Nutrition 101: Legumes + Lentils

The differences between lentils and legumes is interesting to learn, while acknowledging the similarities in their health benefits. It's also important to understand the various preparation and cooking methods and how they impact the overall nutritional values. Focusing on the key benefits and how to get the most health value helps to simplify the process of adding these fiber-rich foods into your daily nutrition.

Important Education Takeaways

Legumes are the edible portions of plants and include beans, peas, lentils, and chickpeas. With over 20,000 known species, legumes come in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes. 

• Beans: black, fava, kidney, lima, mung, navy, and pinto beans 

• Peas: green, yellow, split, black-eyed, pigeon peas 

• Lentils: black, brown, green, red, and yellow varieties 

• Others: chickpeas, soybeans, peanuts, lupins, vetches 

Legumes come with many health benefits. Regardless of the type, all legumes are nutrient-rich foods that offer loads of fiber, complex carbohydrates, plant-based protein, and numerous vitamins and minerals including folate, potassium, magnesium, and iron.  

• Incorporating legumes into your diet can:  

  • Improve digestive health: Legumes high fiber content supports a healthy GI tract by promoting regular bowel movements and feeding the friendly gut bugs that comprise a healthy gut microbiome. 

  • Improve heart health: Due to their high fiber content, legumes can help lower LDL (lousy) cholesterol levels. With their naturally low fat and cholesterol contents, they can also act as a heart healthy meat substitute.  

  • Support blood sugar control: Legumes are a low glycemic index food due to their high content of complex carbs and fiber, therefore helping to regulate blood sugar levels and promote satiety.  

  • Aid in weight management: Regular intake of legumes can prevent weight gain and even result in some weight loss.  

Regularly include legumes in the diet to improve GI tolerance. Beans, peas, and lentils can be hard on your digestive tract if you are not accustomed to eating these fiber-rich foods.  

• Try these tips to help: 

  • Gradually increase your intake of legumes to allow your gut bacteria to adapt to digesting these foods. Over time, your gut should be more easily able to tolerate legumes, lessening the common GI side effects such as gas and bloating.

  • Chew your legumes thoroughly before swallowing to enhance the digestive processes. 

  • Stay well-hydrated when incorporating more fibrous legumes into your eating plan. 

  • Rinse canned beans or soak dried beans and then discard the water to remove some of the non-digestible fiber compounds known as oligosaccharides. 

  • Cook legumes thoroughly to ensure the complex carbs are broken down before consumption. 

  • Try adding a piece of kombu (a type of seaweed) or herbs such as epazote or asafetida when cooking dried legumes, as these contain enzymes that can help break down the oligosaccharides. 

    • Take a gas-reducing enzyme tablet before eating legumes to help with breakdown and digestion.

Optimize your legumes. Specific food pairings can boost the nutritional benefits of legumes. 

• Pair your legumes with some whole grain to create a more complete protein source. Though not necessary, combining beans with brown rice, for example, provides your body with all 9 essential amino acids.  

• Enjoy your legumes with some vitamin C-containing food such as leafy greens, bell peppers, strawberries, or citrus fruits to enhance the absorption of their non-heme iron.  

• Eat legumes with a bit of healthy fats such as olive oil or avocado to increase the absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins.  

Legumes are often more affordable and more environmentally friendly than their animal-based alternatives. Choosing to incorporate these foods into your diet can save money at the grocery store, while supporting a healthy environment.  

• Dried or canned beans, peas, and lentils come at a fraction of the cost, and are shelf stable for months to years, making them an excellent pantry staple.  

• Legumes are also good for the environment as many of these crops help to decrease greenhouse gases, increase soil health (nitrogen-fixing plants), and decrease water usage. Eating more of these foods supports sustainable agriculture and may help to offset the consumption of animal-based products such as beef, dairy, pork, and chicken. 

Legumes make a versatile ingredient and are used in a variety of cuisines around the world. They can be eaten fresh, frozen, canned, or dried; they can be enjoyed as a nutritious main ingredient or as a tasty addition to meals and snacks.  

• Try them in some of these delicious and nutritious ways.  

  • Hummus, dips, and purees 

  • Cooked beans like Italian white beans and vegetables or Quick Cuban black beans 

  • Soups, stews, and chilis 

    • Dino Kale and White Bean Soup 

    • Winter Greens Lentil Stew 

    • Southwestern Chili 

    • Chipotle Black Bean Chili 

  • Dals and curries 

    • Dal Bhat 

    • Butternut and lentil curry 

    • Roasted Turmeric Salmon with lentils 

  • Salads 

    • Lemon Tahini Chickpeas 

    • Lentil, Cucumber, Spinach Salad 

    • White beans with tinned fish 

    • Black Bean and Corn Salad 

    • Asian-Inspired Chicken Salad 

  • Snacks 

    • Crispy White Bean Croutons 

    • Black Bean Brownies 

  • Flours, milks, protein powders 

• You can learn more about how to prepare legumes in our Providence Heart Guide and our Ask the RD blog.  

Recipes

• Recipe of the month: Dino Kale and White Bean Soup

  • As always, this recipe is the showcase of our live taught, virtual cooking class. Our chef and registered dietitian bring the recipe to life as they walk you through food prep, swaps to meet dietary or taste preferences, plus tips and tools to support you being your own healthy chef at home.

• Bonus recipe: Crispy white bean croutons

  • From Jamie’s kitchen to yours, our monthly bonus recipes are published on our website and social media the 4th Wednesday of each month. We invite you to browse our recipe collection and come back often to find more flavorful and heart-healthy recipes.

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We invite you to join us for the live taught, virtual nutrition classes each month to gather more information on our nutrition topics. This is also an opportunity to ask topic-related questions of our experts as well as connect socially with attendees for idea sharing. As a registered participant for our In the Kitchen program, you receive a few reminders ahead of each scheduled monthly classes, but here’s an easy to remember schedule: Nutrition Education (30-minutes, 2nd Wednesday, 12pm), Cooking Class (up to 60-minutes, 3rd Monday, 12pm).

Contributing authors: Jamie Libera, RD, LD, CCTD, registered dietitian, Providence.