Wave: March / April 2010 - Winnipeg in motion

Beans
(also peas and lentils)
You’ve heard of baked beans, but
how about beans in baking?
Don’t laugh, versatility was one
category where beans scored high
among all of our dietitian panellists.
“There are endless things you can do
with beans,” Carpentier says.
“Throw into salads, add to dips,
make tacos/quesadillas, add to chili,
top a baked potato or even mash as a
puree and add into baking for added
fibre.”
One of the most inexpensive foods
to add to your diet, beans provide a
good source of protein and are low in
saturated fat and high in soluble fibre,
iron and folate (folic acid).
Soluble fibre helps our bodies in a
number of key ways.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation
says soluble fibre’s gel-like consistency
sticks to cholesterol and drags it out
of the body, which lowers cholesterol
levels and reduces the risk of heart
disease.
The Canadian Diabetes Association
notes that soluble fibre may help control
blood sugar by delaying stomach
emptying, slowing the entry
of glucose into the bloodstream and
decreasing the rise in blood sugar
after a meal.
From kidney to navy to pinto,
beans come in a variety of types
and last long if you buy them dried
or canned.
They’re also an inexpensive alternative
for meat.
“I think it’s good to get the word
out about beans, peas and lentils
as a meat alternative,” Carpentier
says.
Eating Well with Canada’s
Food Guide recommends that
women 19 to 50 years of age
should have two servings of
meat and alternatives each
day, and three servings for
men in the same age group.
You can get one serving by
eating only 175 ml or three
quarters of a cup of cooked
beans.
Eggs
One of the most recognizable food slogans,
Get Crackin’ put eggs in a well-deserved spotlight.
Inexpensive, quick to make and a source of
high-quality protein, eggs are one of those foods
that can please almost anyone’s tastebuds.
“Eggs are a great source of protein. Protein provides
building blocks for growth and repairing cells,”
Bates Dancho says.
Whether you pop one in a microwave, boil it,
scramble it with vegetables as a main meal, or use it in
pancakes or baking mixes, eggs score high for versatility.
One cup of chopped egg represents a good source of
protein and iron. It also contains ample levels of vitamin A,
folate and calcium.
Two eggs equal one of the Eating Well with Canada’s
Food Guide’s recommended two daily servings of meat or
alternatives.
Although eggs are high in cholesterol, people with that
dietary concern can eat the egg whites, which have no cholesterol
but still contain protein. There are also egg substitutes
made with egg whites.
42 WAVE