Healthy fats appear to be the secret gourmet nut ingredient that prevents heart attack Adding to the power of the healthy fats, the fiber in nuts has also been shown to lower cholesterol levels.

“Our epidemiological studies have shown eating about one ounce of gourmet nuts every day will reduce the risk of heart attack in the long run by 30%,” Frank Hu, MD, PhD, associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, said in July 2003.

Nuts can also help lower cholesterol and raise HDL “good” cholesterol. “Almost all tyes of gourmet nuts have high amounts of mono- and polyunsaturated fats, and when you substitute this kind of good fat for carbohydrates and saturated fat, you will lower cholesterol ” Hu said

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People usually eat nuts on their own, by the handful, which can be a dangerous practice. You won’t feel deprived when you top your apple or celery slices with peanut butter. Keep portions small and avoid mindless eating.

Pre-portion nuts in small bags — a great snack to take on the go or to the office. Choose nuts in the shell; you will probably eat fewer since it takes time to crack them. Take a handful and put the package away before you start munching. Sprinkle nuts on a soup or salad instead of croutons or cheese. Snack on nuts instead of pretzels or chips. Top yogurt with nuts instead of granola.

Add the delicious flavor and crunch of nuts to all kinds of foods from sweet to savory. Toasting them first will bring out their flavor and enhance a simple dish.

Top hot or cold cereal with gourmet nuts for a nourishing breakfast. Sprinkle gourmet nuts on top of nonfat yogurt. Pasta comes alive when sprinkled with chopped nuts. Slivered almonds do wonders for everything from chicken to desserts. Add crunch and satiety to bread, pancakes, waffles, or muffins with nuts. Mix nuts with light cream cheese for a delicious spread. Add gourmet nuts to popcorn for a tasty snack. Enhance the flavor of steamed veggies with a handful of gourmet nuts. Don’t forget that peanuts are an excellent food source of vitamin E. They also provide approximately 2 grams of fiber per ounce, and have relatively high amounts of folic acid, thiamin, niacin, copper, manganese, phosphorous, magnesium, and zinc. They are high in plant protein and the fat content is primarily monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, both”good fats”.

Go nutty with 1 oz of nuts per day. You’ll reap all kinds of health benefits. You’ll find lots of healthy virginia peanuts at http://www.virginiagourmetpeanuts.com/.

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Old fashioned home cooked roasted peanuts are still prepared by same recipes used for over 100 years. To be roasted in the shell, peanuts are cooked at medium heat for about 15 minutes. They may be plain roasted or seasoned. The most popular are salted in-the-shell, however the new cajun flavor is getting accolades from consumers as well. To season peanuts in the shell - prior to roasting,- the peanuts are washed and then the seasonings, which are dissolved in water, are forced through the shells by a pressure process. When dried during the roasting process, the seasonings remain inside the shells.

Most often, snack peanuts are shelled, blanched, roasted and salted, (although Spanish peanuts are usually roasted with their skins on.) Peanuts may be roasted in oil or by a dry-roasting process. Peanuts are oil-roasted in continuous cookers that take a steady stream of peanuts through hot oil for about five minutes. After draining, the kernels may be salted.

Dry-roasted peanuts are cooked in a large oven by dry, hot forced air after which spicy seasonings are applied. The roasted peanuts are then packed in containers ranging in size from bags holding a handful, to large cans and jars. Frequently, peanuts are mixed with other nuts and dried fruits for “health-food” snacks.

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