Cooking Tips

Whether you're serving appetizers, salad or soup, entrees, or dessert, nuts are a natural and healthful addition to any menu. With their excellent nutritional profile, nuts are a perfect addition to a balanced diet. Here are some health conscious tips for incorporating wholesome, crunchy nuts into your diet:

Substitute nuts such as slivered almonds, chopped walnuts, pecan pieces, or pinenuts for croutons on salads to add protein and crunch to your salad.
Toasted nuts are the perfect topping for your favorite side or main dish. Sprinkle toasted nuts over salads, vegetables and pasta to add extra flavor and crispness. For best results toast in the oven. The toasting time for nuts depends on the type and size of the nut being toasted. A general guideline is to toast nuts for 5 to 8 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Remove them when they turn golden brown.
To give cereal more excitement, mix in dried cranberries or cherries and a generous amount of chopped toasted nuts just before serving. Serve with skim milk.
Create signature dishes by steaming your favorite fresh fish and vegetables and sprinkling them with nuts such as toasted almonds. Serve with lemon or lime wedges. You'll get added flavor and all the benefits of a healthy, low-fat meal.
Healthy crusts for desserts, such as cheesecake, can be made by grounding almonds or pecans in a blender. Add a cup of nuts in a blender and pulse on and off until nuts are ground. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a large frying pan. Add almond flour, and stir constantly until flour is golden brown. Remove from heat and add 1/4 cup Splenda and 1 tbsp. cinnamon. Mixture should be moist enough to pat into your cheesecake or pie dish.
To blanch almonds, drop them into boiling water for 2 or 3 minutes. Then rinse them under cold water. The brown skins slip off rather easily with a pinching technique. The almonds can then be roasted or simply dried at room temperature.
Homemade peanut or almond butter is a nutritious and hearty topping for bagels or muffins. And, it's easy to make at home by chopping roasted, shelled peanuts or whole natural almonds in a food processor. Simply place 1 cup nuts in a blender. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt (omit salt if salted peanuts are used), and 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Yield: 1/2 cup creamy or 3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter or almond butter
Nuts can add visual appeal to any dessert. Top brownies with walnuts, add pecans to cookies, top ice cream with fruit and slivered almonds. The possibilities are endless.
Nuts are a perfect addition to baked bread. For added protein, add chopped pecans, walnuts, almonds, or sunflower seeds to quick breads before baking. Or chopped nuts can be kneaded into yeast bread dough. Nuts are also the perfect topping for freshly baked breads. Before baking, brush the top with egg white and sprinkle with chopped nuts.