How to use almonds
Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet
I get quite a lot of questions about nuts – are they good for you, what about the fat, how many should you eat? In my opinion, nuts are great and most people could do with eating them more regularly. Just don’t eat too many at a time. All nuts are good, but this post is about almonds.
What are they
Almonds come from the Prunus amygdalus tree and are in the same botanical family as apricots and cherries. The actual almond is the stone and kernel from the fruit of the tree.
Almond trees grow in warm temperate climates and the US is the largest producer. They’re also grown in many Mediterranean countries as well as here in Australia. Almonds are harvested in late summer / early autumn.
Are they good for you?
Unless you have an allergy, nuts in general are very good for you and it’s best to eat a variety. One of the aspects I particularly love about them, is their nutrient density. By eating this one food, you’re getting a whole range of different nutrients.
- Almonds have one of the highest protein contents of all the nuts at 20%.
- Almonds are about 55% fat, with most of this being mono- and poly-unsaturated fat.
- They contain carbohydrate and fibre.
- Almonds are an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, containing decent levels of potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc and B vitamins.
- They also contain antioxidants.
What about all the fat?
While it’s true that almonds are high in fat, as I mentioned above, it’s mostly mono- and poly-unsaturated fats. These are the “good fats”, the ones that protect you from cardiovascular disease, and many other health problems.
This means, with almonds it’s all about how many of them you eat. Small amounts, on a regular basis are good for you. A good portion guide, is about half a palmful. However, it’s best to avoid eating too many of them, as they are still high in kilojoules.
How to shop for them
The important thing with all nuts is to buy them as fresh as possible. I buy almonds in small amounts and try to get them from a shop with a high turnover, to ensure their freshness. I find Middle Eastern delis a particularly good place to buy almonds. Specialist nut shops and some health food shops are also good. These places also tend to sell almonds by weight, so you can buy small amounts.
Due to their high fat content, almonds can go rancid, so keep them in the fridge to avoid this.
How to use them
Almonds, as well as being nutritionally diverse, can also be used in a wide variety of ways.
- Eat them plain as a healthy afternoon snack
- Add them to muesli
- Replace the hazelnuts with almonds in dukkah
- Make a vegetarian protein packed millet pumpkin & almond pilaf
- Combine with sage and sprinkle over roast rainbow trout
- Almonds can be used in pesto
- Add them to muesli bars and slices
- Almond meal is often a foundation of gluten-free cakes
- They provide a crunchy, contrasting texture to pasta
- If you’re not in to peanut butter, why not make your own almond butter
- Make an almond apricot chicken
Photograph by Valter Jacinto under the terms of a Creative Commons license
14 August, 2007
Comments
Thanks for the suggestions, I intend to give making nut butters a go!
There’s also home made almond milk:
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/05/03/1083436518647.html
Plus you could then use that milk to make almond yoghurt!
Very good point Joanne – I’d forgotten about almond milk and I had no idea you could then use that to make yoghurt! Thanks for the suggestions and the link.
I have made your site one of my resource guides
Thanks Cynthia – that’s great.
Like Cynthia, I too have made your site one of my regular resource guides. I nearly keeled over when I started to peruse some of your entries. My goodness, you have put an awful lot of time, effort and thought into this site Kathryn. Although I am only new to Limes and Lycopene I am certain I will be referring to your past and current references for both personal and work reasons. Thanks for making yourself and your information so easy and accessible.
I forgot to say a naturopath years ago told me that it was important to chew almonds really well. She said to chew and chew till they were milky and completely broken down before swallowing. In your opinion does it really matter?
yum, i love almonds. if only nuts weren’t so expensive :(
Thanks Mariana. Yes, Limes & Lycopene has been a lot of work – but to be honest I’ve loved (almost) every minute of it! I’m glad to hear you’re finding the information useful – although I still have a sense there are sooooo many topics I haven’t even touched upon.
I’m a big fan of chewing in general. We don’t do enough of it and yet it’s such an important part of the digestive process. But for most people, it’s just chew, chew, swallow. So yes, yes, yes – thoroughly chew your nuts (hmm, that’s my Carry On moment for the day).
Yes, Lindsey, nuts are expensive. Fortunately they’re so nutrient dense that you don’t need to eat many?
Hmm, something else ocurred to me today, Kathryn. Almonds are one of the main sources of cyanogenic glycosides – substances which, when the food they’re contained in is crushed (e.g., blended, chewed), are converted into hydrogen cyanide. (Unless my plant biology is letting me down.) (This is a defensive mechanism against herbivorous/omnivorous animals eating them.) So, then, it’s important not to overdo almonds, not to go on almond-eating binges. Which comes under the omnipresent rule of everything in moderation, I suppose!
HI there Joanne – sweet almonds, ie the ones we eat, don’t contain cyanogenic glycosides. They are present in bitter (or wild) almonds and they’re also in the stones of apricots, peaches, etc. Sweet almonds can be eaten safely . . . although you still have to watch the fat content – as you say, it’s all about moderation! Wikipedia reference is here and Drug Information Online has some stuff about the chemistry.
Great discussion here. When I took a food sensitivity test this year, almonds came up as something for which I have a reaction. I think part of the reason that it came up was because I was eating a lot of almonds: almond milk, raw almonds as a snack, and almond butter (oh so good on a banana!), all pretty frequently. So I think there’s something to moderation and variety. Now, I’m going to try soaking and sprouting to see how it goes….
I’ve never done the soaking and sprouting thing Jeremy. I regularly buy sunflower seed sprouts in my Lettuce Deliver box – and they’re delicious – but never done them myself
I have an Alomand tree in my back yard that is fruting now and I don’t know how to tell when it’s time to pick them and then how to use them. Could you help me?
April, how lovely to have an almond tree in your back garden. But I have no idea when to pick them or how to use them fresh – my only almond experience is with shop bought ones! I’d suggest you try a gardening website – they may have more details about when to “harvest”. Good luck!
We have 6 wild almond trees that produce lots of almonds. But the taste is so strong you can not eat them. How do you make wild almonds edible?
Hi there Jon, I’ve never used wild almonds, so I can’t answer your question. Have you tried Google and Wikipedia? Good luck with those almond trees.
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