Nuts to You: The suitable snack for a high fat diet

Well, okay. Nuts are good for you. they offer plenty of vitamin E and other good stuff. so when I'm on the hunt for a suitable snack when I'm away from home, a little bag of nuts is often the best I can do.

Here's a shot I took of a walnut tree when I was in California for the walnut harvest this september. Such glorious trees. Such great products.

But back to yesterday. I was in Target for laundry detergent, but of course -- I'd been out so long, I missed my lunch, so I thought nuts. I'll find nuts.

Now you would think I could find some nice, simple walnut halves wouldn't you? But no. I went like a shot to the jars of fancy nuts. And then to my alltime fave cashew32s. Two for $7.00 I thought that sounded pretty good, so I grabbed on jar of pepper flavored nuts, and then -- against all good sense, the triumph of hope over experience, and any other single thing, I got a jar of those luscious sugar coated nuts. I told myself, I'd save those for a party.

You know where this is going don't you. Over the rest of that day, I ate the whole damn jar of sugar coated cashews. Telling myself the truth, I toted up the calories. 1300 calories with more sugar than I've had in WEEKS. Oh lord. The guilt. I only ate one thin brothed cup of soup for supper. Punishment.

But by this morning, I'd decided to fess up. I got on the scale. And here's the unbelievable part. I lost six pounds. I am not making this up. Is the body not more peculiar than we know? But I'm back on the straight and narrow today. I ate my two eggs for breakfast. Had a couple cups of good strong coffee with cream. Now I'm ready for lunch. Gonna have mesclun in evoo and balsamic with walnuts, dried cranberies, and aged gouda alongside a slice of Pate Forestier. Lemon water to drink.

The moral of the story is, if you fall off the wagon, don't beat yourself up. Just get back up and ride again another day. Because who knows? You might even lose some weight.

Here's what I learned about cashews.

Diet Nutrition & Cashew Nuts:

Cashew nuts, like all nuts, are an excellent source of protein and fiber. They are rich in mono-unsaturated fat which may help protect the heart. Cashew nuts are also a good source of potassium, B vitamins and folate. They contain useful amounts of magnesium, phosphorous, selenium and copper.

Calories in Cashew Nuts:
1 oz/25g = 160 calories

This is before they dipped them in sugar. argh