If you came to the Oils and Herbs class for digestion and weight loss you know we talked about foundations of a healthy diet, sometimes referred to as the spleen diet. Mung beans are a great thing to add to your diet for both healthy digestion and weight loss.

Here are few other reasons to be excited about mung beans. Mung beans originally are from India and are also a staple to Chinese cuisine. They are cooling in nature and help to cleanse the body. They are thought to help with weight loss because of their ability to reduce swelling and can act as a diuretic. Mung beans can be used for food poisoning, diarrhea, painful urination, lead and pesticide poisoning, boils, heat stroke, conjunctivitis and edema. Mung beans can also benefit reducing high blood pressure, acidosis and ulcers. (Healing with Whole Foods. Paul Pitchford) 

I came acrossthis recipe and ended up with what you see below. This was my first time cooking with mung beans and I was pleasantly surprised with the results. Even my husband thought it tasted great too. 🙂 This recipe at its core nourishes the spleen and the addition of eggplant strengthens the kidneys, celery and spinach strengthens the liver and mushrooms the lungs. Mung beans green color benefits the liver and gall bladder as well making this a perfect dish to help with transitioning to spring. (learn more about what all this means at this month’s yogapuncture class!)

What you need:

3 cups of mung beans

container of baby bella mushrooms

5 stalks of celery

1 small onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 eggplant (cubed)

2 cups of spinach

8 cups of vegetable broth

2 tablespoons cumin, more to taste

1 tablespoon tumeric

black pepper and sea salt to taste

2 tablespoons olive oil

What you do:

Soak mung beans overnight. Strain mung beans and rinse. Chop onions and garlic. In a stock pot add oil, onions and garlic and cook until onions are translucent. Add eggplant and cook until tender, another 3 minutes or so. Add mung beans and vegetable broth. Bring to a rolling boil and then turn to low. Simmer covered for 30 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, celery, spinach, and spices then turn off heat and let stand for 5 minutes or so. Transfer to bowls. This is hearty enough to eat as is or you can add some rice. If you have one handy add some avocado slices and enjoy!

Let me know what you think! 🙂