Good Afternoon! I hope this finds you all well. Welcome to Part 4 of “what is in my Gluten, Dairy and Preservative Free Pantry” …. today I will be sharing with you ….

NUTS AND SEEDS

In my Pantry

I have to say I love nuts but sadly they don’t love me. I have been tested and confirmed as being allergic to them (not just peanuts but all nuts) however doing my own process of elimination, I have worked out that this is something I can have in moderation….stopping myself when “moderation” is reached is the hardest thing though! I try to keep nuts just for baking and salads etc and don’t temp myself to just snack on them. This is so very hard as I know how good they are for me, they are in my pantry and my hubby and kids love them! If I am tempted to snack too much on them I remind myself of the labour type pains I will have (no exaggeration) if I eat too many and that pulls me to a screaming halt!

Like most products I do my best to buy Organic. However this can be limiting when the closest Health Food Store is 30 minutes away and can’t fit a single pram in it let alone my double pram, or if I want to cook something tomorrow so online shopping isn’t an option or it is simply not affordable. I am more than happy to buy Supermarket nuts and seeds when I have to, especially when I am cooking and creating and not even sure if its going to turn out!

Nuts: I have a massive variety of these in my pantry especially as hubby, Miss 10 and Miss 8 love snacking on them. Cashews, Pistachios, Almonds, Macadamias and Brazil Nuts are favourites for snacking (add a few in a container with some dates and cacao nibs for a GREAT snack!)

For cooking I use a lot of Pine Nuts, Macadamias and Slivered Almonds … especially toasted an thrown in a Salad…Yum!

Health benefits of nuts: Nuts are full of ‘healthy fats’ and Omega 3 Fatty Acids. They are source of fibre and many vitamins, minerals and nutrients like many B vitamins, vitamin E, iron, zinc, and magnesium plus so much more.

Turkey and Spinach Rissoles from book ‘Cut out the Crap’ have Pine Nuts in them!

Seeds: Seeds are another thing I love….I throw them into everything, salads, strifrys, soups, juices and of course snacks. I always have in my pantry Sesame seeds, Chia Seeds, Popcorn (I am sure I will be corrected by someone that its not a seed but I wanted to add it in here!) Pepitas and Sunflower Seeds. Most of these seeds are high in fibre and MANY vitamins and minerals…..so very worthwhile for you to add to your cooking and ‘snack’ section of your pantry.