Looking for a fresh meal prep idea? Consider trying a dense bean salad.

Violet Witchel, a culinary student and social media influencer, has gained popularity recently by sharing her recipes for what she calls a “dense bean salad,” which is a nutrient-rich dish centered around legumes.

“Every week, I prepare a dense bean salad that’s loaded with vegetables and packed with protein. It sits in the fridge and improves in flavor as the week goes on,” Witchel shares at the start of her videos.

Her dense bean salad recipes vary widely and include options like a spicy chipotle chicken salad, sundried tomato salad, grilled steak tzatziki salad, and a miso edamame salad. Although ingredient combinations differ, they usually consist of two types of legumes, a selection of vegetables, a vinegar-based dressing, fresh herbs, and occasionally a meat protein.

What makes these recipes a healthy option? Here’s what nutrition experts say about legumes, the key ingredients in the dense bean salad.

What are legumes?

Witchel’s dense bean salads typically include various legumes such as chickpeas, cannellini beans, lima beans, and edamame. Other examples of legumes include black beans, pinto beans, lentils, peas, and peanuts.

Legumes are a crucial part of diets globally due to their “affordable source of protein, vitamins, complex carbohydrates, and fiber,” as noted by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. In addition to a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds, increasing legume intake has been associated with a significantly reduced risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and type 2 diabetes, according to research.

“Legumes are nearly a superfood,” says registered dietitian Miranda Galati to YSL News. She emphasizes that their combination of nutrients makes them “an exceptionally nutrient-dense food that also keeps you satiated.”

Is it healthy to eat beans and legumes every day?

For the majority of people, it’s generally acceptable to consume beans and legumes daily. In fact, eating them can help prevent the health issues mentioned earlier. A 2014 study published in Nature indicated that they may even assist in treating these conditions for those who are already affected.

“Social media sometimes spreads worry regarding lectins and anti-nutrients found in legumes, but the advantages significantly outweigh those exaggerated concerns,” Galati explains. Lectins are proteins that attach to carbohydrates and can resist breakdown in the digestive system, potentially causing issues such as stomach pain, bloating, gas, and diarrhea, according to Harvard.

The good news is that cooking legumes effectively neutralizes most lectins, according to Harvard’s research. There isn’t extensive data on the long-term health impacts of active lectins in humans, and most existing studies are based on populations where malnutrition is prevalent, raising questions about the real impact of lectins from legumes on broader health issues.

“If you’re consuming cooked — not raw — beans, and if your digestive system tolerates them well, there’s minimal risk in eating them daily,” Galati concludes.