SASKATOON -- For more than 15 years Phil Chilibeck and his research partner Gord Zello have been working with, researching, or cooking up and eating pulse crops.
Now they are helping promote the benefits of pulse crops.
Chilibeck and the other researchers put together the Eating Pulse Improves Cardiovascular Health (Epic Health) digital recipe list with 50 legume-based recipes.
The recipes were the same ones that Chilibeck and the team were using during the research and they made sure to provide evidence that their recipes work.
According to Chilibeck some of the benefits include:
- Reduced blood pressure
- Reduced blood sugar
- Reduced Cholesterol
- Improved body composition
Chilibeck said he knew that pulses were healthy before he started the study, so the results didn’t come as a shock to him.
“It’s got kind of an exciting nutritional profile that can have many potential benefits. It’s a really good source of protein, they’re very high in protein.”
The research was possible after the research team was given $10,000 by the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation.
Chilibeck said he has always been a fan of cooking so a project like this was a great way to learn more while finding a few new recipes that he enjoys.
“The one I like the best is probably the black bean burrito, and I also like the chana masala. Chana masala is just chick peas cooked with tomatoes and a lot of spices.”
In addition to the health benefits, Chilibeck said that pulses are easy to incorporate into a diet because they are cheap, have a long shelf life and are vegan friendly and gluten free.
The recipe list also includes advice on how to properly cook different types of pulse crops.
