What’s incredibly crunchy, low-carb, nutritious, and a fantastic vehicle for hummus or vegetable dip? Sugar Snap Peas! Despite their name, they’re a refreshing, healthy versatile choice for people with (or without) diabetes. Each one-cup serving has two grams of fiber, approximately five grams of carbohydrate, more than half the daily recommended amount of Vitamin C, plus B-complex vitamins and niacin. The entire pea is edible, too – no need for shucking.
Here’s how to get into them:
Raw. Sugar snap peas are a little sweet, which makes them great for plain old snacking. They’re sturdy enough to transport, and taste great with a little ranch dressing, guacamole or hummus.
Blanched. If the batch you have is a little on the tough side, you can blanch them to make them more enjoyable to eat: just boil them in salted water for 5 minutes, drain them, and dunk them in an ice-cold bath. You can also freeze them immediately after blanching and save them for later.
Sauteed. Mix sugar snap peas with a little olive oil and some shallots or garlic. Add some other vegetables and some herbs, if you’d like. Sautee over medium heat for about five minutes, and dig in. With a lean protein, they make a blood-sugar-friendly meal.
On a Salad. As crunchy as croutons, but with fewer carbs! To make your sugar snap peas more fork-able, cut them into halves or thirds before tossing them with a spinach or spring mix, avocado, tomato and garbanzo beans. Or just add them to your favorite salad recipe.
Steamed. Just add salt, pepper, butter and a steamer basket.
Pickled. Really! Ask Google, and you’ll find dozens of easy recipes for pickled snap peas. If you’d rather not do it yourself, you can find packaged pickled snap peas, too.
Outdoors. In most places, sugar snap peas are very easy to grow – even in containers. And while store-bought peas are more than fine, the only thing more exciting and tasty than a delicious, low-carb snack or meal is one you grew yourself.
