The keto diet is a very efficient technique to lose weight. Initially, it can be very challenging, based on what you are accustomed to, but it works. Essentially, it is a whole new way of eating.
I remember feeling a little overwhelmed when I initially began investigating keto diets. As someone who loves all types of grains and beans, I thought- are black-eyed peas keto friendly?
The answer is no. Although black-eyed peas are a great way to help you lose weight due to their high fiber and protein content, it is not a proper fit for the keto diet. Black-eyed peas are very starchy and have high carbohydrate content, and a small portion can mess up your keto journey.
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Facts About Black Eyed Peas
Black-eyed peas, commonly called cowpeas, are a very popular legume grown worldwide. They are said to have originated in West Africa. Despite their name, black-eyed peas fall under the category of beans, not peas.
Black-eyed peas are named for their looks. They have a big black, brown, or red patch that mimics an eye and are often rather light in appearance. Black-eyed peas have a rich, naturally sweet taste and are often used in many savory dishes.
In addition to being ample in protein, black-eyed peas are also rich in fiber. These nutrients make them a fantastic source of energy.
Nutritional Facts Of Black Eyed Peas
In terms of nutrition, peas are a great choice, especially black-eyed peas, which are packed with nutrients. These flavorful peas are high in complex carbohydrates, protein, and many micronutrients.
Cooked black-eyed peas have around 99 calories per half-cup serving.
- Carbohydrate- 18 grams
- Protein- 7 grams
- Fiber- 6 grams
- Sugar- 3 grams
- Fat- o grams
Black-eyed peas include antioxidants such as flavonoids, which assist the body in increasing immunity. These beans also have minerals like vitamin K, zinc, manganese, folic acid, iron, etc. By adding black-eyed peas to your diet, you can boost your intake of flavonoids and other beneficial elements.
The Health Advantages Of Black Eyed Peas
Black-eyed peas are very beneficial for health because of their vital mineral and vitamins. Vitamin K, for example, is required for blood clotting; therefore, it is essential for patients who use blood-thinning (also called anticoagulant) medication.
Great Source Of Folic Acid
1/2 cup of black-eyed peas have almost 105 mg of folic acid (vitamin B9), roughly 26% of the daily recommendation. Natural folic acid can reduce the chance of getting some cancers. Folic acid deficiency can cause fatigue, headaches, and irregular heartbeat and can make it hard to concentrate on anything.
Getting a proper amount of folic acid in your diet can provide additional health advantages. Studies have found that low levels of folic acid may make people more likely to have depression and not react well to therapies.
Promote Healthy Digestion
Black-eyed peas include both soluble and insoluble fiber, which improves digestion by allowing your body to poop more easily. Fiber also supports gut health by maintaining it properly.
Your body benefits from eating more fiber. The good bacteria in black-eyed beans only help with digestion, but they have also been demonstrated to decrease inflammation, improve immunological function, and lower cholesterol levels. People risk having chronic constipation more than those who eat more fibrous food by not getting enough fiber.
Good For Heart
A plant-based diet, such as black-eyed peas, is heart-healthy. Consuming beans like black-eyed peas reduces the risk of heart disease and hypertension. So, it is a great approach to keeping your heart strong and healthy.
Helps In Weight Loss
Introducing black-eyed peas into a regular diet is an excellent strategy for weight loss because their high protein and soluble fiber fill you up more quickly. Soluble fiber is gel-like in texture and is digested gradually to make you feel fuller between meals. On the other hand, protein has been proven to lower hunger-stimulating hormones.
Boosts Energy
As a mineral, manganese preserves the cell structures that generate energy in your body. In addition to that, the black-eyed pea has protein that also promotes energy production. In a half-cup portion of black-eyed peas, men and women get 40% and 52% of the manganese they need each day.
Helps With Blood Sugar
The fibers in black-eyed peas regulate blood sugar by slowing down digestion and minimizing the danger of insulin spikes. Because of this reduced risk, black-eyed peas are a good option for diabetes patients.
Keto Diet And Its Basics
The Keto diet recently gained popularity because of its amazing results. It promotes weight loss and wellness by limiting your daily carbohydrate amount.
A ketogenic diet involves restricting carbohydrate intake, which helps your body enter a metabolic condition. In this condition, your body fat will be used for energy rather than carbohydrates, causing you to lose weight. Furthermore, this diet lowers blood sugar and insulin levels to maintain your body healthy.
Your food will consist of 75% healthy fats, 15% protein, and the rest will be carbs. It will put your body in the ketosis stage, which burns fat.
Although you can eat as many leafy vegetables and seasonings you want, you have to cut down on carbs. So, you cannot enjoy legumes without wondering are black-eyed peas keto friendly.
Why Black Eyed Peas Are Not Keto Friendly?
To answer the question, are black-eyed peas keto friendly– almost all beans and pulses are not on the ‘keto-approved food’ list. Carbohydrate content in black-eyed peas, kidney red beans, or regular beans is relatively high. Almost all beans have a very high carb count and can knock you out of ketosis.
In keto, only 5% -10% of macros will be from carbs to put your body into ketosis. This equates to 20g – 50g of carbs each day for most individuals.
In practice, this figure varies due to a variety of circumstances. For example, those who work out a lot can have more carbs than someone who does not exercise.
It is clear that black-eyed peas are not good for keto. One cup of black-eyed peas has 25.3 g of net carbs. Unfortunately, it is way too carb-heavy to be keto friendly. So, if you want to have black-eyed peas, you will have to do some serious portion control.
How To Fit Black Eyed Peas In A Keto Diet?
The ketogenic diet does not allow black-eyed peas. But, if you are not willing to give them up, you can try to follow some methods to include them in your diet.
- Plan ahead of mealtime– Black-eyed peas have just 4 grams of net carbohydrates per ounce. This is something you can easily include in your diet.
- Eat a small amount- try not to eat black-eyed peas more than 2-3 times a week.
But if you feel that you are gradually slipping out of ketosis, it may be wise to replace black-eyed peas with another vegetable.
Are There Any Keto Friendly Beans?
On the keto diet, you can only have two types of beans without worrying about them. Those are green beans and black soybeans. Other beans have a lot of carbohydrates and very little fat, so they are not suitable for keto.
Green Beans
These snappy and light green beans are among the keto-friendly veggies! Green beans have just 4 grams of net carbs per 100g, and they are lighter in carbs than pinto or kidney beans.
They go well as a side salad with any meat. Vegetarians may find several ideas for keto-friendly green bean recipes for breakfast, lunch, supper, and even a snack!
Black Soybeans
If you are looking for a low-carb option, black soybeans are the way to go. For only 5 grams of net carbs per half-cup, there are only 11g of protein and 4.5g of fat. For me, that is a great bargain! They taste just like black-eyed peas. You may also substitute them for regular black beans.
Keto Friendly Alternatives Of Black Eyed Peas
Because calculating net carbohydrates may be complex, making an error might result in losing your keto progress. That is why most people on the keto diet skip beans like black-eyed peas entirely. However, since beans play such an essential part in cuisine, quitting them might be challenging all of a sudden. Luckily, there are various keto-friendly alternatives for beans that you may integrate into your diet.
- Peas- As legumes, most peas are around half the carbohydrate content of beans. They are not as low-carb as the other alternatives, with 14g of net carbohydrates per cup, but they are still a meal you can have in reasonable amounts.
Besides being high in protein (8.6g in 1 cup serving), green peas are also high in vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, and other nutrients. Peas may substitute beans in stews, salads, and curries, but their particular taste may not work in other bean-based recipes.
- Enoki mushrooms- They look like bean sprouts and have a similar mouthfeel to cooked beans, making them a great replacement for beans. These fresh or tinned mushrooms go well with salads or soups. A cup of enoki mushrooms has just 3g of net carbohydrates, making it ideal for the keto diet.
- Nuts- They are rich in healthy fats and lovely nutrients. Creamy macadamia, crunchy almonds, or rich pecans are all packed with heart-friendly vitamins and are low in carbs. They are all excellent options for keto.
- Vegetables-A variety of veggies can approximate the flavor and texture of beans while avoiding the high carbohydrate content. Try slicing up some mushrooms, zucchini, or rice some cauliflower as an alternative to beans.
Keto Friendly Recipes With Beans
Although black-eyed peas are not suitable for keto, you can substitute them with other keto-friendly beans and make some delicious food!
Green Bean Salad
This salad is a delicious mix of perfectly cooked green beans, vinaigrette, toasted almonds, and creamy feta cheese. There is nothing like this green bean salad!
To make this salad, blanch the green beans in boiling water for seven minutes. After that, put them in ice water to retain the vibrant green color.
In the meantime, combine extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, yellow mustard, minced garlic, pepper, red pepper flakes, and salt in a mixing bowl. Toss the green beans, toasted almonds, and some feta in the mixture.
Place the green beans on a serving plate. On top, scatter the leftover feta. Serve immediately with some lightly grated lemon zest on top.
Green Bean Casserole
You can make this delicious dish in just under 30 minutes. You can use canned green beans to make this dish.
Simply sauté some onion, garlic, and mushroom. After that, pour the vegetable stock and cream cheese. Mix it well and add the green beans.
Transfer it to a casserole and cover the top with grated cheese. Bake it until the cheese is melted.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Are black-eyed peas low-carb?
No, they are not low-carb. One cup of black-eyed peas has 25.3 g of net carbohydrates.
2. Can I have beans on keto?
You can have green beans and black soybean as they are lower in carbohydrates than other beans.
3. Can black-eyed peas help to lose weight?
Yes, black-eyed peas can help lose weight because of soluble fiber, but it is not ideal for a low-carb diet.
4. How many carbs are in black-eyed peas?
There are 33.5g of carbs in a cup of cooked black-eyed peas.
5. Which bean is lowest in carbs?
Green bean is the lowest. There are only 4 g of net carbs in one cup of raw green beans.
6. Can I have black bean burgers in the keto diet?
As most black bean burgers are highly processed, they are not keto-friendly.
7. Are black-eyed peas starchy?
Black-eyed peas are starch heavy as beans are naturally very starchy.
8. Can I digest black-eyed peas easily?
Because of their high fiber, black-eyed peas are easily digestible.
Final Thoughts
Because of their fantastic health benefits, black-eyed peas can be considered a superfood. But if you are wondering, are black-eyed peas keto friendly? You are going to be disappointed.
As a form of complex carbohydrates, black-eyed peas are excellent for energy, fiber, and help in losing weight. But they are not suitable for keto because of their high carbohydrate content.
But it is up to you to decide if you want to incorporate black-eyed peas into your diet. Depending on the state of the keto diet you are following, you can eat them moderately. Just be conscious of the carbs you will be getting from other foods so you will be able to stay on your weight-loss journey.
