Edamame Peanut Salad
Recipe by Danielle Lavallee
This is not so much a recipe as an invitation to use edamame and peanuts as protein sources in your dishes. When combined, these two ingredients pack an impressive (and scrumptious) protein punch.
A cup of edamame has 18 grams of protein and all 9 essential amino acids.
A cup of peanuts has 38 grams of protein. That’s 7 grams of protein per ounce!
To make this salad, I used the 6-step meal formula:
1. Starch – ~ 3 cups cooked farro
2. Protein – 1 10 oz bag frozen edamame (Boil until tender, ~ 6 minutes)
3. Veg and fruit – 1 orange bell pepper, 2 carrots, 2 champagne mangos
4. Leafy Veg - 2 cups purple cabbage, 1 cup cilantro
5. Dressing – Oil-Free Sweet Mango Dressing
www.thewell-nourishedbrain.com/blog/oil-free-sweet-mango-dressing
6. Flavor and Nutrition Boosters – 1/4 -1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts (make sure you don’t get the peanuts roasted in oil), 2 TBS black sesame seeds
As always, add whichever grain and produce you have on hand. This salad would also be great with pineapple, snow peas, and scallions, or with an alternate grain, such as black or wild rice.
But aren’t peanuts high in fat? Yes, they are. However, when we use an oil-free dressing, particularly one like this sweet mango dressing that contains no fat sources, we can have peanuts without worrying about weight gain. The caloric density of the rest of this meal is so low, that the fat in the peanuts is not a concern. If you are trying to lose weight quickly, you could just lower the amount of peanuts used.
However, we need fat in order to adequately absorb the nutrients from our other foods, so I encourage you NOT to make your meals totally fat free. Fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) will absorb better when you eat a plant-based source of fat alongside them. The plant fat and vitamin-rich foods must be in your stomach at the same time for optimal absorption.
Plant fat also increases serotonin levels. It helps prevent memory loss and dementia. It assists with liver function and cholesterol reduction. Moreover, research suggests that regular and moderate consumption of healthy plant-based fat may actually help you lose weight and reduce your risk for obesity.
Fear not plant-based fat!
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