Green peas are bursting with nutrients. They provide very good amounts vitamin K, vitamin C, vitamin B1 or thiamine, vitamin A vitamin B6, B3, and B2 and lots if dietary fiber, manganese, folate, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, iron, zinc and potassium. Green peas are that little food that is supercharged with nutritional and can supercharge your health.

Green peas are one of the important foods to include in your diet if you oftentimes feel fatigued and sluggish. That is because they provide nutrients that help support the energy-producing cells and systems of the body. They provide nutrients that are important for maintaining bone health. With its great source for iron green peas build normal blood cell formation and function. Low amounts of iron can result in anemia, fatigue, decreased immune function, and learning problems.

Vicki's Green Pea Salad
2 cups fresh green peas. (You can substitute with a 16 ounce package of frozen green peas. Rinse and thaw them for use in the salad.)
1 cup chopped fresh cauliflower ( make sure pieces are chopped about the same size as the peas.)
1 - 8 ounce can sliced water chestnuts (drain and rinse thoroughly and cut into strips)
1 - 8 ounce container sweet grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes sliced in half
1/2 onion minced
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon dry dill

Whisk together the lemon juice, dill, and mayonnaise.
In large bowl mix all of the vegetables. Pour in the mayo and dill dressing and toss.

Beets are so healthy for you. But did you know that beets beat cancer? Beets are not only rich in calcium, but recent research has shown that they are also extremely rich in cancer-fighting flavenoids. They are also high in magnesium, folate, potassium, fiber, vitamin C and iron. Here is one of my favorite ways to eat beets in a healthy salad. Arugula and pine nuts give this salad an extra nutty and peppery flavor and make it even more healthy.

Vicki's Arugula & Beet Salad
4 cups young arugula leaves, rinsed and dried
1 jar or can sweet pickled beets rinsed and drained
(reserve the beet juice in a bowl)
1/2 cup pine nuts
1 red onion thinly sliced
1 Bay leaf
2 cloves

In a medium saucepan, combine the reserved beet juice and bring to a boil. Add cloves, bay leaf, and onion, and return to a boil. Remove from heat, strain and chill for one hour. Be sure to take out the bay leaf so you don't eat it. Mix the cooked onions and beets together and stir. Divide arugula into four bowls and divide beet/onion mixture on top of each bowl. Divide pine nuts between the bowls.

Children and teenagers -- mostly girls -- need zinc, a mineral important for maintaining healthy immune systems and healthy skin and for preventing colds and infections. Yet half of all teenage girls have zinc deficiencies.

Red meat is the most effective way of channeling zinc into the body. Perhaps these young girls are eating red meat less than two times per week -- a practice research shows can contribute to zinc deficiencies.

Iron is vital for good health. Menstruating women need it. The elderly need it. Pregnant women need it. And children need it too. But many lack healthy levels of iron.

Red meat contains a lot of iron. And while iron also comes from vegetable sources, meat contains more iron than most foods and is best utilized by the body in this form.

Red meat also contains B vitamins, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, selenium -- and protein, critical for muscle and organ health. Protein from red meat is complete, meaning it contains all the amino acids the body cannot make on its own. Protein helps the body repair and renew.

There is definitely a good side to eating red meat. There is also a bad side.

Red meat has been linked to incidences of bowel cancer, breast cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, high cholesterol, clogged arteries, and food poisoning.

Experts say the controversy surrounding red meat comes down to the type of meat we are eating -- and how we are eating it.

There are three official red meats -- pork, lamb, and beef. Pork is the leanest, lamb is the fattiest, and beef is the most nutritious. Red meat is typically high in saturated fats and bad cholesterol. But lean beef is fairly healthy -- if it's not treated with hormones and is truly free from excess fat. The more white you see, the more fat you get.

So here is the trick for all meat-eaters out there -- choose lean meats, seek nutritious cuts of meat, avoid hormone-treated products, steer clear of processed meats (these include more additives and fats than simple cuts of pork, lamb, and beef), read labels carefully, make meat just one component of a balanced diet, and brace yourself for more research and study and discussion that will undoubtedly conclude that meat is good for us. And bad for us too.

I am well aware that the artichoke is a cancer prevention food -- rich in cancer-fighting nutrients like vitamin C, folate, and magnesium. That it is virtually fat-free and offers plenty of fiber. And that the artichoke leaves contain cynarin, a compound proving to be beneficial for liver health, and silymarin, a compound with powerful anitoxidant properties.

But the artichoke intimidates me with its pointy-tipped leaves and fuzzy middle. It has always been, in my mind, a strange and exotic multi-layered green orb. While I have a fondness for artichoke, I have given into my fears and purchased the trusted marinated artichoke hearts prepared by somebody else and sold at the grocers for any artichoke in my diet.

Sarah J. Gim, of our sister blog Slashfood, has taken the fear out of artichoke preparation. In fact, it is so simple I now feel profoundly silly about avoiding the artichoke in its most natural form. In Spring in season: roasted artichokes, Sarah explains step-by-step how to prepare and roast an artichoke. She calls it the slaying of the spiny dragon. If you have been secretly, or not so secretly, intimidated by a vegetable that has been revered since ancient times for its many wonderful properties, Sarah can show you how easy it is to prepare an artichoke properly and with confidence.

The National Foundation for Cancer Research, NFCR, founded to support cancer research and public education relating to the prevention, early diagnosis, better treatments and ultimately, a cure for cancer, features a new cancer prevention food recipe each month. This month's recipe: Hot Artichoke Dip. According to NFCR, artichokes are rich in the cancer fighting nutrients vitamin C, foliate, magnesium and offer plenty of fiber. I was impressed when they included tips on how to avoid pesticides in fresh produce.

Are you hungry yet? Oh, you might be in a minute! Here are more culinary delights of great colon friendly food recipes, including: Pumpkin Pancakes, Grape & Cranberry Tea Bread, Guacamole With Pear & Pomegranate Seeds, Spicy Tomato Salsa, Poached Halibut with Fennel & Cauliflower, Grapefruit & Spinach Salad, Watermelon Waldorf Salad, Grilled Eggplant & Sweet Pepper Sandwich, Grilled Corn, Red Pepper & Cucumber Salad, Grilled Tomato Melts, Glazed Chicken and Grapes, Angel Hair with Asparagus and Tomatoes, Lemon Chicken, Grilled Shiitake and Vegetable Kabobs with Herb Butter, Cucumber and Seaweed Salad, Pumpkindoodle Cookies, Pear-Strawberry Trifle, and Red Snapper with Cilantro, Garlic, & Lime. Enjoy.