If your New Year’s Resolution is to eat healthier food, begin on New Year’s Day with a bowl of black-eyed peas. You will not only be treating yourself to a healthy nutritious meal, but following a tradition to bring luck and prosperity in the New Year.
Many parts of the United States celebrate the new year by enjoying various dishes made with black-eyed peas. According to Southern folklore black-eyed peas should be the first food to be eaten on New Year’s Day for luck and prosperity throughout the year ahead.
The practice of eating black-eyed peas for luck is believed to date back to the Civil War Period. Initially they were raised as food for livestock and later as a food staple for slaves. General Sherman’s troops stole and destroyed crops throughout the South but did not touch the fields of black-eyed peas. They left behind a nourishing food for the surviving Confederate troops.
Black-eyed peas are a small, light colored kidney shaped bean with a dark brown mark on one side. They are packed with nutrition. Six ounces of uncooked, dried black-eyed peas provide protein, Vitamin A, thiamin, Niacin, ion, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, 100 grams of complex carbohydrates, 8.8 grams of fiber, and 583 calories.
To Prepare dried black-eyed peas rinse with cold water and then soak over night. Drain and rinse. Put them in a pot and cover them with water. Bring to a boil an d cook partially covered until tender adding water as needed. Season to taste. They can be served hot, as a main course or side dish. Or served cold in salad. Create a complete protein by including brown rice or another whole grain with the meal.
HERE ARE SEVERAL SERVING SUGGESTIONS
• Cook with ham or hog jowls (traditional Southern style)
• Add tomatoes, copped onions, and tamari sauce (from Laurel’s Kitchen)
• Mash or blend cooked black-eyed peas with Mexican seasonings and serve as a dip with tortilla chips (About.com Guide)
Let me know your favorite way to prepare black-eyed peas.
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SOURCES
Wilstar.com, 2010
Sheridan Alexander, About.com Guide
Laurel’s Kitchen: A Handbook for Vegetarian Cookery & Nutrition, 1976
Myra Nissen, CCH
Copyright © 2010 – , Myra Nissen.
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This article was brought to you by Myra Nissen, CCH, RSHom(NA), Board Certified Classical Homeopath. Myra teaches women how to recognize their body's unique needs and cues and uses Homeopathy to help empower women to take control of their bodies, health and well-being. Find out more, visit her blog www.myranissen.com/blog.