On The Pulse

With plant-based meals on the rise and winter in full swing, it’s the perfect time to stock up your pantry with pulses. Here, we feed your mind to inspire you to feed your body with these affordable, satisfying and nutrition-packed little marvels

- Andrea Pafitis-Hill

All pulses are legumes but not all legumes are pulses. Pulses are harvested from their pods as mature, dry seeds, not when immature, as in the case of fresh legumes like green peas and string-and-runner beans. Pulses are also low in fat, yet rich in fibre and protein, unlike soya beans and peanuts, which are high-fat legumes (yes, peanuts are legumes).

Dietary guidelines recommend eating pulses together with other foods in order to boost the body’s absorption of their nutritional benefits. As stated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO): “… eating pulses with cereals creates a complete protein, containing amino acids that the body cannot produce itself. Complete proteins are essential for healthy diets, and this is why pulse-cereal combinations like beans and rice are popular in many countries. Similarly, eating pulses with vitamin C-rich foods increases the body’s ability to absorb iron.”