Bonnie: In the ’90s, cookbook author Mollie Katzen often carried a bag of fresh soybeans with her to nibble when she was hungry. That was an unusual snack then, but not now as fresh soybeans — also called edamame — have become mainstream, especially with country singer Faith Hill snacking on them during a backstage interview and Kelly Ripa talking about them on “Live with Regis and Kelly.”

These beans are a nutritious powerhouse — rich in calcium, iron, zinc, many B vitamins, essential fatty acids — including some omega-3s — plus fiber and complete protein. A complete protein is one that contains all the essential amino acids that our bodies cannot produce.

Edamame still in the pod makes a good-for-you snack. Just steam and sprinkle with salt or cook the pods in lightly salted water. To eat, just squeeze the beans into your mouth. Or purchase them shelled to add to soups, salads, stir-fries or anywhere you’d add other veggies!

Bryan: I always enjoyed sushi, but didn’t really become a sushi lover until moving to New York City where I had the opportunity to dine at Japanese restaurants all the time. The only major drawback I find to a good sushi dinner is that there is a noticeable lack of vegetables. While raw fish and rice is a beautiful combination, I generally like to have a serving of veggies with dinner… and edamame (a standard Japanese restaurant side) has become my go-to.

Edamame is a Japanese word, though it is now commonly used in English-speaking countries to refer to a dish of boiled, lightly salted soybeans. The Japanese name literally means “twig bean,” referring to the young soybeans that have just been cropped, still with a twig. Edamame soybeans are harvested when the bean is young: 80 to 90 percent mature and still green. Picked and served either shelled or in the pod, young soybeans provide a nutritious source of protein and amino acids.

Seapoint Farms offers quality, frozen, whole-pod edamame, a perfect snack to keep on hand. Seapoint Farms is the largest importer and manufacturer of edamame products in the USA, beginning in 1996 as the first American company to introduce edamame into supermarkets, and becoming the leading brand of supermarket edamame in the process.

In its most noble effort since January 2007, Seapoint Farms has had an agreement with Nickelodeon to create an all-natural line of kids’ food. The line of thaw-and-serve packs of edamame (highlighting Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants) offers a great, healthy snack alternative for children, establishing good dietary habits from the very start! No, it’s not like the mac & cheese: They’re not pods shaped like SpongeBob. The character is just on the box… but hey, it’s a step in the right direction!

Eric: I’m a huge fan of sushi (both maki and nigiri). The simplicity of the meal, as well as the diversity of the choices, makes sushi an appealing option when in a rush for something to eat.

For me, the difficulty is in choosing the right sushi restaurant (or hole-in-the-wall), and not because the quality is that much different; it’s all due to the edamame, and the preparation that goes into making it perfect. For such a simple bean pod, it’s amazing how often a sushi restaurant can butcher the quality. In my book, the perfect edamame is served warm, covered with sea salt and has a “crispness” to it when squeezed. Although you’d expect nine out of 10 restaurants to get it right, the odds are usually against you.

This is what amazed me about the Seapoint Farms Edamame (Soybeans in Pods) – the texture, taste and seasoning is reminiscent of a great Sushi restaurant, and the quality of the preparation is controlled by you.

The only downfall of the product is the portion size – moving forward, I would love to see individualized adult portions (sorry SpongeBob).