Gung Ho for Munggo!

The 84th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee kicks off this week, a time in which 293 spelling savants under 15 converge on the Nation’s capital to spell words that I never knew existed, let alone know how to spell.

Ever heard of “Weissnichtwo”?  How about “humuhumunukunukuapuaa”?  Those were actual words spelled in past spelling bees.

But while we’re talking about words we’ve never heard of, here’s a food you probably have never heard of that’s far easier to spell.

It’s called the mung bean, or munggo bean, and while they’re fairly unfamiliar to the average American, they’re as ubiquitous a presence on the typical Asian or Indian’s plate as potatoes are here.

The mung bean has been harvested in China and India for generations now.  Unlike other staples, they run the gamut in dinner courses, as they bring pizzazz to the average salad side, are used as a side dish to main course, or as a main ingredient to popular desserts like green bean soup (doesn’t sound appetizing, but hey, don’ t knock it ‘til you tried it, right?).

Described as sweet and tender to the taste, mung beans are green on the outside (with their skin on), yellow on the inside.  As with most foods, a good portion of mung beans’ fiber lies in its skin.

And this is why I bring up munggo beans, because of their nutritional profile.

Virtually every bean is good for you.  They’re great for the heart, virtually every one of them is full of fiber, and they’re packed with phytonutrients that help ward off deadly diseases.   But mung beans are different from other beans in that they contain a healthy dose of vitamin C, and retain their vitamin C content even after boiling them.

Another thing they’re full of is protein.  Beans are a good source of protein, but they’re not as packed with protein as you might think.  For instance, 100 grams of refried beans has only five-and-a-half grams of protein, lima beans about six grams, and snap beans less than one gram.  Mung beans, on the other hand, are 24 percent pure protein!  So if you’re a vegetarian, look no further than mung beans to replenish your protein stores after a hard workout, without having to worry about packing on pounds.

As aforementioned, mung beans have been eaten for generations in Southeast Asia.  Is it any wonder, given the nutritional profile of mung beans and the abundance of seafood that far easterners tend to eat, that they have the longest health life expectancy on earth?

In summary, when it comes to quality eating, look towards the east as an example of what quality, tasty foods to eat.  Make mung beans – a legume that’s naturally sweet (but low in sugar), high in protein, and low in sodium – your latest and greatest excursion with Far East cuisine.

Source
npr.org