5 Reasons Why You Need More Mung Beans in Your Life Now

Mung beans are small green legumes that have been a part of Chinese cuisine for thousands of years, where they are called nga choi or nga choy. They’re a great addition to any plant-based diet. Here are our top five reasons you need to get more of these little beans in your life — pronto!

1. The bean can be eaten raw or cooked

As is the case with several other legumes, you can eat mung beans raw when sprouted or cooked with the skin on or off. If you want a quick, easy source of nutrition with few calories, reach for raw mung bean sprouts. Eat them by themselves or throw them on top of a salad or on a sandwich for a healthy crunch. You can also cook these versatile beans into sweet and savory meals.

2. You can mash them or add their raw sprouts to anything

Mung beans are versatile for vegan cooking. Use them in this recipe for cauliflower crust pizza with black mung bean curry, or mung beans and root vegetable curry. You can also just throw the raw sprouts on top of salad, pizza or just about any dish. Try putting raw sprouts on top of this protein-packed vegan salad with quinoa, chickpeas, lime and cilantro.

3. They are super nutritious

Mung beans are high in potassium, fiber, magnesium and B vitamins. They’re also a good source of vitamin C. To get the most amount of nutrition from these beans, be sure to eat them raw. One cup of raw sprouts contains 43 percent of the recommended daily value of vitamin K, 23 percent of the daily value of vitamin C.

4. You can easily grow them yourself

Try sprouting mung beans yourself in your home, which is an easy process. According to Livestrong.com, purchase the raw sprout seeds. Soak the beans in a jar of purified, clean water for 12 hours, then drain the beans and rinse thoroughly with water. Return the beans to the jar and cover with a cloth. Rinse and drain the beans one or two times a day. Continue to rinse and drain the sprouts until the sprouts are at least 1/4 or 1/2 inch long. You can keep them growing longer if desired.

5. They can be used in sweets

Mung beans are slightly sweet in flavor, which makes them useful as an ingredient for sweets. In some Asian countries, mung bean paste is used to make frozen ice desserts. In Indonesia, the bean is added to sugar, ginger and coconut milk to make a sweet snack. Get creative and try making your own mung bean paste to use in desserts.

If you haven’t been eating mung beans before, go out and try them now! They are versatile and can quickly be thrown atop any meal for a quick, nutritious crunch.

Image source: Cauliflower Crust Pizza with Black Mung Bean Curry