpeas are the stars in recipes like baba ganouj, falafel and hummus. Chickpeas are sweet and neutral. They nourish the Heart, Stomach and Spleen and pair with rice. They are a good source of unsaturated fats. Craving hummus now?

With a little creativity, lentils and legumes can become a healthy welcome habit in your diet.

Be well,

April