By: Joanne Smith, Certified Nutritional Practitioner
(more about her)

This week I want to tell you about a highly nutritious food that I believe is too often neglected in discussions about healthy eating. This inexpensive, tiny, gastronomic gem has many health benefits and I don’t think we see enough of them on menus or in recipes. What I’m referring to is the powerful pea!

Before I describe all the positive effects that peas have on our well-being, I think it’s important that I first clear up some confusion surrounding its identity. Most people mistake the pea for a vegetable, when in fact it’s a legume.

Little Legume, Big History

Many of you may also be unaware that this legume has a rich and significant role in our culture and history. Once upon a time, about 5000 years ago, our Egyptian ancestors worshipped and buried the pea with their Pharaohs to take into the after life with them. This valuable food source was not lost on the Romans either. They honoured the delicious pea by including it in nine elaborate recipes in Rome’s first cookbook. The pea also holds the distinction of helping develop agricultural societies 1000 years ago, as it was one of the first cultivated food crops. Furthermore, it was the pea that sustained the masses during England’s 16th century famine, hence the well-known English children’s rhyme:

Peas porridge hot
Peas porridge cold
Peas porridge in the pot 9 days old

And lastly, for almost 200 years a single pea has been the focus of one of the most famous children’s stories of all time – Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea.

Nutritional Benefits of Peas

So what makes the pea so very special, you ask? From a nutritional perspective, they are one of the few inexpensive, delicious and easily edible seeds that pack a tonne of health benefits. Here’s a sample of what they offer – they are:

• a great source of protein & complex carbohydrates,
• low in fat & calories,
• high in fibre (helping to reduce cholesterol and improve bowel function),
• have the highest vitamin C content compared to other legumes (the ability to boost our immune system), and
• a great source of vitamin A, B, E, iron, potassium, calcium & magnesium.

The culinary possibilities for peas are also limitless:

• Liven up any stew, soup, casserole, salad or curry.
• Enjoy a hot bowl of peas with mint sauce.
• Make refreshing dips & sauces.

And if all this were not enough, this nutrient dense food employs thousands of people in the agricultural industry around the world. They are also environmentally friendly because they have special characteristics that enable them to take nitrogen from the air and fixate it into the soil through their roots (see: nitrogen fixation). Thus, peas actually enrich the soil they grow in.

All I’m saying is, “give peas a chance!” So if you have any delicious pea recipes you’d like to share, please write in.

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Joanne Smith, Certified Nutritional Practitioner
Ph:  416.992.2927
Email:  fruitfulelements@gmail.com
Website:  http://www.fruitfulelements.com/