Legumes and Pulses

(KM) #1

In my universe it’s pretty much gospel that high carb plants are off the table, with a specific focus on grains but also potatoes. Many people here are also generally against all/most plant foods for one reason or another - toxicity, high fructose, oxalates, poor dietary reaction, not necessary for health, etc.

I’ve got about 3 cups of dried beans left in my closet, and while it wouldn’t break the bank to just toss them, it goes against My grain to do so, ha ha. I realize that throwing a cup of beans into my chili will probably throw me out of ketosis, but beyond that, what’s the take on beans being an occasional part of a healthy diet? (Specifically pinto beans in this case, but I’m guessing most other beans and pulses would have a similar profile.)

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #2

Personally, I am not a fan, and that was true before keto. Why not plant them? You might have an adventure! :laughing:

(KM) #3

:laughing: With my luck they’d do fabulously, and Then where would I be! image

(Joey) #4

Here’s a bad idea…

Soak them in water at room temperature for about 3 months. They will grow all kinds of mold and aerobic bacteria which will consume the carbohydrate/sugars … then you will be left with a nicely fermented slush approaching natto status.

Bring it to a farmers’ market and make a killing. Literally.

(Geoffrey) #5

Well I would definitely not put the beans in my chili. Not just because I’ll never eat a bean again unless I was starving but just in principle because beans don’t belong in chili :grin:

(Edith) #6

I think a handful of beans tossed into a pot of chilli won’t cause any trouble or throw you out of ketosis. Think of them as similar to adding bell pepper or onion. They will add a little texture and some flavor and maybe few carbs, but not that much in the right quantity.

(Bob M) #7

You could use them. Just be warned. I tried this:

You soak the beans overnight in baking soda and salt. Man, did I have stomach issues with this. I guess I no longer have the bacteria for beans.

(Robin) #8

You Texans have some strict chili rules. :wink:

(Joey) #9

Texans also have some of the best chili on the continent.

(Geoffrey) #10

Well it is our official State Dish. We are rather proud of it.

(Bob M) #11

It’s not some kind of smoked meat? Looks like you’re correct:

Connecticut’s state food is pizza. Which is really, really good, I have to say.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #12

I would have expected succotash, lol! :grin: :grin:

(Robin) #13

My Dallas daughter schooled me in that. :heart:

(Peter - Don't Fear the Fat ) #14

My recipe idea for beans/pulses is soak them for 3 days, drain them and boil for 3 days before setting them alight and then dispose of them in a safe place. Attack hazard label :radioactive:
Though I confess, they were a firm favourite 2 years ago

#15

Bean flowers are pretty :slight_smile: At least I always liked them. We had red and white ones. I don’t bother with them anymore though.
But if one sows them, they may be end up with way more beans in the end :smiley: That is the normal outcome, after all…

I am unable to imagine a chili without beans :slight_smile: As we always made them with beans. And without meat. Now we add some meat too. And it doesn’t happen every year…

I can’t give advice as it’s individual. I LOVE legumes and they are my plan B or C. I don’t have many options when I get bored of all meat (it doesn’t happen often if I am careful) but carby plants just don’t have a point (I only eat them for joy but they can’t satiate me and when I don’t eat much meat, I need protein - and satiation, no matter how much eggs and dairy I eat). Gluten is number one, legumes are number 2. I don’t want to use those routes BUT sometimes they come handy. And beans are super tasty and nostalgic. So I tend to taste them when my SO occasionally cook some. Still very carby so it can’t be my main dish.
But it’s me, I don’t even stuck to keto for long. And I can handle edible things, don’t know about any serious sensitivity (except a ton of carbs but I consider it normal even if not everyone has it).

I don’t know what I would do if I lived alone and had dry legumes… It requires long cooking so I would need to cook a bigger amount but I wouldn’t eat that much… I never froze beans… Green peas didn’t respond well (raw is fine, of course but the dish got much worse).
What @VirginiaEdie wrote sounds good to me, if the dish has a lots of other ingredients requiring a lot of cooking time (like beef), it may work well… My usual pork would be super cooked with half raw beans, that wouldn’t be right. Sure, the pork wouldn’t get bad with a longer time either (I suppose, never did that) but I would feel it wasteful (and a strain on my patience) to use a very high time just for a handful of beans…

(KM) #16

Oh, you definitely need to cook dry beans separately before adding them, they take hours of soaking and boiling.

I cooked up the last beans, about 2 cups, made chili with ground beef and have been eating it all week. I don’t seem to have any ill effects and I’m actually still in ketosis. Tonight was supposed to be the last night of my bean chili, I’m not sure I’ll ever buy dried beans again, but I got so involved in a project I forgot to have dinner. I love when that happens!

(Geoffrey) #17

Smart girl. Must take after her momma.

(Geoffrey) #18

Yeah you’d think it would be brisket as much as we cook it here.

(Bob M) #19

I tried that recipe when I was trying a targeted keto diet, which is where you eat carbs around exercise. I had high hopes, because when I was younger, I was on a very low fat diet and ate rice and beans every day. And this recipe has you soak the beans overnight with salt and baking soda, drain and rinse, then cook a while. All the stuff you’re supposed to do.

The first day for my lunch, I only had a small amount of the recipe on top of other meat. That was okay. The second day for my lunch, I ate only the recipe. All heck broke loose.

Maybe it’s possible to build up to eating a full meal of this, but I ended up giving up and throwing everything away.

I blame my biome.

On the other hand, I order chili that has beans (usually not listed on the menu), and that’s usually okay. But that seems to be a small amount of beans relative to meat, whereas this recipe had a lot of beans relative to meat.

#20

I could handle it but I wouldn’t want to make a whole, decent sized (probably “big” for most people) meal of a heavily bean-y dish, no matter how much I love beans. While the recipe has a generous amount of meat in normal eyes I suppose, I do prefer more meat with my beans :slight_smile: And sour cream, it lowers the carb percentage even more, I looked and saw it’s not chili but a stew, it would be a poor chili without chili and only with a tiny bit of cayenne and paprika… I wouldn’t put tomato into it then though, maybe it’s not a problem but I eat my stews without tomato and optionally with sour cream. And a lot more paprika, of course. And proper onion, not powder. Its role is to cook apart anyway… And I never figured out why people like cinnamon in non-desserts. But each to their own. Much depends on the culture too, I never saw shredding pork here but we put sour cream into everything possible. But sour cream is so great, I am glad I can handle it and buy some good kind anywhere.