You love this time of the year. It is during the months of November and December when you can feature macadamia nuts, cashews, walnuts, and other kinds of nuts and seeds in the snacks that you offer to friends and family when hey visit your home. The fact that this is the season when you pull out all of your holiday bowls and fill them with both tasty and nutritional items for yourself, your family, and your guests.
The advantages of peanuts and other kinds of nuts include that they are both tasty and nutritional. And during a season when sweets are the snack of choice for many, a healthy handful of serving macadamia nut, white chia seeds, and other types of nuts and seeds means that you will be able to feel good about the snacks that you are serving at your home.
Consider some of these facts and figures about the nutritional value of nuts and seeds and the impact that these snacks have on your family, as well as the nation’s economy:
- Two servings of nuts per day is helpful in fighting against cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, according to Harvard research.
- A single serving of macadamia nuts provides 58% of what a person needs in manganese and 23% of the recommended daily value of thiamin. In fact, macadamia nuts contain high amounts of magnesium and vitamin B1.
- It takes about 540 peanuts to make a 12-ounce jar of peanut butter, according to reports from the National Peanut Board.
- Providing a significant portion of the recommended daily intake, one ounce of chia seeds contains 11 grams of fiber.
- 38% of all walnuts are grown in the United States, according to the latest trade statistics.
- One eight-week study of 64 healthy young adults found that eating walnuts improved comprehension. In fact, several studies have indicated that eating nuts may help to improve brain function.
- Eating pecans increased the antioxidants in the bloodstream in the 24 hours after consumption, according to a study out of Loma Linda University in California.
- 67% of all nut consumption in the U.S. is made up of peanuts and peanut butter.
When the holidays arrive, it is important to make sure that you provide nutritional snacks to go along with all of the sweet treats that you will be serving.