Adzuki beans are a staple in East Asia and revered across the world for their healing properties.

The small beans, with a deep reddish-brown colour, are high in protein (one cup of cooked beans provides more than 15g), carbohydrates, iron and fibre, which will help keep you full for longer, and ideal for refueling after a run.

Adzuki beans are a good source for a variety of minerals, with one cup of cooked beans providing 25% of your recommended daily intake of iron, 30% RDI magnesium and potassium, 25% RDI zinc and 70% of your RDI of folic acid.

Try this simple and tasty plant-based adzuki bean soup recipe.

Ingredients

– 6 cups filtered water
– 1 cup adzuki beans soaked overnight night (or used canned organic beans)
– 1 cup diced onion
– 1 cup diced carrot
– 1 cup diced squash
– 1 cup diced parsnip
– Freshly grated ginger juice to taste (approximately 1 tbsp)
– soy sauce to taste

Directions

Discard the water from the soaking beans and add fresh filtered water. Bring water with adzuki beans to a boil over medium-high heat.

Reduce heat to medium and cook for 30-45 minutes until beans are soft.

(Discard this part of the recipe if you are using canned beans – see below.)
Add the onion and carrot and cook for a further 10 minutes. Add the squash and parsnip and cook for 15 minutes more or until soft. Stir in the ginger juice and add soy sauce to taste.

If using canned beans: Place the cooked beans along with the onion and carrot and cook for 10 minutes in 2 cups of water. Add the squash, parsnip and 1 cup of water and cook for a further 10 minutes. Season the soup to taste with ginger juice and soy sauce and serve with some crusty bread.

Take away note: According to recent research, regular bean eaters are 22 percent less likely to be overweight and have smaller waistlines than those who don’t eat them. Beans release energy slowly into the body, making them a great weight loss food.