A Valuable Addition to Your Diet

I love them all. They are my favorite snack food and I take as many opportunities as possible to add nuts to my diet. I put them in muffins, granola bars, green and fruit salads, cookies and desserts. Peanut butter is also a staple in my home and gets used in more than just the traditional pb&j. I include nuts regularly when cooking cross-culturally, making an African stew, a wok-fried Chinese dish, pad Thai, or crusted Hawaiian fish. I think almost every nation in the world grows and enjoys nuts, and they can be a flavorful and nutritious addition to your own diet.Walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, peanuts, almonds, macadamia nuts, pine nuts, pistachios, Brazil nuts I love them all.

High in protein and fiber, nuts also contain healthy amounts of folic acid (brain nutrition), vitamin E, selenium, phytic acid and omega-3 fatty acids. In addition, nuts have what is known as "good" or unsaturated fat and are low in the "bad" or unsaturated fat, and can help in keeping that cholesterol level down, as well as lowering the chance of heart disease. NOTE: The FDA has approved the heart health claim for almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, pecans, some pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts, as these nuts contain less than 4g of saturated fats per 50g.

Nuts can be eaten raw, roasted, and dry-roasted. Early indigenous populations soaked their raw nuts before they were eaten, which isn't such a bad idea. Nuts contain enzyme inhibitors, which can strain the digestive system if you are a regular voracious consumer. By soaking overnight before eating or toasting, you are neutralizing the enzymes and the nuts will be easier to digest.

The downside of nuts is their calorie content and the ability to restrict yourself to just a few. Generally a quarter cup of nuts, raw or dry roasted will be around 200 calories. As a snack food, nuts lend themselves to eating handfuls at a time, but like anything, eaten in moderation they are a great addition to your diet and can quickly quell hunger pangs. Many breakfast cereals now contain nuts – pecans, almonds and walnuts, in particular. Almost all breakfast and snack granola bars contain nuts (just watch out for calorie count and sugar content). Keep raw or roasted almonds handy as a snack, toss pecans into a salad with some blue cheese and dried cranberries, or, if you are feeling adventurous, test out this easy recipe for Mafe, an African stew. The ingredients can be found in your local grocery, there is only 5 minutes of prep, 15 minutes to brown and mix, and then it cooks on its own for an hour. Tasty and perfect for a cold winter evening.

Mafe
Serves 4-6

2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 large onion, minced
2 pounds lamb stew meat, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups cold water
1/3 cup tomato paste
2 cups hot water
4 large carrots, scraped and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan, add the onion, and cook over medium heat until it is translucent. Add the meat and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until it is lightly browned on all sides.
In a small bowl, mix the peanut butter with the cold water and pour it over the meat. Dilute the tomato paste with the hot water, pour the liquid over the stew, and stir well to make sure all the ingredients are well mixed. Add the remaining ingredients, lower the heat, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour, or until the meat is tender. Remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Serve hot over white rice.