Wednesday 3 April 2013

Nuts about nuts.

Hi to anyone who is reading. I hope you can keep up with me, as I dart about a lot. Keep it fresh is what I say. Here you'll find trekking tales, rambling on about my rambles, chatting about arty crafting, cooing about my kittycats, pinching the pennies till they bleed, droning on about my doggy friends, shopping till I drop (yellow stickers of course), and harping on about healthy eating and exercise, all with a dose of old fashioned common sense. So if you can stomach all that, you're very welcome here. 
Today is about nuts. I am wanting to incorporate more nuts into my diet, but the trouble is that they are so expensive to buy, and the other problem is that they are so darn hard to chew. I am on a mission to look after my teeth as I want them to last me the rest of my life, so masticating gob fulls of nuts is not a good idea. However, I will not be beaten. I have decided that I have to find more money to spend on nuts, they have to be at the top of my priority shopping list. I don't make lists by the way. Although my diet is pretty healthy I can fall by the wayside occasionally and buy a packet of biscuits, this has got to stop, now. The temptation to buy cheap and buy junk is always there, I just have to be stronger, nuts are the priority now. 
As for chewing them, there is a simple answer to that, smash 'em to bits with a pestle and mortar. The brazil nuts have been smashed, and some of the walnuts as well. I have mixed them together.  
The nut mix is in a sealed container in the fridge, but it won't be there very long. I have got into the habit of munching on a piece of cheese when I open the fridge door, not good for the salt and fat intake. So from now on I shall be dipping into the nut box with a teaspoon.
There must be lots of things you can do with nuts. I know you can make nut cutlets, perhaps mix them with mashed chick peas or beans and mould it into burger shapes. You can sprinkle nuts onto breakfast cereals and add it to porridge. You could add it to stews if you want to. Today I'm making a superduper protein shake with it. It's a bit of an experiment really, I don't know how it's going to turn out. A lot of my food is experimental, ha ha. So, slice a banana into the jug, add four teaspoons of smashed nuts.  
Next add some milk. I bought a carton of almond milk to try it, because it was on special offer. I doubt whether I will pay full price for it when the offer has finished. Add about half a cup full. You could use any milk. I've just had a thought, I've always shied away from buying cheap long life or skimmed milk, as it tastes awful. Perhaps using it in this way might make it more palatable.  
Whizzzz it with the stick blender, add more milk if you want a more fluid consistency. I added a touch more, but it was still quite thick like porridge. I like dipping into things with a spoon so left it at that. While I have been sat here typing this it has all gone. It was lovely. You could make this and serve it as a healthy pudding, not that I do puddings after a meal. For me, puddings are a meal in itself.
How is the yellow sticker shopping lasting? It was a week ago when I stocked up my fridge for peanuts, ha ha, geddit, nuts on the brain. All the fruit is eaten, the root veg made into stew and frozen. I've eaten mushrooms, brocolli, and sprouts every day for a week. Spinach gone, some salad leaves and a whole lettuce yet to be eaten. Now I've got some lentils soaking, I shall be adding mushrooms and sprouts to make a spicy three day stew. No Tesco shopping is needed this week, I have plenty to be going on with.
It's sunny, and I'm off out for a walk. Toodle pip.

26 comments:

  1. Remember that nuts are high in fat so make sure you are not going nuts for nuts!
    Jane x

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  2. I love nuts but as you say they are so expensive . Did find some really nice ones in poundland and 99 p stores a few weeks ago . Holland and Barrett sometime have a some reduced to clear . I pop them in the freezer in usable amounts so the dont go rancid . The chashews in morrisons are really nice and only lightly salted , a quick rinse under the tap and you could use them in smoothies .

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  3. Hi there Debbie here. I love nuts too. I have a weakness for peanut butter. I make fab veggie burgers with either fresh nuts or peanut butter. Please may I ask if you are still doing your food diary. I used to find it interesting to see where your budget went. Also, are you still managing to live on £10 a week? Hope I'm not being too nosey. Thank you.

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    1. Hello Deb, I'd love your recipe for veg burgers with peanut butter? thanks! Kath

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    2. Hi Debbie. You've just told me what to do with the peanut butter I am trying out. It isn't as nice as the Tesco one which I buy.

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    3. Hi Deb, I've just remembered, you asked a question. I stopped doing the food diary, it was becoming too time consuming. My £10 a week wasn't leaving me any room to try new foods, unless I was lucky enough to find something in the yellow stickers. I think £12 to £15 a week is more realistic, to put a bit of variety into my diet.

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  4. I love nuts. Love 'em. I was thinking just the other day that there are two things I always feel like it's an extravagance to buy: nuts (cashew are my favorite), and 100% juice (usually orange or grape, so nothing very exotic!). And yet are they really extravagant? Both things are probably quite healthy, so "cheaper" in the long run than eating food of less quality. And I do manage to stock up on sales. Maybe I'll try just enjoying them instead of feeling slightly guilty about the cost.

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    1. Yes, I've always thought of nuts as being extravagant. I am sitting here sipping a glass of wine, £4 a bottle, and think nothing of it. Maybe it would have been more healthy to buy nuts.

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  5. Hello from Margaret.
    I've been a vegetarian for 35 years, I used to eat nuts in their raw state but now I soak them, this rids them of phytic acid. Much better on the digestion and also makes them softer. Who would want to be ingesting phytic acid!
    There's loads of stuff you can read about phytic acid on the web and how to soak them. I use a spoonful of cider vinegar with mine.

    Had you thought of sprouting nuts? Easy to do after soaking and they're extremely nutritious.

    Also making your own almond milk is very easy to do, you can find instructions in a good wholefood book or on the web.

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    1. Thank you for this infomation. I didn't know you are supposed to soak nuts, never heard of that before. I googlied it. Not sure I want to go through all that rigmarole. Different nuts need different soaking times, the harder the nut the longer they need to soak. Then you have to rinse them every couple of hours or so, and you have to dry them thoroughly, in the oven or a dehydrator. I don't use my oven and I don't have a dehydrator. I might give it a go on a sunny day. I hadn't thought of sprouting nuts, didn't know you could.

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    2. Margaret, what kind of nuts are you sprouting? Never occurred to me, but I would have thought germination of nuts would be a longer process than for beans and such. If it's easy, I'd like to try it!

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  6. Yep, I've just made a spicy three day stew too. Leftover veg from Sunday, odds and ends out of the freezer, including a black banana, gives it a nice texture. Plenty of onions, garlic, turmeric and ginger, so super healthy too!
    I had not thought to freeze nuts, good tip Mother Noah.

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  7. seeds such as sunflower, pumpkin etc are good for you and easier to eat.

    Anne from worcestershire

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  8. there is nothing better in life than a large handful of chocolate covered brazil nuts a cup of tea and seat in the garden in the sun. pure bliss

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  9. Hello Ilona,

    Nuts are a food that we eat and love, they are almost the ideal food. They are full of good fats Jane and Chris - so no need to limit them. It's much better for you and works out cheaper to avoid buying and eating foods containing white sugar. I eat homemade muesli using oats, nuts, coconut and ground flaxseed.

    Cheryl from Australia

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    1. Aaah yes, good and bad fats, it always confuses me which is which.

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  10. I have just found some bags of fruit and nuts on offer on Approved Food. We had some delivered last week, and they are very moreish.

    www.approvedfood.co.uk/?pid=52436



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    1. Thanks for the tip. I don't use AF, they don't have much on there which I would use. Would benefit families more than a single person.

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    2. I found a website you might find some useful recipes on. The website owner makes her own smoothies and nut butters.

      http://deliciouslyella.com/category/dips-spreads-and-sauces/

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  11. From Margie in Toronto
    I'm also adding more nuts to my diet and while they are expensive I do make them last due to the high fat content (trying to lose some weight). I love adding them to my salads for extra crunch and I also add them to crumble toppings (chopped and crushed as you suggested) as well as with cheese and fruit as a real treat.

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  12. Hi Margie. I'm going to have to watch my consumption as well, I could easily get carried away with nuts.

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    1. In the mornings decide what your allowance for the day is and put those nuts readily available, leaving the rest of them at the back of the fridge (best place to keep them they can go rancid otherwise)

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  13. Never thought to use nuts like that. Did they get tiny enough in the smoothie or were there chunks of them?

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  14. Hi KG. The nuts finished up as really tiny pieces, mostly not noticeable. even just using the slowest of the two settings. A few gritty size bits to nibble on, but nothing to annoy me. My digestive system copes very well with nuts,

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  15. I don't know if it helps but look out for nuts in the home baking section rather than the "whole foods" or "snack" sections as they're cheaper (supposedly!). I'm a vegetarian too but don't eat a lot of nuts. Sometimes I mix them with dried fruit and pumpkin and/or sunflower seeds to make a kind of "trail mix". It may be good for some of your walks.
    Emma

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  16. I like nuts in moderation, you could whizz them with your blender thingey. I don't mind the uHT milk, you know it's much better now than it ever used to be but I usually by skimmed if they have it rather than semi skimmed. I like soya milk drunk as it is but hate it in tea/coffee. Not tried almond milk though.

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