The quick answer: They cost more per pound than most foods but nuts are a nutrition bargain.
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Walnut Harvest
I apologize that our posts of menus and recipes have been sparse of late (though I did come up with a Bran Nut Muffin Recipe). We’ve had a few distractions that have kept us moving between home and northern California.
We did manage, however, to stock up on freshly harvested walnuts while up north. We bought 100 lbs, in the shell. We ran out of walnuts a few months ago so I bought some at the local health food store. They were so old and rancid we could hardly eat them. The fact is that you have to keep walnuts (and most other nuts) refrigerated, especially if they’re out of the shell. At the health food store it’s best if you sniff the bin (for any rancid odor) before buying nuts.
So I’ve been cracking walnuts in my spare time and stacking them in the freezer. They make a nice Christmas offering; you can’t buy fresh walnuts in the store. We’re running out of space so the BW suggested we finally break down and buy a freezer. I’ve resisted this because we struggle to rotate the stock in the freezer section of our refrigerator. Is our food discipline up to managing a freezer too? Maybe it’s time.
Did I mention the walnuts only cost $4/lb if I do the shelling? They cost much more in the store and aren’t half as good.
Nut Benefits
One of the premises of Word of Wisdom Living is that it’s cheaper to cook healthy food than buy the prepared (and less healthy) stuff. If you want to enjoy good health, you must either cook or be on good terms with a cook. We’ve no problem with occasional take-our when things get crazy, in fact we encourage that one meal a week can be whatever you crave. But we also believe that people who regularly read this blog are unlikely to want the most toxic stuff—like deep fat fried corndogs.
Value is always a consideration in our posts but this blog is about one of the more expensive food groups: nuts. It’s reported that only 5% of Americans regularly eat nuts. That’s a shame because nuts have a lot of benefits:
- Nuts are rich in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients. We talked about these important topics here and here. A 2005 study found those who eat the most nuts have the lowest level of inflammation markers. For almonds, the anti-inflammatory effect is as strong as the statin drugs, without all the nasty side effects.
- Nuts are a good source of essential minerals, like magnesium and selenium. Americans are widely deficient in magnesium. The Nurses’ Health Study found women with the highest magnesium serum level had 77% less risk of heart attack than those with the lowest level. Magnesium is also critical to bone health and prevention of calcification. Multiple studies evidence that selenium plays an important but undefined role in preventing cancer. . A 1996 U. of Arizona study, for example, found those taking doses of selenium had 40% less cancer than the placebo (no selenium) group. Brazil nuts are rich in selenium.
- Nuts make a great non-sugary snack, one that won’t cause you to gain weight. Though dense in calories (and nutrients), studies show a significant advantage in weight loss for nut eaters. (Though the nuts are high in calorie-dense fats, they are also very filling which offsets the calorie risk.)
Healthy Change
Please Comment: Our favorite nuts include walnuts (especially in baked goods), almonds (we like them with dark chocolate chips), pecans (they’re good alone, or with apples and dried fruit), Brazil nuts, and cashews. Do you have a good source, or a favorite recipe to share? Please comment.