Food Facts: From almonds to walnuts,
nuts are packed with nutrition

The Romans considered certain nuts to be food of the gods. Because walnuts resemble the brain, they were used to treat head ailments during the Renaissance. The Incas made pottery in the shape of the highly prized peanut.

Most of us today just like to eat them.

Nuts are versatile: They can be eaten as a snack or as part of a meal. They make tasty additions to fruit or vegetable salads, casseroles, baked breads or muffins, oatmeal, pilafs and meat dishes.

Nuts also are nutritious. They are placed in the meat group of the Food Guide Pyramid because of their protein content. Ounce for ounce, they are one of the best plant sources of protein and contain no cholesterol.

Many also are good sources of fiber; minerals such as magnesium, iron, potassium, selenium, copper, and zinc; vitamin E, folacin and other B vitamins; and fat.

Fat - there's good news and bad news. Fat is high in calories - 9 per gram versus the 4 per gram in carbohydrates and protein. If you're tipping the scales a little more than you should, it's best to cut some calories (and add exercise) to get that weight down. Because of their calorie density, fats are a logical choice for lowering our calorie intake. Therefore, use nuts in small amounts.

Although dry-roasted nuts are not cooked in oil, they are not significantly lower in fat that regular roasted (fried) ones. The other bad news is that the salted varieties add a significant amount of sodium.

The good news is the type of fat in nuts -primarily monounsaturated with some polyunsaturated. Monounsaturated fats can help lower total blood cholesterol, especially when substituted for the saturated fat in meats or other foods. These fats can also help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol without lowering HDL (good) cholesterol. Some studies have indicated that people who eat nuts fairly often have a lower risk of heart disease than those who seldom eat them.

When buying nuts in the shell, choose clean nuts that are free of splits, cracks, stains, mold or holes. Nutmeats that rattle in their shells are usually stale.

Shelled nuts should be plump and fairly uniform in color and size. Limp, rubbery, dark or shriveled nuts may be stale. Nuts in the shell retain their quality longer than shelled nuts. They can be kept at room temperature for a short time. For longer storage, keep them in a cool, dry place. Shelled nuts will keep fresh for several months stored in a tightly closed container in the refrigerator. Shelled or unshelled nuts can be frozen in tightly closed freezer containers at zero degrees or lower.

The following are some quick and fresh ideas for using nuts:

Add nuts to homemade trail mix.

• For the flavor of fall, sprinkle baked squash, sweet potatoes or apples with chopped nuts.
• Nuts add texture and taste appeal to fruit, vegetable and main-dish salads.
• Sprinkle hot cereal with chopped nuts or add them to pancake, waffle, cookie, cake, quick bread and muffin batters.
• Try using one-half whole wheat flour when baking - the flavor of whole grains especially complements nuts.
• Brown baggers delight: Stuff whole grain pocket bread with a mixture of chopped nuts, apple, banana and pineapple chunks and sprinkle with raisins.

  So there you have it - it's all right to go nuts -just be sensible about it!

• If you have a question, write to Extension Agent Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Florida Extension - Walton County, 732 North 9th Street, Suite B, DeFuniak Springs, FL 32433-3804; or call the Extension Office (850) 892-8172, from 8 a.m. to noon or 1 to 5 p.m. weekdays.

  Chestnuts are the only low-fat nut with 1 gram fat and 70 calories in one ounce of dried or roasted nuts. Macadamia nuts are the highest with 19 grams of fat and 199 calories. Some other favorites stack up this way per ounce:

  Nut	fat	calories
  Almonds	14 g	167
  Brazil nuts	19	186
  Cashews	13	163
  Hazel nuts	19	188
  Hickory nuts	18	179
  Peanuts	14	164
  Pecans	18	187
  Pine nuts	5	161
  Pistachios	14	164
  Walnuts	18	182

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