CHALLENGE POST - Edamame Anyone?

[Ranaesheart]

The United States Department of Agriculture states that edamame are "a soybean that can be eaten fresh and is best known as a snack with a nutritional punch".

Fiber-rich foods such as edamame help prevent mood fluctuations by keeping blood-sugar levels steady.  Edamame also contains protein, which further helps stabilize blood sugar, and omega-3 fatty acids.  Edamame beans contain higher levels of abscisic acid, sucrose, protein than other types of soybean. They also contain a high source of vitamin A, vitamin B and calcium.

PREPARATION:  The pods are boiled in water or steamed and salted to taste either before or after cooking.  If ordering them in a restaurant, they can come heavily salted so you may wanted to order them lightly salted or without salt and salt them at the table.  They are also very versatile and can be served after cooled or served hot.  The beans are consumed by using one's fingers and teeth to squeeze them out of the pod. The pod itself is discarded.

NUTRITIONAL VALUES:

Yield from 10 pods (0.7 oz)
29 Calories
1.4 g total fat (2%)
0  mg cholesterol
2.2 g carbs (1%)
0.8 g dietary fiber (3%)
2.6 g Protein
39.4 mg Calcium
124 mg Potassium

Just a new snack idea for those of us trying to expand our options and control our blood sugar levels.  You may want to look for some in the frozen food section of your grocery store.  

Hope you'll consider trying them and let us know what you think!

[GaryKC]

You can buy edamame frozen at Walmart.  The instructions say to boil 5 minutes but I find it easier to throw them into a glass measuring cup, add a little water (maybe 1/3 cup), cover with a paper towel and microwave on high for 5 minutes.  Then let stand for another 5 minutes, drain and either eat them then or refrdigerate for later.
I have also bought them fresh at Costco if you have one nearby.  THEY ARE GREAT FOR A PARTY ESPECIALLY AT XMAS TIME, ITS A GREAT SNACK YOU DON'T FEEL GUILTY ABOUT.  Merry Xmas.

[Barb135]

Sorry to go this route again, but soy products inhibit the absorption of thyroid meds, so they are off my list of "good things to eat".  

[PrettyKitty1]

I am not a vegetarian but I'll try it for you Rana!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  :)

[TrudieC]

Love them!  I, too, had at a sushi restaurant first and now buy them all the time in my local supermarket in the frozen food section.

[wonko]

I love edamame.  I can buy it fresh at some of the "fancy" food stores by me, or frozen.  The first time I had it was in a sushi restaurant, I was thrilled to learn I could buy it to prepare and have at home.  

It's fun too, since you need to break it out of the pods.  Kinda the same satisfaction/fun as eating peanuts in the shell.

[twehner5]

I'm terribly "ruttish", but this sounds interesting!  In my town, I doubt if I can find these, but I jotted down the name and I'll look for it.  Thanks for the heads up.