I have a new love in my life.
I don't know how I missed it before, this new love was probably always there. All I know is that one day a few weeks ago, I spotted on the shelf in my local market a container that read "Raw Cashews."
Now, I've always loved cashews. What's not to love? Cashews are full of essential, good for you, oils and plenty of vitamins and minerals to boot.
The bad news is that they are usually roasted and salted. We all know, of course, that too much salt is a bad thing. The jury is still out, however, on whether roasting nuts, in general, is a good thing or a bad thing.
Raw cashews, however, do have some dietary advantages over their roasted cousins. Whereas one ounce of raw cashews has 2 grams of saturated fat and 5 grams of protein, one ounce of roasted cashews has 3 grams of saturated fats and only 4 grams of protein.
In any event, since I try to keep mostly raw, I generally stick to eating only raw nuts, so "roasted" cashews were generally out.
So a few weeks ago I'm buying nuts, dried fruit and seeds at my local market, which has always had a good selection of fresh, raw nuts and seeds. I got my usual score of raw almonds, raw pepitas, raisins, sunflower seeds, etc., when I all of a sudden spotted raw cashews.
I'm not sure I ever saw raw cashews before, but into my cart they went.
Since then, I've been on a raw cashew craze. I eat them straight out of the container, mix them into trail mixes, top my salads with them, and use them in my cooking.
Now, I understand that so called "raw cashews" are still processed some-what. They still have to remove the poisonous outer shell of the cashew, prior to selling it (yes, the shell of the cashew nut is actually poisonous. Isn't that interesting???)
But, "raw" cashews, are still a hell of a lot processed then roasted and salted cashews, so, in my mind, they're that much better.
And, by eating cashews, I do a lot of great things for my body. They're loaded with healthy fats, full of blood-pressure lowering magnesium, and high in protein making them filling and satisfying.
Isn't that marvelous? I love my new love, and it loves my back.
To read up on the health benefits of cashews to a raw food diet, check this out: http://therawdivas.com/blog/2010/02/the-benefits-of-cashew-nuts/
You can also make a most amazing drink with them! Here's the recipe ~ careful cause it can be addictive!
ReplyDelete1 cup raw cashews
4 cups water
3 tablespoons agave, or to taste
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
optional to make chai: 1/2 teaspoon each ground nutmeg, ginger and cardamom
1. Soak cashews in water overnight.
2. Blend cashews and their water in a blender until smooth. If desired, strain through cheesecloth. (Cashews are soft enough that they blend almost completely into a liquid, so straining isn't really necessary. I only sort-of strained it this time, and next time I probably won't bother. The result is a kind of "chewy" drink, but I don't mind that. Protein!)
3. Stir in remaining ingredients agave, vanilla and cinnamon. To take it up a notch (which I highly recommend!), make it chai by adding the remaining spices.
We love our raw cashews. It's one raw nut the whole family likes.
ReplyDeleteI really like them in hot Grape-Nut cereal with cinnamon.
But they have become very expensive in our area.
I’m so glad that I came across this blog. It’s great to see someone else who is into living a healthy and fit lifestyle. I myself has lost 125 lbs. and my weight loss story will be featured in the November 2010 issue of Shape magazine. This is really exciting for me! I also have a blog http://www.LauraGetsFit.com which documents my own weight loss and fitness endeauvers. Come check it out if you’re interested :) Anyway, I look forward to reading more of your weight loss journey. Take care! <3 Laura
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