Just when I thought I was a Master of the Bean - along comes Mr. Mung, a small, oval-shaped bean native to India and cultivated in several surrounding countries.
So what’s so mighty about the Mung you ask? One cup provides:
- 15g fiber. Do you realize how much fiber that is?? That’s over half of the recommended daily intake. If you’re not a regular fiber eater you might want to take it easy on these guys - start with a half cup or you’ll be farting all. night. long.
- 14g of uber healthy plant protein. Eat Plants. Keep those vessels clean.
- 80% of your daily need for folate (a B vitamin essential for cell and tissue health)
- A pretty hefty serving of Thiamin (another B vitamin - necessary for helping the body convert carbohydrates into energy for your brain and nervous system).
- Lastly, it’s loaded with several essential minerals like manganese, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and copper.
They taste like lentils and can be used just like (well, almost like) any other bean. I can thank Colleen for picking these up so I could experiment. For my first mung bean experience, I kept things simple to taste their true flavor (I cooked these by simply boiling them in some vegetable stock with a bay leaf). But a simple mung bean recipe search on Pinterest revealed so many great ideas! Falafel, soup, salad, spread, hummus, pancakes, flatbread, curry and more. I encourage you to try one and I’ll do the same 🙂