Edamame. I first learned of edamame about 25 years ago. I was working at a mortgage company and one of the secretaries (that’s what they were called back then) introduced us. I can’t even remember where we had it whether it was a restaurant or if she made it, but I have loved it ever since. And that was before I knew it was a complete protein* or that it has isoflavones**.
I like it served warm, salted, and in the pods so you can pop the soybeans out into your mouth. It is fun.
I stopped by sushi restaurant tonight for a friend’s birthday on my way home from my San Carlos Nia class and since I don’t eat sushi I had a whole bowl of edamame. Yum. Perfect for after teaching.
I don’t really think of edamame as low in fat, but I do think of it as high in protein.
A 1/2 cup of in-the-pod edamame is about 75 calories, 7 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of protein, and 2 grams of fat and 3 grams of fiber.
I don’t often think of eating them on salads, but when I get a salad that has the soybeans on them, I really like it. Once I had a vegetable dish with them in it. I really liked that, but forget to do it myself. I usually just eat them out of the pods. But there are so many other ways you can eat them. I need to remember to add them to salads or put them in with other vegetables to make a vegetable medley.
Do you like edamame? Do you like it served hot or cold? What do you do with edamame, do you add it to other dishes? Do you have edamame recipes?
Writing about it makes me want more.
*complete protein -contains all eight essential amino acids in appropriate quantity
**isoflavones – antioxidants that are believed to have health benefits