Summer Reading: Books & Beans
Summer, a time for reading on the porch, at the beach or listening to an audiobook while cleaning, driving or walking.
Tell me, what type of reader are you? Do you read from cover to cover or are you a skip around the book type of person? Or, are you a “need to know right now” reader and start at the last chapter before returning to read the book from the beginning? Are you a person who prefers to read a physical book and turn the pages or one who has an electronic reader? Who out there makes notes in the margins or highlights important information or quotes?
At the moment, I am reading “Becoming Odyssa, Adventures of the Appalachian Trail” by Jennifer Pharr Davis, “How Not to Die” by Michael Greger, and a “Nutrition Action” magazine. The first being a light read and one that I can read before bed without having nightmares or piquing my curiosity of wanting to know more.
“How Not to Die '' is filled with a plethora of information and allows for one to jump around, absorbing various information. This morning, I was reading this particular book while enjoying breakfast on our porch. The chapter that I chose is all about beans, their benefits, how GMOs affect soybeans and more.
Did you know that lentils gained fame in 1982 upon the discovery of the “lentil effect.” Lentils were consumed to blunt sugar spikes of foods that would be consumed at a later meal. Jessie Inchauspe makes a similar statement in her book, “The Glucose Revolution.” When we consume nutrient dense foods first, then enjoy a sweet treat, our glucose levels show a lower spike within our blood stream.
Now back to the lentils…. Did you know that they are rich in prebiotics, allowing our gut health to flourish. Consuming lentils flood the microbiome in your stomach with beneficial compounds and slow the rate at which sugars are absorbed into your system. When we consume a sweet item, our glucose spikes often leave us feeling shaky or a short time later we crash from the sugar high.
What I did not know: when lentils are sprouted, their antioxidant power doubles. Lentils are easily sprouted and one of the healthiest snacks that we can consume. Dr. Greger suggests adding them to a smoothie.
Stay tuned, I’ve never sprouted lentils but will try it this week. According to Dr. Greger, sprouting is like “gardening on steroids due to the ability to create fresh produce in three days on the kitchen counter.”
I’ll leave you now with these thoughts of lentils and return back to reading. I love to read, to hold a physical book in my hands. Walking into a library or bookstore is magical and I could spend hours perusing the shelves and sitting to skim various books. My reading style varies depending on the book. Cover to cover for pleasure books, skipping around for a book like “How Not to Die” and magazines are cover to cover.
If you are like us, you are always looking for extra time to relax and read. Let us take away one of your daily tasks, we will cook for you, allowing additional time to sit back and loose yourself in your reading.
Stay tuned for more about sprouted lentils and tell us what you are reading this summer!