Edamame is one of the oldest recorded snacks around, dating back to over 2000 years ago. Popular in Japan and picked before they are ripe, it is a fantastically EASY, YUMMY and HEALTHY snack. You can even find bags of whole pod edamame in the frozen vegetable section at WAL-MART so no excuses if you don’t have an Asian grocery store near you. A one-pound bag is less than $2.
Usually frozen, all you have to do is cook it in boiling water until it’s soft and sprinkle with salt for flavor. The ones at Walmart may already be salted so be careful not to make them too salty. I actually even like them plain, with no salt.
SOY shares the platform with other ingredients such as pomegranate, olive oil, aloe, Vitamin E, in being picked to be the NEW healthy ingredient in beauty products and foods that marketers are using it to sell their “healthy” products.
However, if you’re going to put SOY in shampoos and lotions and then smack all kinds of PARABENS, SODIUM LAUREL SULFATES and other chemicals on it, then you might as well not have any SOY at all. Marketers know that most people don’t read the INGREDIENT LABELS and if people see SOY, they brain cells automatically register that as HEALTHY.
I prefer it in its PUREST form…eating it. Louise also loves eating EDAMAME. It’s kinda like eating boiled peanuts! Except way healthier. A great source of protein and full of iron, this snack is ENERGY PACKED.
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION: WHY IT’S GOOD FOR YOU
Wikipedia states that Edamame, best known as a snack with a “nutritional punch” and all preparations of soybeans, are rich in carbohydrates, protein, dietary fiber, omega fatty acids and micronutrients, particularly folic acid, manganese and vitamin K. Therefore, edamame is FANTASTIC for women who are PREGNANT or NURSING.
In order of quantity from highest to lowest, edamame is PACKED with tons of healthy nutrients:
Folate (90%)
Manganese (60%)
Vitamin K (30%)
Phosphorus (27%)
Iron (20%)
Riboflavin – aka Vit B2 (20%)
Vitamin C (19%)
Magnesium (19%)
Zinc (16%)
Thiamine – aka Vit B1 (15%)
Vitamin B6 (15%)
Pantothenic Acid – aka Vit B5 (12%)
Potassium (12%)
Niacin – aka Vit B3 (7%)
Calcium (7%)
For more information, CLICK HERE.
When I lived in Japan, many of the restaurants and bars would provide a complimentary bowl of edamame…similar to the way some places here will give you nuts and stuff to munch on.
We like to eat them just plain like in the pics above but you can add the shelled edamame to salads and there are other recipes that you can probably find on the web. I just don’t know any. Eat them plain, it’s the easiest and TASTY too!
-Jane, Edamame Lover.
