I am sure you all have heard the fairytale story about the princess who had an awful night trying to sleep with a hard pea placed underneath stacks of mattresses by a soon to be mother in law. I think the soon to be mother in law should have cooked up a meal with peas in them instead if she wanted to make the princesses angry. I mean come on, we all know how disappointed we all were getting served peas at dinnertime time by our parents, but our parents did have a good reason for making us eat those peas just like the soon to be mother in law had a good reason for making the princesses sleep one the pea. Our parents knew how nourishing peas were to our body just as the soon to be mother in law knew a princess who could sleep on a pea and feel it was a true princess indeed.
Facts about Peas
Peas are actually seeds that come from peapods, which are actually considered fruits. Peas grow on long climbing vines that have sweet scented pinkish purple blossoms growing off them. The pods that grow off the vines are green in color with up to 5 peas in each pod that are almost 6 inches long and about an inch wide. The pods are edible and tender with a sweet crisp fresh flavor to them, but many people prefer to split the pods open and scoop the peas out to eat instead. The peas inside the pods are small with a round shape and a green color to them. The peas are hard at first, but steaming them in a steamer or boiling the peas in a pan can help soften them up greatly giving them a mushy tender texture and a sweet starchy flavor.
Peas are originally from the Mediterranean, but you can find them growing all over the world now in places like Africa, North America, South America and China. Many people enjoy growing them in fruit, vegetable and floral gardens when the cool seasons approach since pea plants do not grow best in heat because it can kill them. When the pea plants are planted properly and have the right climate to grow in, they grow rapidly and the pods are ready to harvest within three months. The pea pods are harvested from the vines by simply picking them off and placing them into baskets. Once the pods are harvested, the peas are removed from them to be canned or frozen to help preserve them until they are ready to be eaten.
Peas are good to have with dinner if you have an inflammatory disease that needs to be relieved from inflammation because the nutrients in peas have anti-inflammatory properties. Peas are even good to eat regularly due to all the fiber in them that can help push toxins and waste out of the digestive tract, which can help prevent digestive diseases and stomach and colon cancers. Adding green peas to your weekly diet can even help improve your heart and your brain making them stronger and healthier preventing heart disease, Alzheimer’s, heart attacks, strokes and memory loose. Peas can even help keep you in good moods and relieve anxiety due to all the B vitamins in peas that help the body handle stresses better. Eating fresh peas regularly can also prevent eye diseases like macular degeneration and cataracts. If you are looking for ways to improve your families immune system adding peas to meals can help do just that since peas do contain high amounts of vitamin C and Phytonutrients that can help nourish and protect the immune system. Now, I personally eat peas because they have a good amount of protein in them, which is essential for keeping the body lean and strong. However, you can eat peas whenever you want to keep the body healthy or to help treat other common health conditions like constipation and high cholesterol levels. Those who suffer from anemia can provide their bodies with the iron it needs to help stay energized by snacking on raw pea pods or peas for a healthy snack. The reasons to eat peas regularly are endless, but now that you know some reasons maybe, it will encourage you to eat them more often.
Some people have been known to have server allergic reactions to peas. Otherwise, peas are safe to eat and should be eaten often to help keep that body of yours healthy and strong.
