Eat a small handful of raw nuts or seeds each day.
1. Be sure you buy raw nuts and seed. Roasted and salted varieties are not beneficial and will make you gain unhealthy weight. Raw nuts and seeds are an excellent source of protein, Omega-3 oils, vitamins, and minerals.
2. If you are trying to lose weight, buy nuts or seeds in the shell so you have to work to eat them. This will slow you down and help you eat less.
3. You can eat a small handful a few times throughout the day if you wish but don't eat larger quantities at one time.
4. There are so many options, select one or two, or try several different ones. Possibilities include walnuts, pecans, almonds, Brazil nuts, pistachios, cashews, macadamias, hazelnuts, pine nuts, pumpkin seeds (pepitas), and sunflower seeds.
5. Store your raw nuts and seeds in the refrigerator (or extras in the freezer). As shown, in the photo above, I store them in glass jars in the refrigerator.
6. For men: eat one handful of raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas) each day to ward off prostrate problems.
7. For women: eat 4 to 6 soaked and peeled almonds to help stabilize hormones. Soak a few almonds in a small amount of filtered water for 2 - 6 hours, then peel off the brown skin, and eat. Almonds are an excellent source of absorbable magnesium (chocolate being another which I think is why women crave chocolate). During the month, a woman's magnesium levels drop significantly as hormones fluctuate.
8. For kids: include their daily raw nuts in their lunch and/or offer as an afternoon snack.
9. Nuts and seeds are hard for some people to digest because they contain phytates. In nature, the phytates keeps them from sprouting until the conditions are just right for the seed to sprout into a tree (nuts are tree seeds). Soaking nuts and seeds, or sprouting them, removes the phytates and makes them easier to digest.
10. United States federal law has recently made it illegal to sell or buy raw almonds or hazelnuts. However, there are a few exceptions, so it is possible to obtain them raw if you research the topic.
Advanced Challenge for those already eating a small handful of nuts or seeds each day.
Include a new nut or seed that you are not currently eating into your diet or investigate the properties of nuts and seeds to learn which vitamins and minerals they contain. Then you can choose which to eat depending upon your current nutritional needs.
"Then their father Israel said to them, 'If it must be, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift—a little balm and a little honey, some spices and myrrh, some pistachio nuts and almonds.'" Genesis 43:11
Does anyone know where you can get an old fashioned nut cracker like the one in the picture? I can't seem to find one.
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