This september, let yourself go nuts!
Fall is the ideal time for the freshest selection of nuts and seeds! If you don't have many in your diet, that is something you should change. A handful a day fills your body with an array of healthy fats, oils, vitamins and minerals. They also add in a good dose of fiber and help to curb hunger. For those who eat a purely plant based diet, nuts and seeds also pack a powerful protein punch. They are the perfect snack, addition to any meal and if you're creative in the kitchen, they can be blended to make all sorts of milks, cheeses, pastes and creams.
Seeds tend to follow the seasons for their respective flowers. Seeds of fall include sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. Both are great for nibblers as you can buy them in the shell and spend hours chewing the seeds open. Or for some added carbohydrates you can eat the entire pumpkin seed and shell! In just half a cup of sunflower seeds, you get a whopping 15 grams of protein, 450 grams of potassium and 20% of your daily iron. But be careful to not overindulge as it also has 35 grams of fat, nearly all unsaturated, but better for the waistline in moderate proportions.
Nuts are the real gem of fall! We sing about roasting them on an open fire, sit bowls around the house with fancy nutcrackers and add them to many holiday dishes. The top choices for the season are almonds, chestnuts, pecans, pistachios, and walnuts. For the decadent hazelnut, we must wait a bit longer as they are harvested exclusively in October. Each nut is packed with different levels of macronutrients and each provide a unique flavor profile to a snack or main course.
For some inventive and delicious nut additions, try some Veestro classics. Walnuts add a pleasant buttery taste to our kale and quinoa salad. Pine nuts make the pesto ultra-rich on our veggie pesto pizza. Nothing tastes more authentic than our Asian peanut sauce tossed with soba noodles and fresh vegetables. Or if you feel like putting on your own chef hat, try making butters out of each of the nuts in your pantry. Take any nut you want, we really like pistachios, and blend one cup with one tablespoon of oil. Coconut oil goes well with most oily, sweet nuts, and olive oil blends well with heavier, drier nuts.
This September take a page out of nature's handbook and stock up on all the seeds and nuts of the season!
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