Walnuts—food of the week

“Most U.S. adults have yet to discover the benefits of walnuts. A recent study has determined that only 5.5% of all adults (ages 19-50) consume tree nuts of any kind! This small percentage of people actually do a pretty good job of integrating tree nuts (including walnuts) into their diet, and average about 1.25 ounces of tree nuts per day. But the other 94.5% of us report no consumption of tree nuts whatsoever. In a recent look at the nutritional differences between tree nut eaters and non-eaters, researchers have reported some pretty notable findings: on a daily average, tree nut eaters take in 5 grams more fiber, 260 milligrams more potassium, 73 more milligrams of calcium, 95 more milligrams of magnesium, 3.7 milligrams more vitamin E, and 157 milligrams less sodium! “

For more information from WH Foods

Walnuts for breakfast

Most days I have the same breakfast. An apple, handful of walnuts, and raw carrots. I figure if I'm careless the rest of the day, at least I've covered some of the basics, plus without grain, dairy or sugar in my system, I don't get hungry. Today I read:

"The FDA has recently allowed a qualified health claim to be placed on packages of nuts, including walnuts, which says "Scientific evidence suggests but does not prove that eating 1.5 ounces per day of most nuts, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease."

This 1.5-ounce serving would equal about 20 walnut halves, which would have about 277 calories, about 14% of a 2,000-calorie diet. For some people, this amount of walnuts, and this amount of calories from one food, would be excessive and would not be a prudent step to take towards their health goals. Yet, for other people this amount would fit perfectly in a meal plan and would increase its health benefits.

The serving size we feature on our website, one-quarter (1/4) cup (approximately 10 walnut halves), still provides a good amount of nutrients, but only has about 160 calories—approximately 8% of a 2,000 calorie diet." George Mateljan, World's Healthiest Foods

Sliced Honey Crisp apple with walnuts--the perfect breakfast

Walnuts. I eat them everyday, and I'm sure they're good for me--omega-3 fatty acids, or something. Supposed to be brain food, I think, but I don't see any turn around in that department. However, there's way too much hype about food health benefits. It's all part of the gnosticism of the environmentalist movement. Other than scurvey and ricketts, not much is cured or reversed with good nutrition. What really works besides chosing the best genes (your parents... and their parents), are all the NO-NOs--not smoking, not drinking, not doing drugs, not being promiscuous, not eating too many "healthy" foods (good food is fattening too), and not sitting at the computer all day. The last No-No is a big weakness for me. Well, at least I got a lot of help from Mom and Dad.

I love this web site

Pasta with walnuts and Ricotta

Tonight I watched three cooking shows--Italian, Mexican (I think), and Thai. But they were all using Italian cheeses. Anyway, I just love walnuts and eat them everyday. I decided to look up Lydia's show (it was a 2009 rerun) and found a blog which described what I saw, and explained about roasting the walnuts, since Lydia's were purchased that way. I don't think the pasta I saw on the show was Fettucini, but I'm not sure she said. Check out Plated, Jessica and James, a musician and painter who live in NY and love to cook.