Alright, bring on the beans.
I haven’t regularly eaten beans in almost two years, so it’s not exactly something I’m looking to add back into my regular rotation. During my vegetarian years, I had beans of some sort every day. Soy beans (or soy chicken nuggets), lentils, and garbanzo beans were my favorites. But let’s be real, the all-time best legume is the peanut. Or rather, peanut butter. You know it, I know it, everybody knows it. Peanut butter is really the only thing I see myself adding back in occasionally.
So here’s what I looked for today after consuming 3 different legumes at 3 different sittings: bloating and gas. That’s it. I know that legumes don’t bother my stomach and I guess we’ll find out tomorrow if they bother my digestion, but my guess is they’re not a problem.
I chose to eat peanut butter, edamame, and cannelli beans. Peanut butter because duh. But edamame was an interesting choice. I’ve been very anti-soy for the last two years because of their likely origin: Monsanto and they’re bogus “Roundup Ready soybeans”. These soybeans are genetically modified to withstand powerful herbicides, but in reality, they don’t. And you’re eating animomethylphosphonic acid and glyphosate. WHATEVER THOSE ARE. No thank you. So you stop eating soybeans, problem solved right? Wrong. So wrong. The majority of soybean production is used for animal feed, vegetable oils, and processed crap. Actual soybeans are only a small part of the problem. It’s the processed foods America has come to rely on that are the real doozy. This includes (but is not limited to) cooking sprays, margarine, most bars – kind and clif included, vegetable stocks, and even seasonings. The most obvious culprits are processed meat substitiutes, often found in the frozen isle. Had I known, my tofurkey had weed killer in it, I might have jumped ship on the whole vegetarian thing a little earlier. So for the love of god, don’t eat boca burgers or use margarine. They’re gross and they’ll kill you. And if you’re going to eat soy, eat edamame. And make sure it’s certified organic AND non-GMO certified. Save yourself.
So if I’m so anti-soy, why on earth did I reintroduce soybeans into my diet today? Here’s my theory (and it gets personal). I started eating soy products on a regular basis (like every day) when I was 10. Less than a year later, I got my period. Kind of early, but not totally abnormal. When I stopped eating soy entirely, my period became very irregular. And trust me, there’s not another reason that could be happening. I have cat slippers for christ sake. My theory is the high levels of estrogen in soy beans REALLY messed with my endocrine system. I had my blood tested last fall and sure as shit, my estrogen levels were super low. So now I’m trying to bring them back up naturally. My doctor thinks I’m a loon and wants to put me on birth control. He clearly doesn’t know me very well. My personality is all the birth control I need, thank you. And that doesn’t fix the root of the problem. It only treats the symptom, which is the problem with modern medicine in general. But before I go on a whole different rant, let’s get back to the beans.
Here’s my other problem with beans. They’re not a protein source. Yes, they have protein in them, but they have significantly more carbohydrates. For every 130 calories of black beans, you’ll get 9g protein and 24g total carbohydrate. For every 130 calorites of chicken, you’ll get 26g protein and 0g carbohydrate. For every 130 calories of broccoli, you’ll get 8g protein and 28g carbohydrate. But we don’t think of broccoli as a protein source. That being said, eating 130 calories of broccoli is A LOT and you’d probably be bloated for 12 days and nights. But I’m just saying, beans aren’t a simple protein swap for meat. They’re not bad, they’re just not optimal.
After all that ranting about how much I hate beans, here are some pictures of all the beans I ate today:
Meal 1: two scrambled eggs, purple sweet potato, sautéed green beans
Snack: granny smith apple with peanut butter
Meal 2: buffalo chicken wings, turnip fries, and a side salad with red onion and edamame
Meal 3: pumpkin turkey chili with cannelli beans and steamed broccoli