Podcast Episode 12 – Immunity – The First ‘B’ in G-BOMBS

Speaker 1 (00:10): Hi and hello. Welcome to the real food and drinks lifestyle podcast. We're building a community to talk about nutrition, lifestyle choices, and just feeling better. This is Shonda and this is Patryce. Let's just be real. [inaudible] Here's our disclaimer. We do not officially practice in any of the various subjects that we discuss. We are only sharing our personal experiences with you to a healthier lifestyle. Please do your own research before taking part in any of these practices.

Shonda (01:01): Today you know where we are we're since we're discussing G-BOMBS, um, we're on the first letter B in G-BOMBS, which stands for beans. So, um, we'd like to share with our guests and listeners ways that we enjoy beans, um, and how beneficial they are to us. But we're just going to do a quick little review on what, on, on what we discovered about greens.

Patryce (01:34): So yes, like Shonda said, last week, we talked about how healthy leafy green vegetables are and how they're loaded with vitamins and minerals and fiber yet they're low in calories. And some of the, the, vegetables we talked about, the greens ones were kale and microgreens, collard greens, spinach, and cabbage, and these are all different green vegetables that you can enjoy as well as, um, feel like you're eating something healthy because they are healthy and have lots of benefits. So if you need reminders of what those benefits are, you can check out the podcast, uh, from the website, real food and drinks, or, uh, any of the different podcasts providers like anchor. So yeah, that, that, that was it for the greens.

Shonda (02:29): Yeah, that was, that was fun. And, uh, you know, we talked a little bit about beet tops and some other things, so yeah, go on and head out there and, uh, give it a listen. I think you'll enjoy it.

Patryce (02:42): So what are we talking about today, Shonda?

Shonda (02:45): Well, today we're going to focus on beans and legumes. And one thing I did not focus on or intend to focus on, but just know that the, um, peanut is a legume yet. There are some issues with peanuts at times, you know, um, actually it could, it's more popular to have mold in peanuts and things like that. So we're just going to sit peanuts to the side. Okay. Because I'm sure everyone mostly have had peanut butter, you know, or maybe even know someone that's allergic to peanuts. So, um, but we're, I'm going to switch it and talk about, um, really beans, beans that you cook that require cooking to eat. And I guess this time I'll go over some of my favorites and then produce, you can add some of yours or talk about these same ones and different ways you like to, um, have them as a meal or add them to a meal.

Patryce (03:50): Sounds good.

Shonda (03:52): Okay. So first I want to talk about, I think I'll talk about tofu and tempeh first. [Okay.] Um, as we know, or you may not know, but tempeh and tofu is a processed food, but it can be processed in a healthy way. So I even, um, want to give it a try at making my own tofu because it involves taking dried, soy beans, soaking them, and, you know, there's this whole process and I'm really eager to do it, but the problem is I have not found any dried, soy beans, soy soybeans, and, you know, I'm thinking, well, could I use like maybe the ones that I get frozen, so I'm not sure about that, but it is a process food, but it can be processed in a good way. The controversy sometimes with tofu, it has a bad rap. Um, some say that, uh, it can cause cancer.

Shonda (04:58): Whereas when we look at the research and evidence out there, actually, and I'll see if I can particularly find one of those or atleast, um, link up another video where PCRM talks about this issue. Um, it's usually that the tofu is GMO. You know, it's genetically modified and not organic. So when I look for tofu, I go for organic and that takes care of the GMO part too. I like to do it in, um, add them to stir fries. And then I really don't fry my vegetables, but that's what you would think about a as the best flavor. And I'm just about to get a tofu press. That's going to help me press the water. You want to press the water out so that when you marinate it, it will soak up the juices of the marinade that you add to it. So it can be very, it can be roasted in the oven, yes along with vegetables, uh, or like I say, fried in a pan, it can be fried in a pan, but, um, it's really tasty.

Shonda (06:11): I think, um, you can make it tasty anyway. And I, I just enjoy it. It does have high amounts of calcium, actually. I think it's the way it's processed that adds the calcium though specifically, but I believe beans are high in calcium. Um, and so the other form of tofu of soy beans that I like, or that I'm learning to like is tempeh and tempeh is a fermented tofu. So after it's turned into tofu, no, it's actually the, the beans are actually fermented actually. And, um, now my problem with it, um, initially was that it was, it would upset my stomach and I guess it has something I, well, I used to suffer with IBS. And so it's not ideal while you're having IBS symptoms, but now that I've gotten rid of the IBS, I'm able to tolerate it. And it really doesn't do much of anything to me. Now I'm dealing with the bitterness of tempeh because I find that it's very bitter. I don't know. Have you tried it portray, so you think

Patryce (07:26): Actually I've tried it at a restaurant and I really liked it then went and bought some at a store and did not like that form of it when I had it at the restaurant, you know, how people eat? Uh, I think it's the BLT, a bacon, lettuce and tomatoes sandwich. This was with tempeh being the bacon and lettuce and tomato on some type of, I forget the kind of bread, but that way it was very tasty. So they prepared it like six strips of bacon almost. And it wasn't fried but big, but it was really good, but doing at home and my, what I purchased, it was not the same.

Shonda (08:04): Okay. So something that I've recently learned about tempeh is that it's best to steam it for at least 15 minutes before you start to incorporate it in your dish. Oh, this will cut down on some of the bitterness. And I tried it just a couple of days ago, and it really was a better dish. I still, I still had a hint of bitterness. So that means I probably could have just steamed it a little bit longer or marinated it. I really did not marinate it. I just kind of went for it because it was time to eat. But, um, I like, I enjoyed it better. It, you know, it has like, uh, so tofu can be a little soft and mushy. Yeah. It can be a little soft and mushy, but uh, tempeh has, um, texture that's good. It's kind of like a, kinda like a nutty kind of thing.

Shonda (09:02): And, you know, I mean, it's, it's a bean or legume or whatever it is. And, uh, so that's what it reminds me of. And I really prefer that texture in my dish. So I'm working on tempeh and when I get it perfected, I will let y'all know.

Patryce (09:19): That sounds good. That sounds good. Going back to the tofu, um, I've heard you mentioned, and I've had it once or twice, scrambled. Oh yeah, yeah, As opposed to eggs.

Shonda (09:34): Yeah, that is very tasty. And actually have I posted that on the website yet, I'm not sure. Um, there is, I have a video. I know it's ready. Cause I do, I do the tofu scrambles all the time. And I even have I got from, I think nutrition studies dot org, they have a tofu scramble, um, power seasoning or something like that. And I really like to put that one in my, uh, tofu scramble and it has like some nutritional yeast and like turmeric, you know, to make it a little yellow.

Shonda (10:07): And so I just stir fry that with, with vegetables and like I would an omelet, or, you know. It's a scramble, it's not going to fry up like an egg really. Although there is one product out there, but it has way too many ingredients for me. I have tried it, but so maybe if you're taking the little steps, you know, and you don't have any real chronic diseases issues is not your causeto do it. You could try Just Egg. But if you are doing this diet, if you're making changes to your diet and you have some issue, I would not recommend Just Eggs because it has, has too many added ingredients to it.

Patryce (10:51): Well, it sounds like just that tofu scramble is a great way to just try tofu.

Shonda (10:56): Yeah. And that product too is high in salt. Whereas when you make your own tofu scramble, you know, there's no salt.

Shonda (11:02): So I think that's it for tofu and tempeh. Um, so I'll, I'll breeze through these other ones right here. Uh, almost because, so this was this, this is going to be the next, uh, one that I really enjoy. So I probably have a lot to say about it and that is chickpeas or garbanzo beans. Now chickpeas, um, are just my favorite because I like the taste. I like the texture. They're easy to flavor because usually when I cook them, I cook them without adding any - even I don't even add salt or seasoning when I cook the chickpeas. And so let's go about ... Let me talk about briefly how I cook chickpeas. I cooked chickpeas, you know, that you can get them in cans, but for that same dollar that you buy a can of chickpeas, you know, in a rush, I can maybe keep one in my pantry, but I buy a whole pound and I dump them in my IstantPot.

Shonda (12:06): Well, you can dump it in your InstantPot, straight from the dried seed. And, um, just put, you know, some water about an inch water over it, or maybe two. And, and I think it takes about 25 minutes from the dried bean, but if, yeah, but if you soak it overnight, that's cut down to about 15 minutes. [Wow.] Yeah. And, um, you know, it takes some time for the machine to heat up and then release the pressure. Although you could always just release the pressure, but I usually just like to let the IntantPot release its own pressure. Um, but, um. Oh, pre-soaking removes the phytic acid found in beans and phytic acid can irritate the stomach or cause discomfort. So soaking is a really good idea, especially if you want to throw them from the soaked, you know, being into a soup or, you know, something that you're going to make and ...Hey, y'all I cook everything in the IntantPot.

Shonda (13:16): So, um, that, uh, is just something that I do. But so if you don't pre-soak, you should throw away the water that the beans are cooked in for the most part of any bean, except for the chick pea. Now I haven't had any issues with, with the chick pea water and I use chick pea water in a lot of different dishes too. Um, I've used it, um, for fun and making things like meringue an egg free meringue. Uh, it can whip up and get fluffy, just like an egg can. So any place that you would use an egg, you can substitute chick pea water. So that's a really good key. I really liked doing that. Um, you know, and when I'm making pancakes or something, I may use a flax seed egg, which has taken ground flax and adding it to water and let it gel.

Shonda (14:18): And then, but usually sometimes I use chick pea water to even give it an extra boost in place of plain water. So that's how I use the leftover water from chickpeas, but still, usually I remove the chickpeas from the water, rinse them. I will put them in a bag like a gallon size bag and um, let them cool a bit in the fridge. And then I just transfer them to the freezer. Now actually I do this to all the beans that I cook, except for one the other one that I'm going to talk about and that's lentils in a bit, but I do freeze all the chickpeas and they, when you remove the liquid and rinse them, they will freeze pretty much separately. Or you can just kind of bang the bag and then you will, um, you can just use as many as you need. It's like having, you know, your own canned product, but it's in the freezer and it's ready. So that's how I do all my beans.

Patryce (15:16): Wow. I had no idea that you could freeze them. That's a game changer. [Yeah. Yeah.]

Shonda (15:24): Bags, gallon bags of beans stored in my freezer. So it's ready all the time. Whether, you know, if someone came and I needed to make a soup for everyone, I mean, I'd just bring out the beans, you know, and throw some vegetables in there. And I like tomato-based soups. Those are my favorite. Um, but the other things I do with chickpeas or garbanzo beans is make hummus. I know you like hummus.

Patryce (15:48): Yes. Good stuff. [Yeah. ]

Shonda (15:51): I make hummus. Um, and I'm sure I have a recipe posted already on the website. Um, and I add them to bowls and I even like them in Italian flavor, dishes and Asian flavor dishes. Those are the two that I usually go for the garbanzo beans in are those two. Oh. And let's not forget about the chickpeas tortillas.

Patryce (16:18): Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Good stuff too. Okay. Oh, I'm sorry. What were you saying?

Shonda (16:24): No, I was just going to say, because I can't eat breads or wraps or readily buy them. I have, I searched and I searched until I found a solution and chickpea tortillas is something that I make and you can buy chick pea flour in the grocery store, but I like to use fresh chickpeas in my recipe. I put fresh chickpeas with about just about half, as much of the tapioca flour in there and, uh, some water or some more chickpea flour, um, chickpeas aquafaba and just blend it up and make it into a dough, press them out. And they're just ready to go.

Patryce (17:06): Hmm. Sounds good.

Shonda (17:10): So, um, I'll just briefly go over these next three that I have here. Um, Pinto beans. I just liked the flavor, uh, and even red beans. Um, and so I use Pinto beans and black beans. Uh, even though I think I enjoy black beans, no Pinto beans, a little bit better. Pinto beans and black beans. I love Tex-Mex dishes. And so these are the two that I go for when I'm making a Tex-Mex meal or, you know, a taco, um, or, um, a soup, you know, black bean soup. Um, I do, um, quite not, not as often as I used to because I've just started using all these other beans. So I think that was like my intro bean was the black bean at one time. And in salads, Pintos and black beans, I even sometimes get, this is probably the only place except for Jason's deli salad bar that I eat out is Chipotle. And I get the, um, black bean, like a bowl. And there's like, do you want Pintos or black beans? I'm like both.

Shonda (18:23): And I get that on top of Brown rice and their vegetables and their corn and salsa. And I bring it home, actually cut it in half, put half of it in another bowl with more greens, you know, and things like we talked about last week and that's a meal for me. So that's the way, uh, these are my top beans, except for there's one more lentils. Now I've even made some lentil tortillas, but they are not as good as the chickpeas tortilla. So as long as I can get money as on chickpeas, that's the one that I'm going to do. But I know I have a really old recipe on the website about a lentil. I think it's like called Kathmandu is that a place that's a place, right. A place I believe. Yeah. Stew. And it uses red lentils and it's kind of like a Curry or whatever.

Shonda (19:18): And it's really, Oh, I don't know if that one has coconut, but another thing that lentils. Okay. So red lentils will break up when you cook them. I mean, there's hardly no way to cook a red lentil without it breaking up. And so it, it can be used as a good thickener to soups. So I do that a lot. Sometimes I just add lentils into something that I want a thick soup with so that I don't have to over cook the other beans in the soup. Um, and it's quick and easy to cook a cook in about 20 minutes, either one of them, I think the lentils, the lentils take much less, but the green and the Brown lentils will cook in about 20 minutes on the stove top. Or it's probably about 10 minutes in the IntantPot.

Patryce (20:05): Wow. I need to get one of those.

Shonda (20:08): Yeah. Yeah. You do. You do. You really do so,

Shonda (20:14): Uh, I think I just about covered all of the different, uh, beans that I like to enjoy. I mean, I, sometimes I buy the bean mixes and just make a bean soup and, um, [Good idea.] Yeah. Do that too.

Patryce (20:29): Well. That's some great sharing, because it's a lot of great ideas and then finding out that you can freeze the garbanzo beans or chickpeas. That's a big piece of information, but also I'm just excited because we know that all these beans have a lot of protein. So a lot of times we have people who are not used to a plant-based or more vegetarian type diet, they'll be, Oh, your protein, you know, that's what you get that from your meat, but you can just remind them, Hey, all these beans have a lot of protein. And, and with that protein, uh, they don't have a lot of fat. So it's, it's a, win-win lots of protein, but not a lot of fat. So, um, I'm just excited about some of the ideas that you shared and, um, I I'm like you I'd like most of these as well.

Patryce (21:19): I have not done much with the tofu other than buying when I'm out, but I feel like that's the, I can educate myself more about, because there's different firmnesses. I did not realize that like there's a soft and a firm - all that stuff. So, uh, and it's very important to the flavor that I realized, because that's a good step when it's flavored well seasoned well, the tofu. So I want to experiment more with the tofu and I want to experiment more with like you, what you do is you make all your beans and I have to be honest, I I'm bad about buying either canned beans or, you know, you know, my, one of my favorite places is trader Joe's and they have, the humus already made up and so forth. But now was hearing you talk about how fast, the beans are in the IntantPot. I am encouraged that I can not only make them, but I can store them up. And then from that batch of frozen chickpeas that I can make a lot of stuff. I can make hummus. I can use it for a soup. So this is just encouraging. Yeah.

Shonda (22:31): Yeah. It makes really quick meals, you know, it's, it is kinda, I think about it as the meat substitute portion, uh, for, you know, the dishes that I make. I always, I usually always eat beans in something, you know. I may eat different amounts of beans, you know, depending on if I'm just adding them to a salad or whatever, but, um, yeah. Oh, and with the chickpeas, I've also made a chickpea tuna salad too.

Patryce (22:59): Oh, I wanted to try that. I saw the recipe, but I haven't made it yet. I do want to make that.

Shonda (23:04): I think they said you can make it like a chick pea, tuna, or chick pea chicken kind of thing. So, yeah, I do like those. And so I just like to, I know we probably already mentioned this, that, you know, beans have high levels of fiber. Yeah. Okay. So, um, beans have high amounts of fiber and resistant starch, which is, uh, carbohydrates that are not broken down by digestive enzymes. Okay. So when they are in, when they reached the intestines, they get gobbled up by bacteria and that's how can increase your gut microbiome. And you know that we have a, um, we're going to be watching this coming Monday. Let's see. No, it would have already happened. We're going to put a link to it. Dr. Baxter Montgomery is going to be talking about the gut microbiome on Monday. Definitely. So this has already happened. We will definitely put a link below in the show notes, but, um, yeah, intestinal bacteria and, you know, he can better explain it, but I'm just telling y'all fiber is good for your gut. It can protect colon cancer risk by 50%. So, um, you know, all these foods are high in fiber actually, you know, there are fiber foods, so that's why these are good foods and, you know, doing things like decreasing cancer, lowering cholesterol, uh, preventing food cravings.

Patryce (24:44): That's a good question. That's a good point. Fiber fills you up. So if you're looking at losing weight. That's another great way to do it. [Yeah, exactly.]

Shonda (24:54): Yeah, yeah. Oh, and, uh, anti-diabetes, because the, uh, carbs are digested more slowly than a refined carbohydrate. Yeah.

Patryce (25:06): That's very important. Considering in America, diabetes is definitely on the uptick. Wow. So this is all good information. And now that you've been talking, I just remembered another thing I've been doing recently with be because unlike you, I didn't really grow up eating a lot of beans other than I think some black items here and there. But, um, as an adult, I started discovering beans, but I love to, when I stopped doing the traditional baked potato, um, now I do mainly just sweet potatoes. And specifically we liked the Japanese ones here. Uh, they're very tasty, but you bake them just like you would, the old that the regular Idaho baked potatoes, but you bake the sweet potato. And then I load them up with, with the beans. [Right.] We are able to flavor, you know, whatever sauce, however you flavor your beans, but you can throw that on top of potato. And then some, some steamed broccoli. I have a full meal and I'm not hungry for a long time.

Shonda (26:06): Yeah. There was also a recipe out there. That's a Tex-Mex sweet potato broccoli. No, I don't know if I put broccoli in there, but it's in the recipe, but you, yeah. You can use any, any vegetables, additional vegetables that you'd like, so, yeah. And that was quite tasty. I had never done that really. Um, I put like garbanzo beans and broccoli on a baked potato, like a baked Irish potato, but this one was just the flavors, you know, I just love Tex-Mex food. I like Asian food too. But sometimes Asian food, uh, may require a little bit more sweetness, you know, a lot of the recipes. And so I like, I like, you know, I was just like Tex-Mex. I think I like spicy. I like spicy over sweet. Um, so yeah, we have a lot of recipes out there, so, uh, I'll link to some under the show notes and um, you have to try them. Yeah.

Patryce (27:07): Yes. Very good. I'm hungry now. [I know.] You know what, one of the thing I'm just thinking about cooking and food and now it's fall. In Winter chili is e a big deal, but you know, growing up, I did have a lot chili with the beef or whatever the meat was, but now, I make chili without the meat and I add sweet potatoes in my chili, with beans, lots of beans.

Shonda (27:33): Yes. And yeah. And sweet potatoes go well or potatoes go well in soups and chilis. So, you know, when you said that, do you know that when I used to buy this was like, okay, very long time ago, probably about 15 years ago, I used to buy chili in the can, but I never did like the chili in the can with the meat. It was like a hot dog uh, chili. And you know, what it was made with. And I have not tried it. It was made with beans and oats. [Oh.] That's what made the meaty texture were... what were the oldoat parts of that.

Patryce (28:13): Of the vegetarian chili?

Shonda (28:15): Yeah. Well, it wasn't advertised as vegetarian. I don't know what else was in there, but it did not have any meat. Oh, okay. Yeah. So I'm not sure, really. I need to go find that, but I am going to try that in my next chili, I'm going to try or try to find a recipe that uses. Yeah. It's, it's cold. I think it's time to try a chili with some of them.

Patryce (28:38): Yeah, I think so too. And I'm now thinking about this chili we used to make all the time, it's like a Paleo recipe, but you just can make it without the meat, but it's delicious. Flavors, flavors. And I suppose in the InstantPot you can make chili probably faster.

Shonda (28:58): Oh, you just dump it all in there and put the lid on and turn it on. And you're done.

Patryce (29:04): Wow. Not with my, no, I'm not that big, no...

Shonda (29:09): I do not have time to sit. I mean, you know, and I have a crock pot, but you know, the crock pot takes all day. And uh, I mean, that's okay if I start early enough, but usually I don't start early enough and I just dump it all in the IntantPot and walk a way from it. I don't, I can go to the grocery store, I can do anything I want. And it is there on the countertop, you know, safe. Um, if I'm leaving, I don't go that far. And usually someone's at the house. So just let them know it's on there, but can do it. You know, it's just as safe as the crock pot. Once you get it sealed, once it gets sealed, you know, and you know, you can verify that yours isn't having any issues. I use the Instapot almost every day.

Patryce (29:59): So that's good to know because we have a lot of people listening who probably have very busy lives, maybe working outside of home and children and just a lot going on. And that can be sometimes a deterrent, honestly, that was mine, you know, not enough time. And now hearing how quickly this InstantPot cooks some of the same favorite foods. I may want to cook again because honestly I think a lot of times people are just tired and they don't want to have to wait so long or spend so much time, but the way you're talking, you could have done it over the weekend or prep work and then just throw it in there and you are done.

Shonda (30:36): It's so simple. Yeah. So, okay. So, um, I think we're going to sum up beans, but of course, if you have any questions you can, uh, send us an email or there's a page, there's a link on the podcast page and it's called a SpeakPipe and you can actually send us a recorded voice message and that we can return, um, back to you.

Shonda (31:02): So that's it for beans, but stay tuned next week. We're going to be talking about the O in G-BOMBS and the O is for onions. And actually, you know, I think we're going to talk about onions. Oh yeah. We're going to talk about the Oh and the M yeah. We're going to talk about, Oh, for onions and M for mushrooms. Yum. So I know you've probably, you may have more experience with more mushrooms with your world travels.

Patryce (31:33): I just like mushrooms. I know that. So could talk about them. They're tasty. There's so many of them too.

Shonda (31:41): Right? Yeah. So stay tuned for that. That's going to be fun and we'll make sure we find some good ways to use, you know, onions, which you know, is just not onions. That's a big family of different foods. So stay tuned for that. And we will, um, be with you next time.

Speaker 1 (32:03): Thanks for listening. We hope you enjoy today's podcast. Remember you can catch show notes and additional details@realfoodanddrinks.com under the podcast menu. Also subscribe to our podcast. If you aren't already a member of our community. And if listening through anchor, please send us a message of topics you would like to hear us have conversations about. Until next time. Let's just be real.