Eat Healthier. Try Black Eyed Peas. February 15th, 2008
- 1 cup dry back-eyed peas
- Water
- 1/2 c. diced lean cooked ham (or Canadian style bacon)
- 1 chopped onion
- 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- Salt, coarsely black pepper, to taste
- 2 bay leaves
- Generous dash red cayenne pepper (or Tabasco sauce)
- 3 cups cooked rice
I HATED black eyed peas when I was younger. They were my grandmother’s favorite food, so it seemed like she was always cooking them! Of course, I had to eat whatever she cooked. It was horrible. I would just look at the bowl with those horrible things just swimming around, getting cold. If my grandfather was home, he would actually pull up a chair next to mine and feed them to me to ensure that I ate them. It was torture!
In the south, black eyed peas are seen as a good luck charm. Tradition says that if you eat them on New Year’s Day, it will bring you good luck an prosperity. But it looks like black eye peas can also help against high cholesterol, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and even heart attacks. The peas are in the legume family, which also includes peas and lentils. Legumes are known to be a good source of fiber, iron, and protein. Eating legumes has been seen to reduce coronary heart disease because of the high fiber content.
If you’re like me and cannot fathom eating black eyed peas on their own, I suggest you add them to some of your favorite salads, casseroles, or soup in order to reap their benefits. I found an incredible recipe online for black eyed peas and rice that I’m going to try this week:
Wash black-eyed peas. Add 5 cups boiling water; boil 3 minutes. Cover and set aside 1 to 4 hours. Rinse and drain peas thoroughly. Spray pan with cooking spray. Brown diced ham. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic. Saute until onion is tender. Add peas, 2 cups water and seasonings. Cover and simmer 40 to 50 minutes or until beans are tender. Remove bay leafs; stir in rice. Continue simmering about 10 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Makes 6 servings, 180 calories each.
***EDIT: Joanne at Nourished Magazine offers some great advice and suggests that black eyed peas should be soaked overnight to ensure that all the toxins are thoroughly washed off. Thanks, Joanne!
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:05 am
[…] Daniels presents Eat Healthier. Try Black Eyed Peas. A great write up on the benefits of black eyed peas and how they can help you with your goals […]
March 3rd, 2008 at 2:56 am
[…] Legumes – legumes are just another word for beans. In fact, soy is a legume. Along with protein, legumes are also high in fiber which regulates your blood sugar and provides you with energy. A cup of kidney beans, for example, contains 14g of protein, along with 11g of fiber. Of course, there’s 0g of fat. For more detailed information on another excellent legume, check out my post on black eyed peas. […]
March 3rd, 2008 at 6:23 am
[…] Daniels presents Eat Healthier. Try Black Eyed Peas. posted at cannedfitness.com, saying, “A wonderful write up on the benefits of black eyed peas […]
March 4th, 2008 at 4:13 am
More a case of soaked out actually. Seeds from just about every plant have very cleverly designed toxins in their skin that called enzyme inhibitors that stop them growing in the wrong circumstances (no water) and stop insects from eating them by poisoning them. If we do not soak them, we are poisoned with these toxins. Slightly but enough to cause digestive damage.