Cheryl Forberg, RD. Biggest Loser Nutritionist

Edamame: Vegetable or starch?

Dear Cheryl,

I like to eat edamame as a snack or sometimes on a salad. When I eat them should I count them as a vegetable or a starch in my food journal? They were prepared from frozen, steamed, in shell, with no salt.

-- Taka

Cheryl responds:

Edamame or young green soybeans are a legume, and I classify them with other beans and legumes (such as lentils, black beans, garbanzo beans etc.). I put them in the lean protein category as a vegetable protein. Yes, they are higher in starch than other veggies, but they're also higher in protein (and a great source of fiber). Because they're part starch (eg carb) and part protein, they make a great snack, too!

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