The 52 New Foods Challenge – Peas

This week’s new food from Jennifer Tyler Lee is Peas. These are usually a crowd pleaser with kids and even most adults will eat peas. They are a sweeter and starchier veggie, which is probably why kids and picky adults like them. I like peas just fine, but I almost never make them. They’re a little too “basic” for me, after all, I really like lavender shortbread [inside joke for my Cookie Bake-Off Ladies]. Jennifer Tyler Lee shares her experience with kids really enjoying to help with the shelling of fresh peas. She also suggests making pea soup in shooters to make eating more fun for kiddos.

Food Facts:

  • peas-331280422124r5OkFrozen peas are 25% less nutritious than fresh peas and canned peas are 50% less nutritious than fresh peas. Opt for fresh or growing them yourself.
  • Pea sprouts are a great option in the winter months to get some fresh greens in your diet (especially if you grown them yourself!)
  • Good source of vegetable protein, B vitamins, phosphorous, manganese, magnesium, potassium, and iron.
  • Green peas are less nutritious than other colored heirloom pea varieties. The other colors have more phytonutrients.
  • Unfortunately peas are low in nutrition compared to most other common vegetables.
  • Choosing relatives of peas with edible pods, snow peas, sugar snap peas, etc., increases the nutritional value.

From Eating on the Wild Side: The Missing Link to Optimum Health by Jo Robinson, The 52 New Foods Challenge: A Family Cooking Adventure for Each Week of the Year, with 150 Recipes by Jennifer Tyler Lee, Encyclopedia of Healing Foods by Michael Murray, Joseph Pizzorno, and Lara Pizzorno, and Superfoods: The Healthiest Foods on the Planet by Tonia Reinhard