Experts say that for optimal health benefits you must have seasonal fruits, vegetables, and other food items. These are fresh and are packed with vital nutrients and vitamins. Since this is the winter season, many food items are in, such as carrot, beetroot, sweet potato, and of course green peas. These shiny green pearls that add flavour to your food are filled with nutrients. But do you know that green peas, which are sold in the market packaged and otherwise, is not a vegetable, but comes under the legume family? Yes, in the same family as chickpea, soybean, lentil, and peanuts.
Although with the advancement in food processing and preservation technology, you can have green peas all year round. However, there is something when you consume it in the season. You can make a curry out of it, add it to your soup, in biryani, or any way you like. But what are the health benefits of green peas? To get an answer to this question, Onlymyhealth spoke to Sreemathy Venkatraman, a gut health practitioner & wellness nutritionist and the founder of ‘Mitha Aahara-Eat to Live’.
Health Benefits Of Green Peas
(Photo Credit: Unsplash)
Here are the reasons why you must include lots of green peas in your diet this season:
- Green peas are an excellent source of protein. Hence, vegetarians, vegans, can have lots of peas to fulfill their protein requirement.
- Providing a wide range of benefits, this legume is rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytonutrients. Antioxidants fight against oxidative stress and protect cells from damage. Phytonutrients display similar a similar property and prevent cancers, heart diseases, Alzheimer's disease, and Parkinson’s disease.
- Rich in fiber, green peas are great for your gut health. They help relieve constipation.
- It also contains a compound called lutein, which promotes eye health.
- If we talk about vitamins, green peas are rich in vitamins A and B, and also contain caffeic acid and catechins, all of which are beneficial for health.
- Another amazing benefit of having green peas is that it provides vital nutrients in a limited number of calories. As per the Indian Food Composition Table, every 100 grams of green peas contain 7.2 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber in just 93kcal.
It’s better to have green peas during winters as compared to any other season as digestion is enhanced, as per Ayurveda. This might be the reason so many legumes are consumed during winters. Light and easily digestible foods are generally preferred during summers.
Also read: Use Fake Frozen Peas as Pain Reliever
Ways In Which You Can Have Green Peas
(Photo Credit: Freepik)
You can make several lip-smacking recipes using versatile green peas, which can be found across the country. Not only that, almost every cuisine has recipes containing this legume.
- Use them in vegetable curries and gravies.
- You can use them equally in your soups, salads, and main course.
- Pea flour is used as a thickener.
- You can also use these in vegetable cutlets, samosas, and other deep-fried foods with filling.
Tips On How To Use Green Peas
Now you know the amazing health benefits of green peas and how to use them. However, there are some other things you must keep in mind while using them:
- Never use any packaged green peas that do not have any label. Chances are that harmful green colouring might be added to them to make the peas look fresh.
- Try to buy them with pods as these are fresh and last longer.
- You can remove the pods and refrigerate them in a ziplock bag to make them last longer. No loss of nutrients occurs and refrigeration will delay the formation of fungus on them.
- Always use the peas within a week of peeling them and storing them in a refrigerator.
- If you suffer from gas and bloating, it is better to consume these in limited amounts.
- Green peas are better digested during the day. Hence, try to have them at lunch and avoid them at dinner.
- To avoid the gastric effect, you can pressure cook it well using enough water and add a piece of ginger to it. As the ginger juice seeps well into the water and then into the peas, it will help in better digestion. Wherever possible, add ginger to your dishes that have peas in them.
Also read: Matar Ka Nimona Recipe: Learn Health Benefits Of This Soupy Green-Peas Curry
So, as you saw, green peas, which are in season right now, are filled with many health-benefiting properties. These are versatile too and you can easily add them to your many dishes. Gas and bloating can be an issue, which you can manage by cooking the peas well and adding ginger to your dishes.
(With inputs from Sreemathy Venkatraman, a gut health practitioner & wellness nutritionist and the founder of ‘Mitha Aahara-Eat to Live’)
Photo Credit: Unsplash