G: Garbanzo Beans
Garbanzo beans, also known as chickpeas, are one of THE most versatile and nutrient-dense foods out there, in my humble opinion. As noted in several previous emails, your body needs both micronutrients like vitamins & minerals (which do not contain energy) and macronutrients like fats, protein, and carbohydrates (which do contain energy) for survival.
What the heck is a "legume"?
Garbanzo beans are considered a “legume”, which just means that they are a part of a family of plants that produce a pod with seeds inside. Check out how chickpeas are grown in this video! Other examples of legumes are peanuts and lentils (YUM).
Excellent source of Carbohydrates & Protein
Garbanzo beans are an incredible source of both protein and carbohydrates. This means they are not only a primary source of protein for our vegan friends, but are also a great element to add to any plate- regardless of your dietary restrictions (plant based, carnivorous, etc.). Despite their carbohydrate-dominant nutrition profile, garbanzo beans have a unique ratio of easily absorbable protein to fiber. We know everyone loves a good diagram, so wanted to share this nice per-serving graph amongst different sources of protein - you’ll see chickpeas are sitting at a 5.4!!
Fiber strikes again!
This means that compared to other carbohydrate-heavy foods, garbanzo beans offer an abundance of fiber. And, as we know from last week’s email, fiber plays a KEY role in feeling fuller longer, feeding healthy GI bacteria, and decreasing blood cholesterol.
Feelin' Sweet? Savory? Somewhere in Between?
The amount of recipes out there containing garbanzo beans are endless, so I wanted to provide a few for you here!
