Becoming Friends with Lentils

 

Did you know Canada is the world’s leading exporter of lentils? We produce 67% of the world’s lentil supply. It’s interesting because we’re all familiar with wheat and cattle being farmed out west, and production of fish and potatoes out east, but like many of you I’m sure, I never knew we grew lentils– that was until a few weeks ago anyway, and I’m a dietitian. Lentils are nutrition superstars that have been over shadowed by the rainbow of other meat and alternative foods. How many people reading can honestly say they have meat-less Monday? i.e. eat a meal without meat, say beans, chickpeas or lentils at least once per week? From my experience this isn’t many. I want to give you more insight into lentils given our country is such a major player in the farming market, and as a consumer there are big benefits to eating these. Big benefits in terms of nutrition, cost, and convenience.

We often hear about oatmeal, bran flakes and prunes being high fibre choices. However when you compare equal serving sizes of all these foods, lentils have more. Much more. One package of instant oatmeal has 10% of our daily value (%DV) for fibre, a cup of bran flakes 28%, prunes 38%, and lentils a whopping 62%. I should also point out most children and adults fail to meet the recommendations for adequate fibre intake. In terms of nutrition what do you think of when you hear ‘banana?’ Banana, right. But 100 grams of lentils has more potassium than a large banana. What about leafy greens as a source of the B vitamin folate? When it comes to folate,  lentils contain the most for all plant foods. See what I mean now by a hidden nutrition superstar? Lentils are nutritionally jam packed. Many people following specialized diets can also benefit from increasing their consumption of lentils. They are naturally gluten-free and have low glycemic index values (a scale which determines how a food would affect blood sugar. Low is good)! In fact, studies show people feel fuller, and have a decreased overall intake when they consume lentils in a meal. People who eat more lentils tend to have lower cholesterol level. There’s about a 22% lower risk associated for heart disease if you eat legumes (beans, peas, lentils) four times a week or more. It’s no coincidence that Bill Clinton now consumes a diet rich in these foods after having his share of heart problems in recent years.

The other great thing about lentils is that they can be thrown in just about anything. Canned or cooked lentils can easily be added to salads, soups, stews, and blended for dips and sauces. For the more adventurous type you can try replacing half of ground meat in recipes like shepherd’s pie, tacos, and nachos with lentils, and for those who are a bit bolder still, use ground lentils for sweets like cupcakes and brownies. I’ve tried the lentil sweets and they’re actually quite good!

Not only are lentils nutritious, but they are also cheap. Using the flyers for this week I did a very rough comparison to see what it would cost for similar food guide servings for a can of beans in comparison to a similar size serving of other common protein staples like pork, chicken and beef steak. The beans came in at about $0.33 per serving, whereas the pork, chicken and steak were $0.66, $0.83 and $1.65 a serve. That probably doesn’t look like much, it just goes to show that one extra meatless meal a week over the course of a year can save money, especially if there are several mouths to feed.

The other big benefit with lentils is the convenience factor. They are the only legume that doesn’t need to be presoaked. Therefore you can easily prepare them the day of or even simpler yet use canned. If you so cook dry lentils, use three cups of liquid for each cup of lentils and boil. Green lentils will take around 30 minutes, while red ones require about 20.

When you think about the cost, convenience and nutrition of lentils, it’s a little that we don’t eat more. I think it comes down to the fact that we don’t use them that often and therefore we’re just not familiar with recipes and how to incorporate them. If you’re someone who would like to learn more about cooking with lentils drop me an email with your name, and mailing address. I’ve got a couple free cookbooks for lentil keen readers.

As seen in The Telegram August 13, 2012