I love almonds. Of all the nuts, they’re my favorite and I eat a lot of them. And yeah, feel free to hold your nut jokes. Hahaha! I said “hold your nuts!” Man, I can’t stop. My mind was in the gutter before I even wrote that, but it’s the truth. I do eat a lot of nuts… and nut butters, and dishes prepared with nuts. So I thought I’d write a little bit about the health benefits of almonds, and some pretty great foods prepared with almonds.

First off, in case you didn’t know, almonds are actually seeds not nuts! They’re the pit of the almond fruit, a stone fruit related to cherries, apricots and peaches.  Some of the health benefits of almonds in no particular order:

• great source of vitamin E (an antioxidant that helps your body combat free-radical cell damage)
• great source of monounsaturated fats and fiber, which research has associated with a lowered risk of heart disease and lower LDL cholesterol
• great source of magnesium and potassium, two very important minerals! Magnesium helps with circulation, and potassium is an electrolyte that helps regulate our blood pressure.
• helps regulate blood sugar by lowering the glycemic index of high glycemic foods.

Almond oil is also great for your skin and hair. It’s often used as massage oil, and as an oil treatment for dry or damaged hair. Soak and then grind up some almonds, and mix into a paste with a little bit of almond oil and milk (or almond milk!), and use it to gently exfoliate your face, elbows and knees in the shower. 

Eating almonds raw, including the skin, is said to be the most beneficial way to eat them. You can also roast them in the oven. Or chop them and toss in a salad. Or sliver and serve with green beans. Or as almond butter on toast or on apple slices. You can even make almond butter cookies (instead of peanut butter), for a yummy treat! Something I looooove is cottage cheese with a tablespoon of almond butter mixed in. You can say “oooh gross!” all you want, but try it and get back to me. It’s good.

In addition to eating the almonds, there are some great almond products out there, one in particular is my most favorite: Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Almond Milk in “unsweetened vanilla” flavor. I use it in my cereal, in my protein shakes, and in some recipes calling for milk. I can’t even drink regular milk anymore because this stuff is so good!

And if you’re the type of girl who likes to put her best foot forward in the kitchen, here are two of my favorite - and very simple - recipes with almonds…

Green Bean Amandine
This is a super fast and easy recipe from the Better Homes & Gardens Limited Edition Pink Plaid Cookbook.
Makes 3 servings

Note: You can add garlic or spices to uh… spice things up.

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces of fresh green beans, or one bag of frozen whole, or french-cut green beans
• 2-3 tablespoons of slivered almonds
• 1 tablespoon of butter (or lighten it up by using spray butter to taste)
• 1 teaspoon of lemon juice

Directions:

1. If using fresh beans, cut them into 1-inch pieces
2. Cook them covered in a small amount of bliling salted water, 10-15 minutes. If using frozen green beans, follow the package instructions. 
3. Drain.
4. In a small saucepan, cook and stir the almonds in the butter over medium heat until golden. 
5. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice.
6. Stir almond mixture into the green beans and serve!

 

Almond Butter

Sure, you can buy it, but why not make your own?! The gist of the recipe is very basic, but I like the way Kristen, from Domestifluff.com wrote it out (and I love her photo), so I’m reprinting it here. And when I make it, I use almond oil, instead of canola or vegetable oil, but you can use whatever oil makes you happy.
Recipe yields approximately 3/4 cup of almond butter.

Notes: Replace the canola oil in the recipe with coconut oil to add a more tropical flavor. Also, if you’d like a sweeter butter, you can add 1 Tbsp. of honey or agave nectar.

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole almonds
• 1 Tbsp. canola or vegetable oil
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spread almonds in a single layer on a cookie sheet and toast until the scent of almonds fills the air, about 10-15 minutes.
2. Place almonds and salt in the food processor and pulse until finely ground. Add oil and continue to process until the mixture begins to come together and stick to the sides of the processor bowl. Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

And speaking of great tasting almond things - turron! This is something I only get to enjoy during the holidays with my Cuban family. It’s not necessarily “healthy” by any stretch of the imagination. It’s loaded with sugar and other fats, not just good fat. But my god, it’s one of the best things I eat all year. So what is it? It’s a Spanish nougat (hard or soft varieties exist) made with almonds, honey, eggs, and occasionally other ingredients. Maybe I’ll post a recipe during the holidays…

For now, check out these websites to learn a little bit more about the health benefits of almonds, and stuff you can do with them:

The World’s Healthiest Foods: Almonds

Almonds Are In!

And if you’ve got a favorite almond recipe you’d like to share with me, definitely post it in the comments section!

Last Modified : October 11th, 2008 Filed under : Eat Navigate : Previous post / Next post