Nutrition

Eating mangetout is a great way to get in your Vitamin C which contributes to maintaining healthy skin, blood vessels, bones and cartilage. Along with Vit C its a source of Vitamin K and manganese which supports normal blood clotting and maintaining healthy bones.

Shopping Guide

The pods should be green, rather than yellow, look moist and break crisply under pressure.

Storage

To store, wash but don’t dry them or wrap them in a damp paper towel and place in a slightly open bag or container in the fridge to keep for a few days.

Preparation

While they make a delicious snack raw (great with your favourite dip), and are a sweet addition to salads, they can also be cooked, but best to do so lightly to retain their colour and flavour, so think stir-fries or a quick microwave. To do this simply wash them, don’t dry, add to a covered microwaveable dish and give them just a minute cooking.

Kids in the Kitchen

For a younger child, let them wash the mangetout and make a dip to go with it at snack time. Blend a tin of rinsed chickpeas with oil, lemon juice, salt, and cumin, paprika, or coriander for a simple hummus. They can help load the blender and press the buttons. Or, have them grate cucumber into yogurt and add feta or a pinch of salt and garlic for a quick tzatziki dip.

For an older child, involve them in cooking a stir-fry. Use stir-fry veg, mangetout, soy sauce, and cooked noodles or rice. Teach them how to safely stir over high heat, what’s safe to touch, and when to add the veg and sauces. Let them serve it proudly as “theirs.”

Find more ideas for involving kids in the kitchen here.

Sensory

Mangetout are great for exploring through hearing as a fun, crunchy veg. The best way is to get both sugar snap peas and mangetout and crunch them both (or snap next to your ear if your child isn’t willing to put them in their mouth) and compare the crunchiness. Is one loud and one quiet? One crunchy, one soft? Which one is which? You could also explore the sugar snaps by taking them apart – push slightly on the sides to open them up and see if you can find the little sweet peas inside! What does it look and feel like? What does it remind you of?

Find more sensory ideas, tips and videos here. If you get stuck and need a little help with describing words, we have a selection for you here, too!

Serving

Next time you make a meal with mangetout, try to get your kids involved in small ways wherever you can – when serving it up, why not let your child help you plate it and see if they can come up with a funny name for the dish.

Find the best ways of involving your own child and their skills and interests on our Roles for Kids page.

Activities

Why not try making a cut-out and colour pea picture?

Or grab some of our free games & puzzles with mangetout like our Esca-peas game?

Kids more interested in science? You can find more at-home science fun with veg with our videos from Stefan Gates’ here.

Find loads more free veg-themed crafts here and games here.