Popular Pulses and Ways to Eat Them

Pulses are a fabulous low-fat, high-fiber, cholesterol-free, and sodium-free source of protein, amino acids, and antioxidants. And, of course, lots of nutrients that you need like iron, potassium, and folate that you may also think of as legumes.

The remarkable thing about pulses is that not only do they have a lot of protein, but they can also be counted both as your fruit and veggie portion and as meat.

Dry Beans

When it comes to pulses, you’re likely very familiar with dried beans like kidney beans, Northern beans, pinto beans, and so forth. These are some of the easiest to cook with and enjoy.

Most dried beans need to be soaked overnight before being prepared, but once you’ve cooked them, you can use them in a variety of ways. You can eat them as they are with cornbread or biscuits or as an addition to other recipes such as salads, soups, stews, and even smashed up into burgers. 

One really yummy recipe that uses beans liberally is this Easy Bean Salad from A Couple Cooks. (https://www.acouplecooks.com/seriously-simple-three-bean-salad/)

Dry Peas

Whether you’re eating chickpeas, black eyed peas, or garden peas, you can enjoy them fast. They don’t take as long to cook as other types of pulses. You can soak them for about six hours before cooking and get a good result.

The flavors of peas are so different that you’ll want to enjoy them in a variety of ways. You can make soups, stews, curries, and even enjoy them as a side dish on their own when adequately prepared.

While this is not the only dish, one of the most popular pea meals you can make is pea soup. Try this Best Ever Split Pea Soup from Allrecipes.com. (https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/23860/best-ever-split-pea/)

Lentils

Lentils cook the fastest of all the pulses. You technically can get away with cooking without soaking. However, do wash and rinse to ensure that they’re clean since they don’t clean pulses before packaging them.

You can enjoy lentils as soups, stews, curries, and as an ingredient in other dishes –including salads. Honestly, there is so much flexibility when it comes to all the pulses that once you start cooking with them, you’ll enjoy the variety that you can use and the different flavors you can develop.

While you can undoubtedly use lentils for a lot more than soup, you must make this Winter Detox Moroccan Sweet Potato Lentil Soup in your slow cooker. (https://littlespicejar.com/moroccan-sweet-potato-lentil-soup/) You’ll be glad you did.

Studies show that including pulses into your daily diet can reduce diet-related and obesity-related health risks. They’re super-easy to cook, delicious to eat, and as bonus pulses are budget friendly.