As a food source, Lima beans were known
to be cultivated more than 7000 years ago making them rather ancient! As they can stand the heat
better than most beans, Lima's are often grown in tropical areas like
Africa and Asia.And, I've found either you like the taste or you don't.
The scientific name for Lima beans is
Phaseolus lunatus and these puppies are chock full of nutrients as
the graphic above shows. They are also high in fiber and really help to moderate
or stabilize blood sugar levels which is a good thing for all us diabetics. Even more amazing, in a study that
examined food intake patterns and risk of death from coronary heart
disease, researchers followed more than 16,000 middle-aged men in the
U.S., Finland, The Netherlands, Italy, former Yugoslavia, Greece and
Japan for
25 years. Typical food patterns were: higher
consumption of dairy products in Northern Europe; higher consumption
of meat in the U.S.; higher consumption of vegetables, legumes, fish,
and wine in Southern Europe; and higher consumption of cereals, soy
products, and fish in Japan. When researchers analyzed this data in
relation to the risk of death from heart disease, they found that
higher consumption of legumes was associated with a whopping
82% reduction in risk!! Wow!
Every 100 gram serving (~ half a cup)
delivers about 114 grams of calories and will fit nicely as a side
for most any meal. I like to buy them frozen in one pound bags in the
frozen food isle. They cook up in just a few minutes and cost just a
couple of bucks!
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