Make Room For Nuts

Nuts, seeds and fruit were the mainstay diet of our ancestors…the original “natural foods”! So it’s only natural that many nutritionists recommend a diet that includes plenty of nuts and seeds, as well as a variety of nutrient-dense foods found in the basic food groups that consist of a variety of bright colors and textures. Healthy eating means keeping your intake of all foods in balance and enjoying most foods in moderation.

Of course, while nuts have many benefits, you still need to make room for them in your diet by cutting down on calories from other foods or drinks. Below are ten foods and drinks (each about 180 calories), any one of which you could skip today to make way for a small handful of nuts:

• 9 restaurant-style tortilla chips
• 1½ chewy, chocolate-chip granola bars
• 14 oz. of soda or beer
• 1 package of 6 cheese and crackers (found in vending machines)
• 1/3 cup ice cream
• 10 oz. fruit juice smoothie
• 18 baked Lays Potato Chips
• ¾ of a package of plain M&M’s
• Six oz. of café mocha
• 1¼ strawberry cereal bar

Adding Nuts to Favorite Foods

• Nuts are easy! They don’t require cooking or preparing. They are portable. And they go well with everything from gourmet meals to beer. Stick to small servings to keep calories low.
• Add nuts to your morning breakfast cereal or yogurt.
• For a delightful crunch, sprinkle nuts on salads or soups at lunch in the place of bacon bits or cheese.
• Stir some nuts into pasta dishes. Try adding Walnuts to your pasta tossed with olive oil, fresh basil, and tomatoes. Or try using peanut butter as a sauce, tossed with penne pasta, roasted butternut squash, eggplant, and shallots.
• Add nuts to side dishes, such as green beans or sautéed spinach. Or add Pine Nuts to your couscous with feta cheese and sun-dried tomatoes.
• Mix finely chopped nuts with an equal amount of seasoned breadcrumbs to coat your fish or chicken with flavor before baking, broiling, or grilling.
• Stir nuts into your stir-fry dishes, or add some peanut butter to create a thicker stir-fry sauce.
• Add Almonds to your favorite chicken salad recipe—then spice it up with curry powder and grapes. Or try chicken salad with apples and Walnuts.
• Try whipping up a nutty almond smoothie: put a handful of nuts in a blender with some milk, ice, vanilla or almond extract, and a sweetener of your choice (maple syrup, honey, brown sugar, etc).
• Try peanut butter or other nonhydrogenated nut-butter spreads on rice or popcorn cakes, celery, or bananas.

RESOURCES:

American Dietetic Association
http://www.eatright.org

American Heart Association
http://www.americanheart.org