Our third step on the food pyramid is legumes. Legumes are categorized as beans, lentils or seeds. My favorite legume to eat are soy beans, or edamame. When we consume legumes, we have to be really careful on the portions. Even though they are high in protein and fiber, they are also high in fat and calories.
They are rich in folic acid, calcium, iron, potassium, zinc and contain antioxidants. Legumes are also a complex carbohydrate that provides energy for your body that lasts for hours.
For portion control on legumes, you only want to have half of a cup three to four servings a week. For most of you vegetarians, you would want to up the amount of servings so you know you are getting your body what it needs.
Now if you need a good snack that you want to keep you pretty full and satisfied, I suggest having edamame. Even if you are craving something salty, you can always cook some up and top a little bit of sea salt on them. They are delicious! I also recommend soy beans for people that need to stay low with their GI. Soy protein helps people that suffer with diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, cholesterol, and more. Now, there are men out there that think soy protein is bad because it has estrogen and for some reason think they will start growing lady parts. Well guess what boys, you're wrong! Soy contains isoflavones that help reduce the risk of breast cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis and guess what else!? Prostate cancer!
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