Serving up veggies in all of our products!

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Food of the Month - Apple Cider Vinegar


If you haven’t noticed, here at Peas of Mind we LOVE food! We love to make it, eat it, talk about it and write about it.  We are constantly finding new foods that we are amazed by or finding new uses for some of our favorite foods.  That’s why we’re starting a Food of the Month club; where each month we’ll feature a new, nutrient packed power food!

This month we’re featuring one of our favorite condiments, Apple Cider Vinegar or ACV as it’s known by it’s super fans (it’s important to note that in order to get the desired effect, you must find apple cider vinegar that says “raw and unfiltered”).   ACV is a must have condiment in your house because as you will see by our list below, it’s a power food that can do everything from alleviating allergies to clearing up acne.


 Health Benefits of ACV:
  • Improves Digestion
  • Balances high cholesterol
  • Helps fight the common cold by boosting the body’s immune system
  • Relieves sore throats
  • Provides an added caffeine-free energy boost
  • Cures constipation
  • Alleviates allergies (in both humans AND animals)
  • Relieves heartburn by alkalizing the body
  • Supports weightless by increasing the metabolism
  • Helps balance blood sugar 
Incorporating ACV into your diet:
In a perfect world, every morning before your coffee you would dilute 2 tbsp into a glass of water and chug it down, but we must admit that it’s potent stuff and can take some time to get used to.   To begin, try the above recipe when you need it most (ie have a sore throat or are suffering from indigestion) and on days where you’re feeling healthy simply add ACV to:
  • Salad dressings
  • Salsas
  • Sauces
  • Smoothies
  • Mix with honey and add to fruit salad
  • Sprinkle with salt on your Peas of Mind Veggie Fries
  • Really, anything that you normally add vinegar to
Let the Apple Cider Vinegar concoctions begin!

Friday, July 19, 2013

A Dinner Story


Happy Friday peas-ful pea-ple! You made it through the week and congratulations are in order.  To end the week and begin the weekend festivities, we've brought you A Dinner Story.  This week we're celebrating Amber Estrada, a wonderful Mom of two totally adorable kids! Get ready for Amber's awesome meal ideas as well as some great tips on how to eat healthy during the busiest of weeks. 


Three cheers for Peas!

Where do you live?
"Livermore, California."

What are your kid's names and ages?
"Adeline 3years and Antonio 1year."

What meal do you make that you know, no matter what, your family will devour?
"It’s a tie….Macaroni & Cheese (they don’t even know it has vegetables hidden in) and homemade pizza."

What's your favorite Saturday morning breakfast to enjoy as a family?
"Scrambled Eggs, Turkey Bacon, and Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins…YUM.  We try to include the kids in the cooking as much as possible, so Saturdays are great because we’re not as rushed as the weekdays and we have lots of fun together in the kitchen."

What's your favorite Peas of Mind Product?
"The entire family loves Veggie Wedgies – we devoure Broccoli, Carrot, and Apple!  When we asked which flavor was our kid’s favorite, Adeline declared she loved them all and Antonio cheered (I’ll take that as all of them as well)!  Adeline is a very picky eater so her love of Veggie Wedgies shows how fantastic they are!"

How many times per week do you cook from scratch?
"At least 4 nights a week; we spend time on Sundays prepping food for the week so we can still have healthy options with our busy schedules."

What's your go to "I'm feeling unhealthy and need a nutrient-power punch" meal?
"Salmon, Quinoa, and Brussel Sprouts."

What kitchen tool could you never live without?
"Our food processor/blender is a necessary tool used daily!"

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
"Hawaiian Pizza."

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Juice it up!


Here at Peas HQ we practice stealth health; we reinvent the classics by taking those unhealthy dishes kids love and making a nutritious version the entire family will eat up (or in this case, slurp up).  A fantastic way to get your kiddos to meet their nutritional needs is by juicing; taking the most fresh, seasonal produce you can find, juicing it and serving it up in their favorite cup is quick and easy.  Now I know what you’re thinking, “I don’t have a juicer and I’m not going to spend $300 on a machine that takes hours to clean.” We’ve got great news for you, all you need to make juice is a blender and a cheese cloth!  It’s cheap, easy and the outcome is just jucalicious!

For this juice recipea, we were inspired by California stone fruit because this time of year peaches, plums, cherries and nectarines are literally falling from the sky.  This made us realize – it’s time to reinvent the summer camp classic known as bug juice and turn it into a nutritionally packed juice that’s both easy and inexpensive.  Don’t forget that you can make this recipea your own by using this juicing method and exploring different veggie and fruit combinations based on your family’s tastes.  Let the stealth health begin! 


Stone Fruit Bug Juice
  • 3 ripe peaches cut into quarters with the pit removed (the sweeter the fruit the sweeter and tastier the juice)
  • 3 ripe plums cut into quarters with the pit removed
  • 1 cup of pitted cherries
  • ½ cup of water

Combine pitted fruit with water in a blender.  Blend until completely puréed.

Cover a large bowl with a large piece of cheesecloth (you want there to be a few layers of cheesecloth so that the juice is fully strained).  Pour fruit mixture onto cheesecloth, wait for the liquid to strain a bit so that the fruit mixture doesn’t over flow. When blender is thoroughly empty, grab all ends of the cheesecloth to create a little sack and squeeze all of the juice into the bowl until all that’s left in the sack is the fruit fiber.

Add a few ice cubs to your serving cups and fill about 2/3 with the juice mix and top off with water (if you’re feeling crazy, try some seltzer water) and mix with a spoon. 


Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Low-fat Potato Salad Bites


The count down to the 4th of July has begun.  Here at Peas of Mind, our favorite 4th of July activity is eating. Yes, we love swimming, hanging with friends, lounging on the beach and watching fireworks as much as anyone, but it’s sharing our veggie infused dishes with our friends and family that really makes us the happiest.  To celebrate this wonderful holiday, we’ve decided to take a 4th of July classic and reinvent it into something healthy, yummy and dare we say, elegant! We’re taking the picnic fav, Potato salad and turning it into a low-fat and totally delicious appetizer. 


Peas of Mind’s, potato salad bites contain all the flavor that you expect with potato salad without all of the added fat, sugar and salt.  As a substitute for mayonnaise, we’ve made a white bean aioli that not only contains NO mayonnaise; it’s low-fat and full of protein.  Wow your friends and family this Fourth with these taste bud pleasing and stealthily healthy apps!

Peas of Mind Potato Salad Bites

3 large Red Potatoes 
1/3 cup diced onion
¼ cup celery
1 cup white beans
1.5 TBS lemon juice
1 TBS of water
2 TBS of safflower oil
1 small can of sliced olives
2 TBS of finely chopped parsley
3 Cornischon (extra small pickles) quartered lengthwise


Bring three cups of water to a boil. Slice potatoes about half an inch thick (see photo for reference). When water is in a rapid boil add salt and drop in potatoes slices. Continue to boil for 8-10 or until potatoes feel firm but tender.  Gently strain potatoes and place in the refrigerator (most likely, a few will break but they should be firm enough that most do not).

Place white beans, lemon juice, salt and water in a blender and blend until completely smooth.  Continue blending while adding the oil. Blend for another minute after oil is added.  When you’re finished the texture should be that of mayonnaise.

Place 12 large and intact potato slices on a platter.  Top each slice with about one tablespoon of the white bean aioli.  Garnish every slice with a quarter of a conischon, olive slice and sprinkle with parsley.