The Joy of Going Nuts: Pine Nuts and Other Great Nuts

The Joy of Going Nuts

One of the joys of weekly food shopping over the last year for me has become my visit to the bulk bins at Whole Foods.

In the past, I used to buy a package of nuts -for me, most often, this would be walnuts that I used to use more of and so could justify buying a whole package at a time- but now that I have discovered the bulk bins at Whole Foods, I am free to experiment!

Nuts are healthful, nutritious, great add-ins, and a handy way to go vegetarian for a meal or a day without hunger, weakness, or deprivation.  That's all helpful. But, let's face it: they are also Yumm!

Anyway, at Whole Foods, I can now buy a sample of this or a handful or a week's worth of a bunch of different nuts and dried fruits, etc. so I've grown my nut-palate and become more familiar with what used to be exotic rare excursions into eating and using nuts.

<p><a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net">Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></p> 


Here is one of my favs:

The Pine Nut

It's not really a nut. It's a seed in a pine cone! Who would have thought those squirrels and even my dogs -the famous sheepdogs: Darla and Fisher- would be so smart. In the past, I've had them primarily in pesto dishes. But now, they color my salads, soups, vegetable dishes, my eggplant, chicken, and fish, and I even eat them raw all by themselves. They are lovely and delicate and guess what else, they are amazing nutrition-wise.

They are 58 calories in a TBSP but curb your appetite so they help with weight loss, they aid cardiovascular support, are high in iron, anti-oxidants -i.e. anti-aging, contain lutein, an antioxidant that is crucial to the prevention of eye diseases such as macular degeneration and cataracts and vitamin A in the form of beta carotene, another important eye vitamin, and containing protein and magnesium, they aid in energy boosting. That's a LOT of umphhhffff  for something with such a good Yumm factor.



A few of my other favs include:

Brazil Nuts

"A handful of Brazil nuts a day can reduce the risk of eight types of cancer by up to 76 per cent, scientists said yesterday. They are packed with the mineral selenium, which can help prevent cancer of the liver, lung, stomach, prostate, pancreas, brain, kidney and oesophagus by blocking the formation of tumours."    -How Brazil Nuts Can Beat Cancer  by Tim Utton and Robin Yapp

Also:   Brazil Nuts Hold Cancer Hope

Cashews

Okay, Just Yumm.  We know these are good for us. We eat them in Chinese and Thai chicken, for goodness sakes. They are best eaten you know, umm, naturally, and are still full of flavor. But here is a perfectly important point: At Whole Foods, you can buy the Thai salted, roasted cashews and they won't make it home, they are soooo delicious. But you can buy a handful and be gloriously done with it and leave the rest in the bin behind you. Ahh yes, a moment of zen.

Almonds

Edgar Cayce said 2 almonds a day warded off cancer / http://www.healingcancernaturally.com/cayce-almonds-health-readings.html

Dried Michigan Cherries

Here is my plug for the best of the best cherries from my own home state of Michigan. I dare you to compare!


*A word of caution and forewarning though: like all things, take your nuts in moderation. Don't overdo it. Some are fattier than others and for some people, they may be hard to digest in large amounts too, so use your good common sense!

And, with this, I ask you to journey to your own Whole Foods or other natural food bulk food bin aisle and do what you must: taste and experiment and let your senses have at it!

-bbffair

South of the Border Sunday

Meet my dogs! Who (as you will learn) approved this dinner, though not for the obvious reasons of their getting the leftovers.

On Sunday, my husband picked up some freshwater shrimp, which are wonderful. We get them with the shells cracked-open and they broil up like little lobster tails and the meat easily pulls out of the shell. (Cook the same way as I described for grilled shrimp, except these you don't have to flip.) He had the dip in mind too, but forgot to buy the buttermilk.

But it was Sunday and he didn't feel like another trip to the store, so we did a little survey. Sometimes you look in the fridge and you need to eat one of those meals working with what you've got before your next shop.

So I pulled out that box of Cuban Black Bean Soup with 2 cups still in it (Note: You really have to cut the box open at this point, the soup is so thick!), threw in the leftover half-can of the stewed tomatoes and chopped up two white mushrooms and put it on the stove. I grilled the freshwater shrimp just the way I like (above link), then chopped the meat up after taking it out of the shell (These guys are big!) and put the pieces in two bowls and poured the soup mix over the shrimp. Then I dolloped out 2 TBSPs of salsa and 1 tsp (it really does go a long way - you could use even less, but why?) of sour cream in each bowl, and on the side of the plate, I tossed the last of my leftover fresh baby spinach, lime wedges and pieces from 1/2 an avocado (1/4th on each plate) (all of which we ended up tossing into the soup too). :-D

It was wonderful with a nice glass of red wine. A very hearty meal with a lot of zest in a few inspired moments. Healthy and about 445 calories (or a little more with a glass of red). Then, instead of an extra trip to the store, we threw the Frisbee with the sheepdogs.

-bbffair