- 16g fibre per 100g
- 5 µg selenium per 100g
- 35 µg folic acid per 100g
- 1.4 mg iron per 100g
- 0.9 mg zinc per 100g
Mung beans recipes
If you enjoy mung beans recipes then you probably love Asian/Indian style dishes or you follow a vegan/vegetarian lifestyle.
Either way, mung beans are fantastic to include regularly into your child’s diet as the beans are rich in fibre, zinc, selenium and folic acid (folate).
These plant-based foods are also a delicious source of plant proteins on a vegan and vegetarian diet.
Key micronutrients in mung beans
- Folate or folic acid is required to make red blood cells. Children who don’t eat enough are at risk of a certain type of anaemia that ultimately affects how well their body develops. From healthy cell and tissue growth to help with converting the foods children eat to energy, this B vitamin has important functions in the body.
- If your child suffers from constipation, mung beans are brilliant. It’s so incredibly rich in fibre, that it exceeds expectations from a plant food. This fibre rich food also enables food to be digested slowly which keeps bellies full for longer.
Cooking with mung beans
Mung beans are high in phytate, which can affect how well minerals such as calcium and iron are absorbed by the body.
Cereals, legumes, nuts and seeds also contain some phytate which is thought to provide health benefits such as protection against some types of cancers and antioxidant action.
The good news is that the overall risk of poor mineral absorption is low and the common practice of soaking beans overnight is an effective way of breaking down phytate.
Mung beans recipes
Ingredients
1 cup dried mung beans
2-3 tablespoons desiccated coconut
Method
Soak the mung beans overnight. In a pan of fresh water, boil the beans over medium heat until soft they are soft to touch. Make sure that the beans are completely submerged in water. Total cooking time is around 25 – 30 minutes. Remember to skim the frothy bits that form whilst the mung beans cook.
Once the mung beans are cooked, drain then stir in the desiccated coconut. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Breakfast mung beans recipe
You can add a teaspoon of unrefined cane sugar for a healthy breakfast recipe idea for kids. Although unrefined, this is still a type of added sugar. An alternative could be honey. if you naturally sweeten it with fruit, do let me know.
Add it to soups
If you are vegetarian or vegan and you need to bulk out soups with plant-proteins, add the mung beans as a “filler” into soup dishes.
Mung bean curry
Saute onions, ginger and cumin seeds. Add chopped tomatoes and a can of coconut milk. Simmer and serve with rice or an alternative gluten-free grain such as polenta. Garnish with plenty of fresh coriander.
Mung bean burrito
Mix the cooked mung beans with quinoa, avocado and a grated vegetable such as carrots. Now stuff a gluten-free pita pocket or large tortilla for a Mexican meal.
Mastering Food Allergy
Does your child have a food allergy? Do you also worry about fussiness and tantrums at the dinner table?
Does it feel like your child has regressed from what used to be good eating and you just need help expanding the variety of their free from diet? Get in touch to see how I can help you.
