Mung beans oh mung beans. I love mung beans so much, that’s the title of the song I made up for them that I sing when I cook them (mainly to make my children roll their eyes).
This legume is a powerhouse that is a staple in Asia, and it definitely doesn’t get its recognition here in the West. To put it into perspective, I almost feel like it’s the corn or wheat of Asia, except it’s so much better for you.
You can make soups, deserts, noodles, snacks, and of course, bean sprouts, which is probably how most westerners eat them, maybe without knowing what they are.
Human cultivation of mung beans started about 4500 years ago in India. It is easy to cook, easily digestible and nutrient dense. All those traits are super important for all people and extremely important for people who are going through cancer.
In both Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine, mung beans are very cleansing and rejuvenating for the body and its organs. Who wouldn’t want that? They have been a constant companion on my health and cancer journey. I eat 1/2 of a cup of them every day.
This nutritional chart is for 3.5 ounces. 3.5 ounces is about half a cup. Talk about a nutritional powerhouse wrapped up in this tiny little legume. Protein, vitamins and minerals. It’s pretty ridiculous how good these are for you.
Just to remind you, 50 grams of protein is the recommended daily amount for an adult, and you can get more than half of that from less than half a cup.
My brother recently went to Thailand and sent me this picture because I’m such a mung bean fan. It is a desert made from mung beans. They look pretty awesome and quite different from a small green bean. Their use is only limited to a person’s imagination.
Here is my simple mung soup recipe (I do have a deluxe version as well).
- Soak overnight 1/2 a cup of mung beans
- Rinse well when ready to cook.
- Add the mung beans to a pot with 2 cups of water.
- Add a pinch of Asafoetida
- Add a pinch of ground black pepper
- Add 1/2 a teaspoon of each of cumin powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder (turmeric is anti-cancer, especially myeloma).
- Chop and add half of a small onion
- Grate and add one knuckle of ginger (two inches)
- Stir in a teaspoon of coconut oil
- Bring to a boil. Mung beans will be cooked when the beans start cracking open and are soft.
- Add salt to taste
It’s pretty easy to make. I encourage you to try to incorporate these little wonders into your diet, and maybe they will do something wonderful for you.
Carrots Over Cancer 