Not Just Surface Damage

Sharing a magazine that I found helpful:
[Not Just Surface Damage]

A compilation of heartfelt testimonials from eating disorder survivors and supporters in Singapore, together with additional information on avenues for support.

As someone who struggles with an eating disorder and body image issues, I find it helpful to read about other people’s experiences, struggles and triumphs. Especially that of fellow Singaporeans. I find these articles encouraging and insightful. And it really helps me to be more circumspect when dealing with my own thoughts and compulsions. I hope someone finds them equally useful too.

Next time you’re at St. John’s or the Sisters’ Islands, check out the plants — News from Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

The following is a guest post by Dr. Chong Kwek Yan, on a recent series of papers in Nature in Singapore that arose from the work of a student that he supervised. Kwek Yan received the NUS Overseas Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2015 and has since been based at the Centre for Excellence for Environmental Decisions, […]

via Next time you’re at St. John’s or the Sisters’ Islands, check out the plants — News from Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

Why do beans have less protein after cooking?

Q. If you boil beans, they lose their protein?

According to google search, 1 cup RAW of pinto beans is 41 grams of protein, but if you boil them they become 1.9g / cup. Why is this so?

The discrepancy in protein per cup is due to the difference in volume between a dried bean and a cooked bean.

When the dried beans are cooked or soaked, they absorb the liquid they are cooked/soaked in, which causes them to expand.

From a quick google search, dried beans can expand up to 2-3 times their original volume after an overnight soak and 3-4 times their original volume after cooking. So if you started with 1 cup of dried beans, you will on average end up with 3 cups of cooked beans. i.e. On average, 1 cup of dried beans will contain 3x the protein of 1 cup of cooked beans.

The same applies to other dried food stuff such as grains, legumes and lentils. The only difference is the amount of water they will absorb. To make it easier and less confusing to track these calories, weigh them raw and log them  based on the raw nutritional information for that ingredient.

Related reading:

Recipe book and cooking advice for beans, legumes and lentils:

http://www.extension.uidaho.edu/adaefnep/Efnep%20pdf/BeansSplitPeasLentils.pdf

Cooking Dried Beans,Peas and Lentils:
https://www.uaf.edu/files/ces/publications-db/catalog/hec/FNH-00360.pdf

Bean conversions:
http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/bean-conversions/

Dried grains to cooked conversions:
http://wholegrainscouncil.org/recipes/cooking-whole-grains