Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Give Peas a Chance!

Couldn’t resist the pun. Didn’t try very hard, either. I know, I know, it isn’t super creative and it’s been done before. I’m at peas with that.

Seriously, though. I’d better start minding my peas & Qs!

Really. I’ll stop now.

I love green peas. When they are, however briefly, in season and available at the farmers’ market, I love buying old-fashioned shell peas, shelling them, and eating them right away. I love adding peas to my macaroni and cheese, eating them frozen out of the bag, or using them to doctor leftover potato soup along with ham & garlic. (For example, the thumbnail picture with this post!) I love snap peas, both as a fresh snack and added to recipes, and snow peas in sautés and stir-fries.

Peas are good sources of iron, vitamin A, vitamin C, and some of the B vitamins. They are considered a starchy food, along the lines of potatoes, as about 70% of their calories come from carbohydrates. Peas are also a decent source of dietary fiber and protein, and they are being used more and more in the creation of meat alternatives such as Beyond Meat’s Beyond Burger. You can also find peas in non-dairy milk and ice cream as well as gluten-free noodles. Pea plants are more drought-tolerant than wheat, corn, or soy, which makes them more environmentally friendly to grow. And while it is possible to be allergic to peas, especially if you’re allergic to any other legume, such as peanuts, it is rare. Peas are one of the foods that contain antinutrients; these are substances that can inhibit your body’s ability to absorb some nutrients. For that reason, it is typically better to eat peas cooked instead of raw. (I’m still going to eat them any way I can get them!)

Perfect food? Maybe not, but peas are certainly delicious, nutritious, and good for the planet. That’s a good start toward appeasing our need for other products. (See what I did there?)

How do you like your peas?

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Food Rule 25

An advertising phrase you may have heard goes along the lines of eat the colorful spectrum. (And yes, I’m totally avoiding the specific wording!)

I can totally work with that concept, as long as it’s more about fruits and vegetables and less about high-fructose corn syrup.

Michael Pollan’s food rule 25 is eat your colors. There’s an old wives’ tale about a healthy plate of food featuring multiple colors. As it turns out there’s good science to it! Colorful fruits and vegetables frequently contain valuable quantities of phytochemicals. Carrots and spinach and peppers, oh my!

Let’s look at a short list of colorful veggies and the nutrients they provide, shall we?

Beets provide vitamin B. Broccoli, peas, peppers, potatoes, and tomatoes provide vitamin C (among other things). Carrots and sweet potatoes supply beta-carotene. Peas, spinach, potatoes, and sweet potatoes provide iron.

Some of these are better cooked, and some are better raw, as shown in the following brief list:

• Beets (either cooked or raw)

  • Vitamin B (group)

• Broccoli (either)

  • Calcium

  • Vitamin C

• Carrots (either)

  • Beta-carotene

  • Vitamin A

• Peas (either)

  • Iron

  • Vitamin C

• Peppers (either)

  • Vitamin A

  • Vitamin C

• Potatoes (cooked)

  • Iron

  • Vitamin C

• Spinach (either)

  • Calcium

  • Iron

• Sweet Potatoes (cooked)

  • Beta-carotene

  • Iron

• Tomatoes (either)

  • Vitamin C

Let’s not leave fruit out of the conversation, either! (Although, arguably, tomatoes are fruit. I still won’t put them in a fruit salad!)

• Apples

  • Vitamin C

  • Potassium

• Bananas

  • Potassium

  • Vitamin B-6

• Blackberries

  • Vitamin C

  • Dietary fiber

• Blueberries

  • Vitamin C

  • Dietary fiber

• Cherries

  • Vitamin A

  • Vitamin C

• Dates

  • Magnesium

  • Dietary fiber

• Grapefruit

  • Vitamin A

  • Vitamin C

• Oranges

  • Vitamin C

• Pears

  • Vitamin C

  • Dietary fiber

• Raspberries

  • Vitamin C

  • Dietary fiber

• Strawberries

  • Vitamin C

  • Potassium

On these cold, cold days, simply thinking about colorful fruits and vegetables, harvested on a sunny, warm day makes me happy! While getting locally grown produce is always best, I’m grateful for grocery stores so that even during the winter I can have an orange, an apple, spinach, and colorful peppers, just to name a few.

What colorful spectrum will adorn your dinner plate tonight?

Cheers! Here’s to your health!

Wine & Wellness Wednesday: Raw or Cooked?

Ok, let’s talk veggies. I am loving farmer’s market and CSA season. (In case you’re curious, CSA is community-supported agriculture; we get a share of fresh veggies every week! It’s a great way to try things that are new to us!) And let’s talk about whether raw or cooked is the best way to go.

First, a poll. Who likes raw carrots best? How about cooked carrots? How about don’t give you carrots, in any way, shape, or form, ever? I am one of those people who like carrots about any way I can get them. And what I find interesting is that cooking carrots means the nutrients in them become more available for your body to absorb. It’s true for other vegetables as well; cooking some veggies breaks down the cell walls, which makes it easier for us to absorb the nutrients in those veggies. On the other hand, for water-soluble nutrients such as vitamin C, cooking veggies high in the nutrients drains off those vitamins.

While it is critical to get as many nutrients from your food as possible, it is at times very difficult to do so. I don’t advocate for or against taking nutritional (vitamin) supplements; I do take some myself. You need to figure out what works for you! It’s important to get good quantities of veggies in your diet daily. The recommended daily servings of vegetables: 3-5. So what do you do with a tomato when it’s technically a fruit? :)

What do you do in order to make that recommendation happen? What might make it easier? For example, take time every couple of days to clean, peel (as needed), and chop or slice up some peppers or cucumbers, etc., and then keep them in Ziploc bags or containers in the fridge so they are easily grabbed when you want them.

What’s your favorite veggie? Let’s talk about some nutrients in those! Be aware that this list is nowhere near complete and doesn’t list all of the nutrients for the vegetables I’m including.

So what’s the difference and how do you decide what to eat raw or cooked?

• Artichoke (either)
  • Calcium
  • Potassium
• Asparagus (cooked)
  • Potassium
  • Vitamin A
• Beets (either)
  • Vitamin B (group)
• Broccoli (either)
  • Calcium
  • Vitamin C
• Carrots (either)
  • Beta-carotene
  • Vitamin A
  • Cookin g carrots increases the beta-carotene your body can absorb.
• Corn (either)
  • Iron
  • Vitamin B (group)
  • Cooking corn increases antioxidant availability.
• Cucumbers (raw)
  • Vitamin K
• Green Beans (either)
  • Calcium
  • Vitamin C
  • Green  beans are mildly toxic when eaten raw, however, the quantity shouldn’t be a problem. Blanch green beans quickly to cook out the toxins but retain more of their nutrients.
• Kale (either)
  • Iron
  • Vitamin A
• Kohlrabi (either)
  • Calcium
  • Vitamin A
• Peas (either)
  • Iron
  • Vitamin C
• Peppers (either)
  • Vitamin A
  • Vitamin C
  • Cooking peppers makes some of the nutrients they provide easier to digest.
• Potatoes (cooked)
  • Iron
  • Vitamin C
• Pumpkin (cooked)
  • Beta-carotene
  • Vitamin A
  • Can be eaten raw but nutrient availability is better when cooked.
• Spaghetti Squash (either)
  • Beta-carotene
  • Vitamin B (group)
  • Can be eaten raw but cooked is more common.
• Spinach (either)
  • Calcium
  • Iron
  • Cooking/steaming spinach changes the percentage of vitamin availability. Calcium is hard for the body to absorb from spinach.
• Sweet Potatoes (cooked)
  • Beta-carotene
  • Iron
• Swiss Chard (either)
  • Iron
  • Vitamin A
• Tomato (either)
  • Vitamin C
  • Cookin g tomatoes decreases Vitamin C but increases lycopene accessibility.
• Turnips (either)
  • Calcium
  • Vitamin A
• Zucchini (either)
  • Potassium
  • Vitamin A

Have you learned something new about one of your favorite veggies? Have you seen a tidbit about a new-to-you veggie you might try soon? What’s your favorite veggie recipe? :)

Cheers! Here’s to your health!