Nuts are everywhere. You can’t avoid them. Ever been in the subway system of New York or Boston? I have and even there you will find nuts. Wait, what am I talking about? What are you talking about? I am here to give you an indication of how healthy nuts can be. You thought I was discussing crazy people didn’t you? Well, I see crazy people too but that is for a different time and place.
I want to discuss nuts as in peanuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, hazenlnuts, macadamia and pecans. The list of nuts could go on and on but let’s cut it short and create a little focus. I decided to post about this today because as I am known to do I go through Instagram and every other pictures (at least it seems) is a picture of a nut butter on top of pancakes, waffles, oatmeal. There are also the pictures of a handful of nuts as a snack. This had me thinking about portion sizes of nuts and if people understood what is in a portion of nuts and if they actually cared.
Based on all the pictures and how much was in these pictures I am going with the notion that nobody cares what an actual serving size is. Nuts after all do have healthy fats right so why care that a typical serving of almonds is 10 whole almonds. Whenever I use nuts in my recipes I use 1 oz or less. When you see the number 1 you think that there is no way that would be enough, but once measured our you realize how much 1 oz actually is and you know that it will fill you up without pushing your calorie count through the roof.
Homemade Peanut Almond Butter
I stopped purchasing nut butters from the store because of all the extra oil and preservatives that were included in the jars back then. Today when I look at jars at the store I turn away because of cost but I can see that the manufacturer’s have really cleaned up their act by providing jars of nut butter that contain nothing but the actual nut and some salt. That is great news but because I prefer to make as much food at home as possible I will continue to make my own. Now that I have perfected my nut butter recipe I am going to start adding pieces and parts to it. Maybe some chocolate or maple syrup and honey or all three. Give myself variety which is always the spice of life.
My nut butter recipe involves a blend of almonds and peanuts so I want to point out the health benefits of both of those. Recently, Karen and I celebrated our anniversary and I had a cashew soup with wild mushrooms that was other-worldly and so I picked up a bag of cashews as well. I haven’t made the soup but have made vegan spinach pesto with them and it was by far the best pesto I have ever made. Since three is a nice number lets add cashews to the list and see what benefits there are for them.
Nuts: Peanuts, Almonds And Cashew Health Benefits
Common Benefits:
- Lowers Risk of Heart Disease
- Lowers Risk of Weight Gain
- They help provide good brain function.
- Aids in Blood Sugar Regulation (Manganese)
Peanuts:
- Helps Promote Fertility (Folate)
- Helps Prevent Gallstones
- Helps Fight Depression (Tryptophan)
- Boosts Memory Power (Vitamin B3)
- Helps Lower Cholesterol Levels (Copper)
- Cancer Protection
Chocolate Pumpkin Pecan Waffles
Almonds:
- They lower ‘bad’ cholesterol.
- Help build strong bones and teeth.
- They nourish the nervous system.
- They alkalize the body.
Cashews:
- Cancer Prevention
- Hair and Skin Health
- Bone Health
- Good for the Nerves
- Prevent Gallstones
Clearly including nuts into your diet regularly has major health benefits that far outweigh the fear that most people have regarding the fat content. Let’s also not forget that they taste good. As mentioned above these are just a few nuts that are available to us so don’t overlook them. Next time you go to the grocery store be sure to check out the bulk section and get yourself a few scoops of various nuts. From there create your own trail mix or granola and enjoy the health benefits that nuts provide.
What Is Your Favorite Nut Recipe?
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I end up eating lots of nuts (TWSS) and loving it. Haven’t tried making my own nut butter yet; need to try that soon.
Carolina John recently posted..All the Crazy
You have to make your own nut butter. I picked up a jar here in Puerto Rico yesterday and HATE the ingredients.
I love nuts as well! I like to keep several different kinds on hand at all times. They make a great snack for my son too. He loves them.
Tanya recently posted..The Best WordPress Anti-Spam Plugins for 2012-2013
Favorite nut? And congratulations on having a child that isn’t allergic to nuts.
I love nuts (TWSS) but I don’t have the machinery to make nut butter. I have a Ninja, which does not make almond butter. It makes almond crumble. So sad.
Mandy recently posted..Wagging Wednesday: Favorite Walk
How long are you running the ninja? You have to let it go from crumble, to a ball to the liquified butter. I would say it takes me about 10-12 minutes in the food processor with stopping to scrape sides a couple of times.
Well I don’t think I want to get into a discussion of “nuts” here especially if Matt and Kevin are lurking. I have enough trouble saying anything without getting in trouble.
Cashews for snacking
Pecans for salads
Peanuts, not if I can help it.
I have some maaaajor catching up to do here.
adena recently posted..food (ish) question
Why not peanuts? They have terrific taste especially for Asian dishes like Pad Thai.