Sugar Snap Peas Nutrition Facts

Sugar snap peas are a nutritious summer delight that is bright, crunchy, and naturally sweet. Like the majority of vegetables, sugar snap peas have few calories. Sugar snap peas nutrition facts include 41 calories per cup, suitable for almost any diet, including low-carb and low-calorie weight loss programs. Additionally loaded with nutrients, sugar snap peas will assist you in consuming the suggested daily amounts of a few essential nutrients. Secondly, peas are exceptional because, despite being legumes, the USDA classifies them as both a vegetable and a protein item.

Sugar Snap

In contrast to shelling peas, sugar snap peas are believed to have originated in Europe. Shelling peas are a native of Asia. The plant is a bushy, annual vine that grows quickly and may need support, particularly in certain climbing types. After a few weeks, the seedling begins to bloom with tiny white or cream blooms.
The pea pods are big and cylindrical, have a thick edible exterior, and have round, green seeds that need shelling (in shelling peas, however, the skin is inedible). This characteristic contrasts with snow peas, which have flat pods with small ovules hidden inside the seeds.

Sugar Snap Peas Nutrition Facts

Here’s a table with the nutrition facts for 1 cup (98g) of raw sugar snap peas:

Nutrition Facts for Sugar Snap Peas Per 1 cup (98g)
Calories 41
Total Fat 0.3g
Saturated Fat 0.1g
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 3mg
Total Carbohydrates 8g
Dietary Fiber 3g
Total Sugars 4g
Protein 3g
Vitamin D 0mcg
Calcium 43mg
Iron 1mg
Potassium 200mg

Sugar snap pea nutrition might vary based on the type, agricultural method, and geography. Due to their low calories and high vitamin and mineral content, sugar snap peas are considered a healthy food.

What are Exactly Sugar Snap Peas?

Snap peas belong to the family of legumes. Snap peas, cross garden peas, and snow peas (English peas). In contrast to snow pea pods, which are flat with thin walls, the snap pea, also known as the sugar snap pea, is an edible-pod pea with rounder pods and thick pod walls.

This hybrid pea was developed in the 1970s by Twin Falls, Idaho’s Calvin Lamborn, known as the “father of the sugar snap pea.” Sugar snap pea plants are climbing plants, just like snow peas, from late winter until late spring, when they are at their busiest. Sugar snap pea pods contain several essential minerals, including vitamin C, and are edible. Snap peas are frequently easily accessible in supermarkets or farmer’s markets.

Snow Peas vs. Snap Peas: What’s the Difference?

Both pea cultivars have been given the moniker “mangetout,” French for “eat everything.” This moniker refers to the fact that the peas and the entire pod can be consumed. Snow peas and sugar snap peas, however, differ in a few significant ways.
  • Appearance: Snow peas are flatter than snap peas with more rounded pods. Snow peas also contain very few green peas within their pods compared to the more plentiful snap peas.
  • Pea size: The peas in sugar snap pea pods are considerably larger than the small peas in snow pea pods. Sugar snap peas are fleshier than snow peas.
  • Flavor: Sugar snap peas are sweet peas, while snow peas have a slightly less sweet flavor.
  • Texture: Both snap peas and snow peas contain a tough string on their pod edges. Remove the string before consuming whole peas.
  • Cooking time: Both snow peas and snap peas are popular additions to stir-fry dishes. They may be sauteed in olive oil as a side dish to accompany meat or seafood or used as an alternative ingredient to green beans. However, snow peas are flatter than snap peas and cook more quickly. Keep this in mind when swapping out different types of peas in recipes.

What are the Health Benefits of Sugar Snap Peas?

Snap peas’ vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants can positively impact your health. For instance, vitamin C is crucial for maintaining healthy blood vessels and muscles and helping your body recover from accidents. Getting enough vitamin C over time can also help your immune system function better.

Additionally, snap peas include a lot of potassium, a mineral essential for sustaining kidney and heart health and muscle contraction.

Additionally, snap peas can boost your health in the following ways:

Bone Health

Snap peas are a great source of vitamin K, which is crucial for maintaining the strength of your skeleton. Calcium is added to your bone cells and processed with vitamin K. Osteoporosis and bone fractures can be avoided. Additionally crucial for aiding blood clotting, vitamin K can hasten the healing process in your body.

Immune Health

Snap peas are also a great immune system booster. They are abundant in vitamin A and beta-carotene, which are necessary for developing immunological cells. Vitamin A supports the growth and proliferation of your immune cells, which aids in your body’s defense against foreign bacteria and viruses. Additionally, the vitamin C in snap peas supports healthy blood cells, particularly white blood cells, which can strengthen your immune system.

Digestive Health

Dietary fiber is abundant in snap peas, especially if you eat the pods. As a prebiotic, insoluble dietary fiber can act as a food source for the “good” bacteria in your digestive tract. This keeps your digestive system more effective and healthy. Because it doesn’t decompose in your stomach, it’s also a great way to add bulk to stools and may even aid constipation. Additionally, dietary fiber may help lower your chance of developing several cancers.

Support Weight Loss

A non-starchy vegetable that can aid in weight loss is sugar snap peas. Sugar snap peas can help you maintain a healthy weight, whether cooked or raw. Experts advise filling more than half of your plate with non-starchy veggies like sugar snap peas to help you feel full and obtain the nourishment you need while trying to lose weight.

Aid Eye Health

The plant-based carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, which both serve as concentrated antioxidants in the macula of the retina, can be found in small amounts in sugar snap peas. Increased consumption of foods high in lutein and zeaxanthin may help prevent the development of macular degeneration, an age-related ailment that can cause irreversible visual loss.

Tidbit is Good for the Heart

The folate in snap peas helps reduce amino acids and lower harmful cholesterol. Excessive cholesterol and amino acids can thicken the blood, leading to severe clotting and cardiac arrests.

Sugar Snap Peas Health Risks

Here are some health risks of sugar snap peas:
  • Pea Allergy: Pea allergies are uncommon but have been documented. According to the U.K.-based charity Anaphylaxis Campaign, you can experience an allergic reaction to any protein-containing food. Itching, swelling, breathing problems, nausea, vomiting, and, in rare instances, life-threatening anaphylaxis are just a few symptoms of food allergies. If you think you may have experienced a response to sugar snap peas, consult an allergist.
  • Drug Interactions: As far as we know, sugar snap peas and drugs don’t mix. Consult your doctor if you have any questions or concerns regarding drug interactions or the best time to take your prescriptions.
  • May Cause Bloating: Sugar snap peas are abundant in dietary fiber, and too much dietary fiber might make you bloated.
  • May Worsen Diarrhea: According to anecdotal evidence, sugar snap peas can aggravate diarrhea and induce stomach cramps and abdominal pain.
  • May Cause An Itchy Throat: Legumes and sugar snap peas may irritate your throat and make you cough if you are allergic to them. Usually, these symptoms go away if you quit eating sugar snap peas. However, call your doctor immediately if the symptoms continue for more than 48 hours.

How to Prepare?

Sugar Snap

Sugar snap peas can be cooked in various ways, including steaming, stir-frying, and blanching. It has been overdone. They can be seasoned with herbs and spices or just a little salt, pepper, and olive oil. It is overdone when a snap pea loses its vibrant color and turns pea soup green.

By adding toasted sesame oil, sesame seeds, finely chopped scallions, and a dash of light soy sauce to a bowl of soba noodles, you can give your snap peas an Asian touch.

Serving Tips

  • Along with carrots, celery stalks, peppers, beets, and other vegetables, raw sugar snap peas make a delicious addition to vegetable salads.
  • Long-term high-temperature cooking would rob them of flavor. As an appetizer, poach entire pods in hot water for just a few minutes before serving with cream vinaigrette.
  • Before combining them with other vegetable stir-fries like beans, potatoes, sweet peppers, etc., gently stir-fry each separately.
  • Salmon, shrimp, and other shellfish are served with sautéed snap pea pods.

How to Store?

Always purchase pea pods that are brilliant green and free of any spots of yellowing or speckling. They ought to be shiny and seem to be about to burst. Sugar snap peas that are dull or have loose peas rattling around the inside should not be purchased.

You can tell if a snap pea is old by breaking off the stem. The pods are most likely getting close to the end of their shelf life if fibrous strings adhere to the stem bud.

For up to two weeks, keep entire snap peas in a perforated plastic bag in the refrigerator’s crisper. They will be at their sweetest if you can eat them as soon as you buy them. Before eating or slicing into snap peas, always rinse them under running water.

Additionally, sugar snap peas can be frozen at a later date. Please take off the stems and strings after washing them. Whole snap peas should be blanched for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes (larger pods need more time). Dry and cool them. Sugar snap peas should be frozen in one layer, spaced 0.5 inches apart. You can bag and seal frozen food.

Conclusion

Vegetables rich in nutrients and starchy are sugar snap peas. Sugar snap peas’ extensive list of advantages can be ascribed to their high nutritional value and antioxidant content. Consuming this vegetable may help reduce weariness, strengthen the immune system, enhance gastrointestinal health, lower the risk of cardiovascular illnesses, and safeguard vision.

There are numerous ways to consume sugar snap peas. The peas can be roasted and added to stir-fried foods. They could increase diarrhea, create bloating, and make your throat itchy if you eat too much of them.

Therefore, consume them in moderation for the most health benefits. They essentially belong to the family of legumes. The flavor of the peapod is crisp and sweet and can be made sour by partially boiling it. They contain a ton of fiber and very few calories. Only 40 calories are contained in one cup of sugar snap peas.