Put a spring in your step with healthy in-season snow peas
- Queensland’s snow pea season runs from winter to spring
- Snow peas are rich in vitamin C and fibre, which help boost immunity and gut health
- The snow pea pod, flowers and tendrils can be eaten raw or added to salads and stir fries
The snow pea season has sprung with locally grown pods hitting the produce section across Queensland.
Despite the name, snow peas don’t like the frost, which makes the moderate winter climate of regions like Gympie the perfect growing conditions for the climbing vegetable.
Pick of the Crop regional coordinator for the Gympie and Sunshine Coast region, Keith Gilbert, said snow peas are a sweet and crunchy snack popular with kids.
‘Kids love food they can get their hands on, and there’s nothing better than munching on a fresh snow pea or pulling the pod apart to find the peas inside,’ Mr Gilbert said.
‘Snow peas are rich in vitamin C and fibre, which can help boost our immunity and gut health so we can stay happy and healthy these school holidays.’
Petersen’s Farm in Woolooga, northwest of Gympie, supports Health and Wellbeing Queensland’s whole-school healthy eating initiative Pick of the Crop, which aims to increase opportunities for Queensland primary school students to learn about and eat more vegetables and fruit.
Petersen’s Farm owners Greg Petersen and Cecilia Diaz-Petersen said snow peas were the perfect spring addition to meals and lunchboxes.
‘Snow peas can be eaten as a snack, roasted, sautéed, barbecued or added to salads and stir fries,’ Cecilia Diaz-Petersen said.
‘But it’s not just the pods – you can eat the flowers and tendrils too, which brings a beautiful touch to any salad.’
‘Gympie is a great place to grow snow peas because of its good soil and moderate winter climate that means we don’t get a lot of frost, Greg Petersen said.
‘We believe in supporting local industry with the very best produce, which is why our snow peas go to restaurants and green grocers in the Hervey Bay region, as well as the local farmers markets.’
For recipes and healthy eating ideas, visit hw.qld.gov.au
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