NUTS
Almonds
These are the nutrient-dense big daddies of the world of nuts.
High fiber. Protein. Vitamin E and Folic acid. Calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc-- just the short list. No gluten should make the gluten sensitive and celiac disease folks happy. Almonds are frequently touted as heart healthy due to their mono-unsaturated fat content.
Brazil nuts
Are in the same family as blueberries and cranberries, oddly enough. I'm not really one for taxonomyy.
The trees reach 15 feet from 6 foot trunks. Impressive. So is the fruit. It is illegal to cut the trees down, purportedly. So they can be found here and there and where people live, walk their dogs, and park their cars. The large, heavy fruit can put a dent in your day, is what I'm getting at.
The nuts are the richest source of selenium. The National Cancer Institute list Brazil nuts here for their antioxidant quality.
People eat watermelon seeds?
Cashews
More iron than beef, plus copper, manganese, magnesium, selenium, potassium and zinc. B vitamins. Mono-unsaturated fats.
A version of my favorite rack of lamb dish with a hazelnut crust.
Hazelnuts
In Scotland in 1995 a pit with hundreds of thousands of hazelnut shells was found. This was a hazelnut processing site 9,000 years ago.
Good fats and B vitamins, vitamin E, copper, and iron among others.
"Put the lime in and then you'll feel better." the Doctor
Coconuts
Holy wow coconut water has become big.
But this post is about the meat of the matter. The meat is high in potassium, phosphorous, magnesium, sodium, and calcium. The oils may reduce our demonized LDL cholesterol, and it has been shown of benefit in benign prostatic hyperplasia.
The water has been used in IVs due to its sterile environment within the shell, sugar and sodium content. Nut plasma!
So. Darn. Tasty. So. Darn. Expensive.
These nuts are 75% oil. So, the heart thing again. They contain many of the vitamins and minerals as the previous list entries, along with selenium and vitamin A.
But don't feed them to your dog.
Pecans
Firstly, received wisdom: Upon moving to the south from the mid-west my wife found it curious that pee-cans (particularly pies) were everywhere. She made mention of the fact. One of her colleagues suggested she try a different pronunciation, as "We say pee-con, 'cause a pee-can don't belong at the supper table."
Good fats, vitamins, and anti-oxidants like beta-carotene and xanthins.
Pee-con trees can produce for 300 years.
Pine nuts
A personal favorite that comes with an anecdote: In the southwest pine nuts are harvested from pinyon trees. In season they're sold in roadside stands. Unshelled nuts are popped into the mouth much as unshelled sunflower seeds elsewhere. But sunflower seeds don't have a hard shell. So every year I'd have one or two guys come in with jaw trouble. They would disturb their TMJ by cracking the shell with their teeth. Dentists everywhere would shudder.
Contains protein and fiber and more vitamin K than any other nut as well as many of the previously mentioned vitamins and minerals. Also contains a dirty little secret you can read about here called pine mouth. Skipping pine nuts from China may be prudent.
This man insists you buy his nuts.
PistachiosHigh fiber and less than 5 calories per nut, B vitamins and potassium, and we've been eating them for 7 millennia. They can increase your alpha- and beta-carotene levels, lutein levels and gamma tocopherol. They've been demonstrated to lower low density lipoprotein. A problem with them I worry about not at all can be found here.
nuts and flash fry the beans in walnut oil.
Walnuts
Walnuts contain the most anti-oxidants of any nut. They also contain the usual vitamins and minerals shared by the other nuts on this list.
In elementary school in the backwoods during the seventies one fall day I noticed several classmates hands were dark as if they had washed with furniture stain. Essentially they had. They'd been collecting walnuts. You can make your own walnut stain.
Rest in peace Lt. Gen. Harry W.O. Kinnard, now four years passed on.
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