If you don't know what to have for dinner tonight ...

This is a unique way to enjoy green peas that makes a great substitute for mashed potatoes and provides you with extra flavor and nutrition at the same time. And one serving contains 53% of the daily value (DV) for thiamin, 47% DV for vitamin C and 47% DV for vitamin E. Enjoy!

Prep and Cook Time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh, shelled or frozen peas
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 medium cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 + 2 TBS chicken or vegetable
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 TBS minced fresh herbs such as mint, basil, chervil, or parsley depending on what you are serving peas with
• salt and white pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Chop onions and garlic and let sit for 5 minutes to help bring out their health-promoting properties.
2. If peas are fresh, bring a small pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Place peas in it with the heat still high and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, no more- just until peas are bright green and tender. If frozen you do not need to cook ahead.
3. Heat 1 TBS broth in a 10 inch stainless steel skillet. Healthy Saute onion in broth over medium heat for 5 minutes stirring frequently, until translucent. Add garlic and sauté for another minute.
4. Add 2 TBS broth, peas, herb and cook until tender, about 3 more minutes. Puree in blender with sunflower seeds, season with salt, pepper and serve.
   Serves 2

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Daily Food Tip

Why do you need to eat vegetables everyday?

You need to eat vegetables everyday because you need a supply of vitamins everyday. Some vitamins can be stored for future use and others cannot. Some of the vitamins that can be easily stored in the body are called fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamins A, D and E. For the body to run its best we also need water-soluble vitamins (vitamin C and B, vitamin B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12 and folic acid) , and we need them every single day because they can't be stored or can only be stored in small amounts. Since the body doesn't make these vitamins, we have to get them from the food we eat and the richest source of water-soluble vitamins is vegetables. The government guidelines for a healthy diet recommend eating 3-5 servings of vegetable everyday.

Eating the recommended 3-5 servings of vegetables a day helps to maintain optimal health. Our bodies are very adaptive and can obviously survive on less but not without cost to our well-being. The effects may go unnoticed for a while as they may be very subtle or they may take a long time to fully develop. Yet, they can't really be avoided since, without adequate servings of vegetables, we are depriving our bodies of great sources of important nutrients essential to proper physiological functioning. The effects of not eating enough vegetables may range from low energy levels to many types of degenerative diseases and reduced immune function. Eating vegetables everyday is the way to ensure that we feel our very best.