Late Summer Rainbow Noodle Salad

School is officially in session and your weeknights are becoming a whirlwind of carpooling, homework and early bedtimes. But it's still summertime and evening temperatures are still scorching  so when it comes to dinnertime, you'd like to whip up a quick to prepare and refreshing salad. But your family doth protest; they need something much more filling and exciting than a bowl of lettuce - that’s where our Rainbow Noodle Salad comes in.  This month we're making noodle ribbons out of our favorite summer veggies and topping it with protein rich peanut sauce. This gluten-free noodle salad will cool off your family and ensure they eat their daily dose of veggies!

Rainbow Noodle Salad

-2 carrots 

-1 zucchini

-1 yellow squash

-1 cucumber

-1 8oz package of soba noodles

-1 tsp of sesame oil

-1 tbsp of sesame seeds to garnish

Peanut Sauce

-1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

-2 tbsp  soy sauce

-1 inch fresh ginger, minced 

-1 clove garlic, minced

-1 tsp ground coriander

-1 tbsp agave nectar, or sugar

-juice of 1 lime

Follow the cooking instructions on the soba noodle packaging.  Pour

drained noodles into a large bowl and toss with the sesame oil. Next,

peel off the skins of the carrots, zucchini, squash and cucumber.  Once

the veggies are skinless, continue to use the peeler to make vegetable

ribbons by simply peeling the flesh of the vegetables. Add the ribbons

to your bowl of soba noodles and mix.  Put the bowl in the refrigerator

to chill for 25 minutes.

In a small bowl combine, peanut butter, soy sauce, ginger, garlic,

coriander, agave and lime. Mix all the ingredients together until the

peanut sauce is creamy.  If the texture is too thick, add a small amount

of water and mix in until desired consistency.

Pour sauce over noodles and toss well. Sprinkle each serving with

sesame seeds. Serves 4

Get Our Perspective!

Here at Peas of Mind we love figuring out ways to make parent's lives easier and more fulfilling. We make all natural frozen food that's loaded with veggies and quick to prepare so that Moms and Dads don't have to worry about their picky eaters not getting enough veggies. This week Get Our Perspective is back a monthly blog post where we answer your questions about health, nutrition and overall wellness. 

This month Alison from Omaha, Nebraska wrote in and asked, "What are some easy ways to make sure that my children have a healthy summer? I'm doing my best to avoid marathon tv binges and too many trips to the ice-cream shop but what else can I do?"

Thanks for writing in Alison! The good news is the Peas Perspective is loaded with simple ways to make sure that your children stay active, healthy and happy during their summer break. Here is our "best of" list:

1) Bring your little ones into the kitchen.  With all the free time summer break has to offer, encouraging your kids to prepare healthy snacks and meals for themselves (with your help of course) is an easy way to spark interest in food and health that will last a lifetime.  With the right foods, time in the kitchen can feel as fun as craft time!  Here is a list of our best recipeas that encourage kids to play with their food (and then eat it!)
-Sandwich Sushi
-Breakfast Split
-Veggie Wedgies garlic fries
-Natural food coloring to decorate your favorite cookie recipe
-Healthy Fudgesicles
-Bug Juice

2) Stay Hydrated! During the warm summer months when kids are running around outside, it's so important to keep them hydrated with WATER.  If your children turn their noses up to good ol' H2O, check out our list of easy ways to get your little ones to guzzle water.

3) Take extra care of their skin! What's the largest organ in the body? That's right, your SKIN. So during these hot and humid months, your family's skin needs extra care.  Click here to find out three simple ways to take special care of your Epidermis this summer.

4) One of the best things about summer is having the time to devour a page-turning book. Encourage your little ones to fall in love with books this summer by following our post on summer reading.

5) We've said it before and we'll say it again, EAT SEASONALLY! Summertime is far and away the best time for produce; take a field trip to your local farmers market and let your family help pick out your weekly supply of fruits and vegetables.  Our number one produce choice this summer is the sweet and juicy peach, find out why here.

We'd love to feature your question next month! Simply email feedback@peasofmind.com with your question, name and the city you're from and we'll give you our Peas Perspective!

BBQ Cauliflower Wings

This month’s reci-pea we are taking an all American classic and transforming it into a meatless, low-fat, gluten-free dish that packs in the protein as well as servings of veggies.  Time to cut up some carrots, celery and grab your favorite creamy dressing because we’re making BBQ Cauliflower Wings!

In this main course (or side dish) we replace the chicken with cauliflower, the batter with gluten-free chickpea flour and we bake it up instead of deep-frying.  Not only is this reci-pea easy and quick to make, the preparation methods are very kid friendly.  So grab your little ones, apron up and get ready to enjoy a healthy version of this American classic.

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower

2 cups garbanzo bean flower (also known as Chickpea flour)

1 1/3 cup water

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp garlic powder 

1 Tbsp onion powder

2 tsp paprika

1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Cut cauliflower into large bite sized pieces (about the size of BBQ wings). Combine garbanzo bean flower, water, salt, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika in a large bowl and mix together until smooth (you want it to be the consistency of pancake batter).  Cover a large baking tray with parchment paper.  Dip cauliflower pieces into batter so that it’s fully covered and lay flat on tray.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  Pull out of the oven and check the texture of the cauliflower piece; it should be crispy, if it’s still gooey put back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes.

Once out of the oven, let cool for 5 minutes then place the cooked cauliflower wings into a large bowl. Pour the BBQ sauce over the wings and mix gently with your hands. Serve with cut up carrots, celery and your favorite creamy dressing! Serves 4.

Sugar and Spice Nuts

The holidays are just around the corner!   As this busy time fast approaches, we’re here to give you tips and tricks to make this time of year a little calmer, a little merrier and most importantly a little healthier.  For November’s recipe we decided to reinvent something that screams winter festivities so this month we're making spiced nuts!  This treat can be served for special holiday parties as well as everyday snacks; it's a simple recipea that will make any guest ohh and ahh the moment they enter your house and smell the sweet and spicy aroma.  Packed with protein, low in sugar and containing a medley of warming and detoxifying spices, Peas of Mind’s Sugar and Spice Nuts are a healthy, filling and a delicious crowd pleaser.

Peas of Mind’s reinvented Sugar and Spice Nuts

¼ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp ground clove

¼ tsp sea salt

½ tsp vanilla extract

3 cups of your favorite nuts (we choose walnuts, almonds and cashews)

1 tbsp melted coconut oil

2 tbsp pure maple syrup

Method

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a small bowl mix together all the dry spices and salt. On a large baking tray combine nuts, drizzle on melted coconut oil, maple syrup vanilla extract and spice blend.  Mix all of the ingredients together. This is a fun job for the little ones as the best way to get everything thoroughly mixed is by hand.  So roll up your sleeves and toss away. Don’t forget to lick your fingers as the mixture is extra tasty. 

Place nuts in the oven for 15-20 minutes; you’ll know they’re finished when they’re golden brown and your house smells of warm sugar, spices and vanilla. Let the nuts cool for about five minutes then serve. 

Makes about 9 servings

A Back to School Freezer Meal!

If you haven’t noticed, here at Peas of Mind we love the freezer! We think that busy families deserve natural, healthy and totally delicious meals that take minutes to prepare.  This month, in honor of back to school season, we’re making a hi-protein veggie burger. This burger is perfect for the whole family as it’s full of protein, fiber and (of course) veggies, not to mention the fact that it’s a fast freezer meal! Make this recipea now in preparation for the busy school season that’s coming up. Simply follow the directions below but just skip the pan-frying step, let the burger patties cool, put them in an air tight container and pop them in the freezer for a busy night.  When you’re ready to devour this scrumptious burger, don’t forget to throw some Peas of Mind veggie fries in the oven for a veggie-infused American classic combination. A burger and fries has never been so healthy and peas-ful!

Ingredients:

2 Cloves finely chopped garlic

1 cup diced onions

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup cooked grains (we used a mix of brown rice and quinoa)

1/2 cup of breadcrumbs

1 can of chickpeas

1 can of kindey beans

¼ cup chopped parsley

2 Tbs of mayo

1 Tsp salt

pepper to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Sauté onion, garlic and olive oil until the garlic is golden brown and onions are translucent.  Stir in parsley and continue to cook for another minute. Remove from heat (don’t wash the skillet because we’re going to use it again).

In a food processor combine peas, grains and beans and pulse together until completely chopped (do not over blend).  In a bowl, combine bean mixture with breadcrumbs, sautéed onions, garlic and mayo.  Mix together then with your hands (this is where some help from the kiddos might be fun) form the burger patties and place on a baking tray covered with parchment paper.

Bake burger patties in the oven for about 30 minutes or until brown.  Grab your skillet and heat up about 3 Tbsp of olive oil.  Pan fry burger patties for about 2 minutes on each side or until crispy and dark brown. 

Toast a burger bun, top with your favorite condiments, serve with a side of veggie fries and ENJOY!

Garden Grown Nuggets

Did you hear the good news?  Peas of Mind is now offering a NEW product! We have added Garden Grown Nuggets to our delicious and nutritious line of frozen food for kids.  Here at Peas of Mind, we reinvent the classics! We take those unhealthy dishes kids love and make a nutritious version the whole family will enjoy. 

This time last year we thought to ourselves: what are we missing in our line of frozen snacks and meals for kids? We have our Peas of Pie pizza which is loaded with veggies (that are unseen to the veggie-phobic eye.)  We turned nutrient rich vegetables (like carrots, broccoli and cauliflower) into guilt-free French fries. And we have even infused fresh baked pull-a-part bread with a full dose of veggies.  What classic kid food are we missing?  

Then it hit us like a ton of broccoli florets: NUGGETS!  I’m sure you can attest that your kids LOVE nuggets and we have realized that those darn things just aren’t going away.  So we started the process of reinventing this fried, saturated fat-filled chicken nugget by turning it into a garden-grown nugget that both moms AND kids will love.

We spent hours in the test kitchens whipping up different versions of our all-natural nugget until we had a version that truly gave us Peas of Mind.  This perfectly peas-full nugget is loaded with broccoli, carrots, tofu and brown rice, making it both vegetarian and gluten-free.  We then decided to give our customers more choices and came up with three flavors: Original, BBQ (which are both VEGAN) and Cheesy!  One serving of our Garden Grown Nuggets is:

• packed with vitamins and minerals
• has less sodium then the leading brands
• contains one FULL serving of veggies 
• includes 7 grams of complete protein 
• gluten free
• lower in fat than the leading brands

So get ready to devour the first gluten-free and vegan nugget! They will be on shelves of Super Target in May, in Sprouts Farmers Market in June and on their way to a shelf near you soon! (Find them in the freezer section)

Peas of Mind's complete product line

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Fava Fundip

Fava Beans are and excellent source of fiber and folate. Folate is necessary for the production and health of new cells and is needed to make DNA and RNA. Kids will love to help you shell the fava beans (at least for a little while ;) )

Fava Fundip:

• 1 lb unshelled fava beans (this equates to 1 cup of shelled beans)
• 3 tbl veggie stock
• 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp chives, chopped fine
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparing your fava beans:
Fresh favas need to be husked. Shell the bean by pulling on the stem of the pod and "unzip" them on both sides. This will remove the outer shell and expose the bean. The beans have a waxy coating that needs to be removed. Remove by dropping beans into boiling water for 1 minute, then quickly plunging into ice water to stop the cooking process. Now remove the waxy outer coating.

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

CAUTION: Do not eat raw fava beans. The risk of eating raw fava beans is small, but some have a reaction.

Sometimes Cooked Veggies are Better for You!

Cooked vegetables have been getting a bad rap lately. The raw food movement has made some of us fear that perhaps the only way to get all the nutrients out of our vegetables is to eat them o'natural... But let's face it, certain vegetables just taste better cooked, and cooked a certain way. For example beets, first of all, you have to cook them, and they are MUCH better roasted than boiled. And, it's a shame to think that we couldn't enjoy that delicious spinach in garlic side dish because it no longer has any nutritional value... OR DOES IT???

Check this article out: http://www.ift.org/cms/?pid=1001999

Turns out cooking doesn't always ruin nutrient content, in fact, in some cases it actually increases nutritional value. Here's the recap of the article and what you need to know:

• The highest antioxidant loss was observed in cauliflower after boiling and microwaving, peas after boiling, and zucchini after boiling and frying.
• Green beans, beets, and garlic were found to keep their antioxidant levels after most cooking treatments.
• The vegetables that increased their antioxidant levels after all cooking methods were green beans (except green beans after boiling), celery and carrots.
• Artichoke was the only vegetable that kept its high antioxidant level during all the cooking methods.

This was enlightening and exciting!! Looks like we can all enjoy our spinach side dishes and beet and goat cheese salad.

But all that said, when it comes down to it, if your family (especially the kids) like to eat their vegetables a certain way, listen to them, at least they'll eat um...

Fun with Oranges

I came across a fun recipe on FamilyFun.com "Gelatine Oranges." This had a lot of potential for a healthy snack for kids. http://jas.familyfun.go.com/recipefinder/display?id=50510&cmp=NLC-NL_Recipe_042009_gelatin

The original recipe was simple:
Ingredients:
Oranges
Water
Orange Gelatin (or Jello)

1. Cut the oranges in half from top to bottom and spoon the fruit from each half, leaving the peel intact. Prepare the gelatin according to the package directions, then pour it into the peel halves, adding fruit pieces if desired.

2. Set the halves into ramekins or a muffin tin to keep them from tipping and carefully place them in the refrigerator. Let the gelatin set according to the package directions.

3. Once they're ready, remove the orange halves from the refrigerator, cut them into wedges, and serve. But here's the problem, maybe you and your kids are vegan? You can't eat regular gelatin. AND why waste the actual orange, why not use it and make a natural, vegan gelatin. I did a little research, here's how you can adjust your recipe.

Ingredients:

4 Tbl agar agar (a natural, vegan gelatin made from seaweed)
1 Qt fruit juice (use the juice from the orange and add a little water)

1. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 5 mins.

2. Fill your orange halves as you would have above and chill.