Did you know nuts are sodium free? If your nuts have salt, it wasn’t mother nature who added that bit of sodium, it was some guy at the plant. So if you are on a sodium free diet, just read the labels carefully. Okay, lets talk nuts. These are some of the best nuts for your health are, almonds, hazelnuts, brazil nuts,peanuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachio’s and walnuts. Yes, I know you are thinking, but nuts are high in fat, well yes but its the good fat that lowers the bad cholesterol in our bodies. Now I am not saying to eat tons of nuts, just a handful daily that’s all. By eating a handful of nuts daily it has been reported that you can reduce blood pressure, help keep bad cholesterol down, reduce chances of Alzheimer’s, help in weight control, and help reduce your chances of diabetes 2.. Almonds contain vitamin E, peanuts contain folate, vitamin B and niacin, walnuts omega fatty acids. The fat, protein and fiber in nuts make you feel full so it is a good snack to munch on between meals. I think the best way to eat nuts is raw. By roasting nuts you lose some of the nuts natural oils and I do not add any salt either. The best way to start to add nuts to your diet is to add them in your yogurt, salad, cereal. You can chop the nuts and add them to pasta’s or on top of vegetables. I keep small containers of nuts on my desk and in the pantry. So add nuts to this weeks grocery list. I prefer to buy the nuts in the bins in the organic section of the market. If you buy them in a sealed bag, check for the expiry date, nuts can go bad. The best way to store nuts at home is once you open the bag, place the unused portion in a tightly sealed plastic container.
Kids Love This Salad
Spinach leaves or any dark leaf lettuce (remember there is very little nutritional value in iceberg lettuce
Fresh Basil Leaves
Fresh Parsley
ChoppedCelery
Dried Fruit like cranberries, or raisins
Chopped Nuts, like walnuts, pecans almonds
Goat cheese or any soft cheese (optional) * Usually buy this in the specialty section of cheese
Dressing:
Olive Oil
A squeeze of lemon juice or splash ofbalsamic vinegar
A tiny bit of salt
Toss all of your lettuces, fresh herbs, nuts and dried fruits. The for the dressing just moisten your salad with olive oil , add a squeeze of lemon juice or vinegar, salt and top the salad with crumbles of goat cheese.
