Peas are a storehouse of vitamins and minerals; they improve the condition of hair and nails, protect against cancer and rejuvenate the skin. Learn how to cook delicious pea meals that will help you lose up to 5 kg in just a week!
Author: Kristina Lobanovskaya, doctor, practicing nutritionist Article updated: 11/10/2020
Pea porridge is a dish that is not often used for dietary nutrition. But in vain. After all, peas have a lot of useful properties, and dishes made from them are low-calorie and at the same time satisfying. Within a week of the pea diet, weight loss will be up to 5 kg - an excellent result for easy weight loss.
What are the benefits of peas?
- The list of vitamins and minerals that peas are rich in is huge. Not every product can boast such a list. Vitamins A, E, H (beauty vitamin), PP, group B (especially a lot of folic acid), beta-carotene. Among the minerals, macroelements: calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, chlorine, sulfur; trace elements: iron, zinc, iodine, copper, manganese, selenium, chromium, fluorine, molybdenum, boron, vanadium, silicon, cobalt, nickel, tin, titanium, strontium, zirconium, aluminum.
- The caloric content of grains is 300 energy units per 100 g. This is quite enough for saturation.
- The composition of peas is very diverse: fiber, amino acids, vegetable fat, starch, beneficial enzymes, carbohydrates and saturated fatty acids. Therefore, peas are energy-intensive and nutritious.
- It is a suitable food for vegetarians and fasting people and is a successful substitute for meat. But unlike animal products, peas are easier to digest by the body.
- Peas supply the body with energy and increase performance. And natural sugar, which is contained in some of its types, stimulates brain activity and memory. Therefore, the product is useful both for those who engage in physical labor or are fond of sports, and for those who are engaged in mental work.
- Thanks to a large number of antioxidants, it is important for the beauty of skin and hair.
- With the systematic consumption of peas, the risk of developing cancer is reduced, and the processes of tissue and organ restoration are activated.
- Normalizes the functioning of the digestive organs, heartburn disappears.
- To supply the body with the daily norm of nicotinic acid, it is enough to eat only half a glass of green peas. Nicotinic acid (niacin) maintains the necessary level of cholesterol in the blood and prevents diseases such as asthma and atherosclerosis.
- If you eat peas constantly, you will strengthen your heart muscle and prevent heart attack and hypertension. It also prevents bile from accumulating and prevents the formation of blood clots.
- Some varieties of peas even have edible pods. Gnawing on them is not only tasty, but also healthy: they contain calcium, iron and chlorophyll.
- Patients with diabetes, tuberculosis and vitiligo are also recommended to include pea dishes in their diet more often.
- It accelerates fat metabolism and has a mild diuretic effect, so it is indispensable for weight loss.
- Often used in folk medicine.
Thus, peas are an invaluable product for health and, importantly, inexpensive. Therefore, it will be an excellent basis for a soft diet.
Features of different types (fresh, canned and so on)
The product can be eaten at any stage of ripening. The most useful are fresh green peas in pods: they contain the maximum amount of vitamins and minerals and the fewest calories. But these fruits are stored for a very short time; they quickly lose moisture and nutritional properties.
Canned peas are also suitable for dietary nutrition, although they contain quite a lot of carbohydrates. It can be used as a side dish, snack or salad ingredient. When choosing a purchased canned product, you need to pay attention to the expiration date and appearance of the can: it should not be rusty, inflated or dented.
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Shelled and whole peas, which are sold dry in stores, contain the most calories, so you should not eat them in large quantities. During the cooking process, such a product increases in volume by 4–5 times.
You can eat fresh green peas with any other diet without fear of disrupting its effectiveness, but you need to be careful with dishes made from shelled products: they are not only quite high in calories, but also heavy on the stomach. In addition, peas for weight loss do not go well with meat; this point should also be taken into account when introducing it into the diet.
Table: energy value (per 100 g)
Fresh green | Frozen | Canned | Peeled | Boiled | |
Proteins, g | 3 | 4,4 | 3,6 | 23 | 6 |
Fats, g | 0,2 | 0,4 | 0,3 | 1,6 | 0,1 |
Carbohydrates, g | 7 | 8,3 | 16,3 | 58 | 9 |
Calories, kcal | 42 | 72 | 55 | 320 | 60 |
The essence of the diet
The basic principle of this system: once a day you need to eat a dish made from peas: porridge, cream soup, salad, or others. The menu can be varied: for example, today you ate porridge for breakfast. Tomorrow - pea soup for lunch. The day after tomorrow - salad with vegetables and green peas.
During the pea diet, you can eat porridge from other cereals, vegetables - fresh and thermally processed, vegetable soups, fruits, berries, dairy products with low fat content. Meat is not recommended, since peas contain a sufficient amount of vegetable proteins that satisfy the body's need for protein.
You also need to drink a lot: unsweetened herbal teas, juices, mineral and regular drinking water, sometimes coffee without sugar. The amount of clean water per day is 1.5-2 liters.
The diet strictly prohibits: fried foods, sweets, baked goods, smoked foods and alcohol. Recommended daily calorie content is 1300-1500 kcal. For greater efficiency, feasible physical activity will not hurt: swimming, walking, jogging.
Is it possible to lose weight on pea porridge?
The cheapness and calorie content of peas often becomes the main advantage in building a diet based on peas. Is it possible to eat pea porridge while losing weight? The answer is clear - yes! You just need to make the right diet and follow all the instructions. So, for example, if you eat only peas, you can get the opposite effect, so you need to combine this product with others - fresh vegetables, boiled meat or fish will do. Arranging a fasting day once a week is a completely useful event for your body and figure: in this case, the risk of gaining weight is reduced.
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pros
- It is easily tolerated, there is no painful feeling of hunger, which means the risk of failure is low.
- Efficiency: weight 3-5 kg depending on the initial excess weight without much effort.
- The diet is balanced and contains all the components necessary for full life.
- As mentioned above, peas are a real storehouse of useful substances and properties.
- Weight loss does not result in a decrease in muscle mass.
- Dishes for the pea diet are very easy to prepare.
- The main product of the diet promotes the renewal of skin cells, so you will not only lose weight, but also look younger.
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Is it possible to eat canned peas on a diet?
The chemical composition of products that have undergone special processing for long-term storage differs greatly from fresh ones, especially if the process was factory-made. From this position, the degree of their benefit decreases. Canned peas are no exception, which receive a large dose of salt, which is known to retain liquid and slow down the rate of weight loss. However, when losing weight, canned peas are not completely prohibited - they are only limited, because minus the salt, they remain the same (if there are no “chemicals” in the composition). The calorie content of canned peas is 55 kcal.
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Menu for 3 days
To avoid problems with gas formation and bloating, it is advisable to take a course of probiotics before the diet. For example, Linex, Acipol, Atsilakt, etc. You can also drink dill tincture. It is usually prescribed to young children, but it also helps adults.
Pea mono-diet
All three days you need to eat only porridge and lose weight. It is prepared like this: one glass of crushed peas is boiled in 4 glasses of water and crushed in a blender. Instead of regular table salt, special “garlic” salt is used - ground dry garlic. To make it tastier, add fresh herbs and 1 tbsp to the finished dish. l. rapeseed oil.
During the day, eat porridge as usual. So, if you are used to eating three times a day, divide the porridge into three times. If you eat often, but little by little, divide into 5-6 servings.
Drink 2 liters of clean water every day. Coffee and tea - no more than two cups.
Thanks to this system, the daily weight will be up to 1 kg. This is an excellent diet option for those who want to lose weight, but do not like to starve.
Reviews and results of losing weight
Marina, 23
I sat on nothing but pea porridge for three days. I love porridge very much, but I couldn’t eat it without salt, as I should, so I didn’t care about all the rules and cooked it as usual. By the end of the third day I was tired of her. I lost two kilos, which, however, came back the next week. But the pimples disappeared, my face became clear. Therefore, for cosmetic purposes, I may and will sometimes resort to this diet. But for reducing volumes, it was not suitable for me personally.
Olga, 33
I read about the pea diet online. I liked it because there are no special restrictions, I just have to have pureed pea soup or porridge for lunch. And not in the form in which we are accustomed to seeing, but in ground form. And the pea porridge crushed in a blender is so tender... I really liked it. It just took a lot of time to cook: the peas had to be soaked first. But I filled it with water overnight and left it. I cooked in the morning. My result is 4 kg in seven days. The diet can be repeated every six months.
Valeria, 40
I will never go on this diet again. It seems to be delicious, and the weight has dropped a little... But after a week of diet, my periods disappeared. The gynecologist said that there is no need for any more diets. And, yes, by the evening my stomach was churning. I think it's because of the peas. We'll have to look for another way to lose weight by summer.
Anna, 35
I wasn’t happy with the pea diet because I had to spend too much time preparing food. First, keep it in water, then boil it (and peas take a very long time to cook), then grind it in a blender... It’s too tedious, and there’s a lot of dirty dishes. In general, it lasted me three days. For working people this is an unacceptable weight loss system. All I did all day was tinker in the kitchen, but I had a vacation.
Dietary recipes
Is it possible to eat peas while losing weight? Yes, if you cook it according to special dietary recipes. Peas themselves are quite low in calories, but few people are satisfied with this dish without adding other products. Meat, butter, bacon, sausages, onions, carrots, seasonings and other ingredients are included in the list of pea dishes. In this case, the calorie content increases significantly.
For weight loss, nutritionists offer a lot of other recipes that are not so high in calories and stuffed with gastronomic additives, but no less tasty and healthy.
Classic pea puree
Is it possible to eat pea porridge or puree while losing weight? Yes, because classic pea puree is made from peas and water. Non-dietary products are also added - butter and milk, but in very small quantities. Pea porridge is a filling, low-calorie product, which is especially valuable when losing weight.
Required:
- peas - 200 gr;
- water - 500 ml;
- milk - 60 ml;
- butter - 30 g;
- salt - to taste (but the less the better, since this is a dietary dish).
The calorie content of the dish is 118 kcal.
Preparation:
- The peas must be washed and left to soak for at least 4 hours.
- The cereal is washed again and ground thoroughly to remove excess starch. Starch is not very suitable for dietary dishes.
- The peas are poured with cold water and put on fire. After the water boils, reduce the heat and cook under the lid for one and a half hours. It is the leisurely simmering of the cereal that makes the puree tasty and airy.
- 20 minutes before the end of cooking, add salt, milk and butter.
- Beat the porridge with a blender or masher until completely homogeneous.
Important! Peas are never salted immediately, only at the end of cooking. Otherwise, it will remain tough and uncooked for a long time.
Pea cutlets
You can make very tasty cutlets from peas. True, it’s better to treat yourself to them infrequently, since this is a fried product.
Required:
- peas - 200 gr;
- water - 500 ml;
- carrots-1 pcs;
- onion - 1 piece;
- frying oil;
- semolina for deboning;
- salt - to taste (but the less the better, since this is a dietary dish).
The calorie content of the dish is 180 kcal.
Preparation:
- First prepare the pea puree. To do this, peas are washed as usual and soaked for 4 hours.
- The peas are poured with cold water and set to cook for an hour and a half.
- Boil carrots until soft.
- Chop the onion very finely.
- When the peas are cooked, salt them and beat them in a blender. Vegetables are sent there and beaten again.
- The puree is cooled until warm.
- Then cutlets are formed and lightly rolled in semolina.
- Fry in vegetable oil on both sides until golden brown.
Another option for preparing dietary pea cutlets does not involve cooking. “Raw” cutlets are noticeably different from “cooked” ones; they turn out filling and tasty.
Raw pea cutlets
Required:
- split peas - 2 cups;
- onion - 1 pc.;
- salt and pepper - to taste;
- breadcrumbs - 3 tbsp;
- oil for frying.
Reviews from doctors and specialists
Matvey Glinskikh, nutritionist
The pea diet seems to me one of the most optimal. It is quite easy to carry and is varied. Muscle mass does not suffer. And the patient does not suffer from hunger. The diet can be designed in such a way that it contains all the necessary microelements and vitamins. That is, a fairly balanced weight loss system. However, I would not recommend staying on it for more than 3-4 days. Because peas cause increased gas formation, people have been joking about this for centuries. Dill water, unfortunately, does not help everyone. If you do not experience flatulence, you can extend the diet for the whole week.
Valuable properties of peas
The miniature peas formed in the pods have an incomparable chemical composition, most of the features of which are beneficial to those who want to get rid of the hated kilograms.
The first and most important of them is the high content of plant protein, saturated with both essential and essential amino acids. 100 g of legume seeds contains 20.5 g of natural protein, hence the impressive nutritional value of the product. Thanks to protein, eating peas allows you to burn calories without using muscle tissue and, therefore, the destruction of muscles and the formation of folds on the skin after bringing excess weight back to normal.
The second key point is the presence of sufficient dietary fiber in peas. Fiber removes waste and toxins from the body, improves intestinal function, and allows you to forget about the problem of constipation.
The next function of peas, useful for weight loss, is removing excess fluid from tissues. This occurs due to the abundance of the macronutrient potassium in the fruits of the legume plant. Along with excess water, imaginary fat deposits in problem areas of the body, under which the liquid is so often disguised, also disappear. In addition, the person loses edema.
In addition to all of the above, peas:
- quickly and easily digested;
- supplies the body with a generous portion of all kinds of vitamins and minerals;
- gives an instant feeling of fullness;
- accelerates and improves metabolism;
- helps to quickly replenish the lack of strength and energy;
- has a beneficial effect on mood.
The calorie content of the product is moderate - 298 kcal. This refers to the energy value of dry seeds. Fresh green fruits contain 55 kcal, boiled - 60 kcal, stewed - 112.7 kcal, fried - 330 kcal. The product has a low glycemic index: for dried beans it is 25 units, for fresh beans it is 35.