More and more people seeking a healthy lifestyle are interested in the natural properties of chickpeas (or Turkish peas). The use of this bean crop helps to prevent many diseases, improves health, and eliminates excess weight. Due to its special healing properties, chickpeas are primarily indicated for those suffering from diabetes. You will learn more about the value of chickpeas for the human body, as well as about the features of its preparation, from this article.

The chemical composition of chickpeas

Chickpeas contain such valuable micro and macro elements as potassium, calcium, magnesium, manganese, sodium, phosphorus, iron, copper and zinc. Isoflavones are also present in this bean. Retinol, vitamin E, beta-carotene, vitamin K are found from fat-soluble vitamins; ascorbic acid and B vitamins are found from water-soluble vitamins.

Did you know? The daily rations of German soldiers during the First World War included chickpea coffee (ersatz). In some regions of Germany and Austria, chickpea coffee substitute is popular to this day.

Nutrition value of chickpeas per 100 g:

• high-quality proteins - 20.47 g;
• fats - 6.04 g;
• carbohydrates - 62.95 g.

The total sugar content is 10.7 g, fiber - 12.2 g, water - 7.68 g, ash - 2.85 g. There are no cholesterol and trans fats in the composition of Turkish peas. Calorie content per 100 g - 378 kcal.

Legumes as an alternative to meat products for diabetics

Persons with diabetes following a therapeutic diet should definitely include beans in their regular menu. Chickpea is an excellent substitute for meat products.

The beneficial properties of chickpeas to maintain a stable blood sugar level

Taking the bean in question normalizes the amount of sugar in the blood, which is very significant at type 1 diabetes. Indeed, in the event of an imbalance in glucose levels, hypoglycemic syndrome can develop. In addition, the benefits of chickpeas are to improve lipid metabolism.

For patients with metabolic pathology 2 types the product is valuable in that it produces insulin. The culture also serves as an excellent prevention of diabetes for people who are predisposed to it.

Chickpeas are indicated for diabetics because the protein found in them is quickly absorbed by the body. A carbohydrate has the feature of being more slowly destroyed, due to which the peaks of blood sugar spikes are smoothed out.Due to fiber, the functioning of the digestive system improves, toxins and toxins are removed from the body. At the same time, intestinal motility is stimulated. At stage 2, the body also suffers from an excess of cholesterol, and the use of chickpeas helps to reduce the percentage of this harmful substance in the blood. This type of pea has a positive effect on the gallbladder, liver, and spleen.

Having a choleretic and diuretic effect, the product removes excess fluid and bile from the body. Blood is replenished with iron, hemoglobin rises. It’s very important for diabetics to control their own weight. And chickpeas helps to accelerate metabolism, helps to lose extra pounds, stabilizes the endocrine system.

Chickpea Glycemic Index

The glycemic index (GI) is used to determine changes in blood sugar levels after taking a particular food product.

How to classify products by glycemic index:

Raw

GI of raw chickpeas is 10 units. But due to the fact that the product completely lacks essential amino acids, nutritionists recommend eating it in a mixture with rice or pasta. This combination allows you to achieve the correct assimilation by the body of all useful elements.

Boiled

GI boiled chickpea is 30 units. In this form, the product is recommended to be included in the daily menu of people suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes, athletes and people who simply control their weight.

Fried

The GI index of a fried product is 35 units. When fried, chickpeas lose some of their beneficial properties, since the fruits have undergone heat treatment. However, due to the high content of dietary fiber, Turkish peas remain very useful.

Chickpea based recipes

Chickpea is not only useful, it also pleases with its taste. From Turkish peas you can cook a lot of original and tasty dishes - various soups, side dishes, snacks.

Vegetable Soup

Essential Ingredients:

• dry chickpeas - 200 g;
• water - 800 ml;
• onions - 300-400 g;
• pickles - 100 g;
• celery stalks - 140 g;
• tomatoes - 4 pcs.;
• vegetable oil - 2 tbsp. l .;
• salt - 1 tsp;
• black pepper - 0.25 tsp

The process of preparing chickpea soup:

1. Peas are soaked overnight, then washed, placed in a saucepan, poured with water and sent to the fire.
2. After boiling, peas should be cooked for about half an hour, until soft.
3. Onion in a frying pan with heated oil is fried.
4. As soon as the onion softens and becomes a little golden, add randomly chopped pickles to it, mix and fry a little.
5. Next add chopped celery and pulp of tomatoes. Tomatoes are blanched in advance to then release them from the skin. Stirring often, the vegetables are fried until most of the liquid is evaporated.
6. Vegetables sent to boiled peas. The dish is salted and cooked over medium heat for about 10 minutes.
7. Ready chickpeas with vegetables are crushed using a submersible blender to a homogeneous mass.
8. Chickpea soup should be served hot. The dish can be decorated with chopped herbs and smoked paprika.

Important! To prevent discomfort in the stomach from eating chickpeas, it is important not to neglect the step of soaking these beans. Keep peas before cooking in cold water for at least 5-6 hours, and preferably 10-12. In this case, peas should be in the refrigerator.

Hummus

To make this great snack you will need:

• Turkish peas (boiled) - 870 g;
• garlic (minced) - 2 cloves;
• water - 0.5 cups;
• sesame paste "Tkhina" - 0.25 cups;
• lemon juice - 3 tbsp. l .;
• olive oil - 2 tbsp. l .;
• salt - 0.75 tsp;
• ground black pepper - 0.25 tsp.

Cooking homemade hummus:

1. In a bowl of a food processor, pre-soaked chickpeas and garlic are laid out, carefully ground.
2. Then pour water, lemon juice, olive oil, add the paste "Tkhina". The resulting mixture is seasoned with salt and pepper.
3. The last stage of the mixture is mashed to a state of homogeneous mass.
4. Hummus served with toast, croutons or chips.

Nuthurak

To cook this popular dish in the East, you will need these products:

• Turkish peas (dry) - 500 g;
• water - 1.5 l;
• onions - 1 small head;
• dill - half a bunch;
• salt - 2–2.5 tsp.

Did you know? In 2012, the cooks of one of the hotels in the capital, Amman, brought out the largest falafel in the world for breakfast. Chickpea "ball" weighed 75 kg.

Stages of preparation:

1. Pre-soaked peas are spread in a saucepan, poured with water and allowed to boil under a closed lid. Then the peas are left to cook over low heat until tender (soft).
2. Pour salt to the peas, mix, then cook another 10 minutes.
3. During this time, chop the onion thinly and chop the dill.
4. Ready chickpeas are taken from the water, where it was cooked, transferred to a dish, and sprinkled with onion and dill on top.

Video: Boiled pea chickpeas Nuthurak

Lentil stew

For this recipe, the following ingredients will be used:

• dry chickpeas - ¼ cup;
• lentils - ½ cup;
• onions - 1 large head;
• carrots - 1 pc. large size;
• zucchini - 2 pcs. large size;
• vegetable oil - 3 tbsp. l .;
• tomatoes - 4-5 pcs.;
• water or broth - to taste;
• greens - any and to taste;
• salt, ground black pepper, bay leaf, spices - to taste.

Step-by-step cooking instructions:

1. Lentils and chickpeas are soaked in cold water overnight.
2. Sunflower oil is poured into a pot or a cauldron, then finely chopped onion is laid out.
3. The contents of the pan are allowed to lightly fry, then grated carrots are added, cut into cubes of zucchini.
4. When the vegetables are slightly fried, the dish must be seasoned with spices, mix, cover and leave to simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.
5. While the vegetables are stewed, cut and fry the tomatoes (in a separate pan).
6. After 10 minutes, pre-soaked chickpeas are added to the stew, and some water or broth is added. After waiting for the liquid to boil, the dish is boiled over a minimum heat for another 7-10 minutes.
7. Now you can add lentils, fried tomatoes, herbs, bay leaf, and then salt and pepper the stew. Stir all foods and cook for another 5 minutes. Ready stew should stand for 10 minutes.

Norms and rules for the consumption of chickpea peas

To fill the daily need for vitamins and fiber, a healthy person just needs to eat 200 g of Turkish peas. It is better to start with small portions (50 g per day), gradually increasing the portion. If you follow a vegetarian diet, legumes are shown 2-3 times a week.

Diabetics should include this product in their diet at least twice a week. In this case, the daily portion should not exceed 150 g. In addition, on the days of chickpea consumption, it is necessary to limit the number of bakery products in the diet. To get rid of extra pounds, it is worth replacing flour products, rice, potatoes with Turkish peas. The permissible duration of such a diet is 10 days.

Important! It is categorically undesirable to drink chickpeas with liquid. In addition, chickpeas should not be mixed with cabbage and fruits such as apples and pears.

Contraindications

There are practically no restrictions on the consumption of chickpeas. However, this bean culture incorporates oligosaccharides - substances that the human body is not able to digest. Therefore, the abuse of such food is fraught with fermentation, excessive gas formation, especially when washed down with water.Chickpeas (especially fried) are undesirable to consume for people with gastrointestinal diseases, gout, bladder problems, and suffering from constipation. Refuse this bean will have and with his individual intolerance. Otherwise, you will harm your body - unpleasant allergic reactions are possible.

Thus, Turkish peas rich in valuable nutrients must certainly be on the diabetic menu. A bean-based diet not only helps maintain a stable blood glucose level, but also improves overall health.