UNITED STATES-When it comes to eating a snack most people shy away from fruit and vegetables; I mean deep down we all have a sweet tooth that is difficult to keep at bay. If fruits and veggies aren’t your cup of tea, how about trying the good ole peanut. When it comes to nuts, nothing is more famous than peanuts.
They’re given as treats during a long flight or at the baseball game. They are universal, but it’s something that many people suffer allergic reactions from, so be careful. Something that is important to note, the peanut is not actually a nut even though so many of us suspect that it is; it’s actually a legume. China is at the top for production of the tasty treat that finds itself any many of the foods that we eat including peanut butter.
As we all know peanuts can be eaten a variety of ways including with the skin on or without, salted, blanched, honey roasted, the list goes on and on. The food is quite versatile as well to make peanut oil which is used for frying, peanut flour, peanut brittle, candy, cookies; it’s so versatile it’s hard to imagine what you can’t do with a peanut. The opportunities are endless.
On a nutritional note, peanuts are a vital source of nutrients including niacin, folate, fiber, vitamin E, magnesium and phosphorous. Niacin helps promote healthy blood flow. Note: peanuts are an abundant source of fat for the body, but also provide a high punch in protein.
That’s a plus for those vegans out there that have to find alternative sources of obtaining the vital nutrient since they don’t eat meat. Studies have shown that the roasting of peanuts could be one of the leading causes for allergies in most Americans as it causes the peanut allergen Ara h2 to become a stronger opponent of the digestive enzyme trypsin.
Peanut butter from the jar is great, but why not focus on making your own homemade peanut butter with a peanut grinder? It decreases the amount of additives that appear in many products to enhance shelf life and at the same time you decrease the amount of sugar that is taken in.
