Walnuts contain healthy fats, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. They first appeared in the Mediterranean region and Central Asia and have always been a component of the human diet. These nuts contain more antioxidants than most other foods. Eating walnuts can help improve brain function and prevent heart disease and cancer.
Walnuts are most commonly eaten as a snack but can be added to salads, pasta, cereals, soups, and baked goods. They are also used to make walnut oil, which is the base of many salad dressings.
Why walnuts are good for health
Walnuts are rich in antioxidants. Walnuts contain numerous vitamins, including B2 and B12, A, DC, E, K, unsaturated fatty acids omega three and omega 6, potassium, magnesium, selenium, cobalt, phosphorus, manganese, iodine, and many other useful substances and macronutrients. Walnuts are higher in calories than beef and are 17% protein, making them an essential ingredient in vegetarian and vegan diets.
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Walnuts contain large amounts of polyunsaturated acids that the human body does not naturally produce and are necessary for the health of the brain, heart, and liver.
Walnut oil has regenerating, anti-inflammatory, bactericidal properties, strengthens the immune system, and increases the body's resources to fight diseases.
Walnuts are recommended to be eaten during pregnancy, exhaustion to protect against radiation, improve memory, relieve nervous tension.
Calorie content of walnuts and how to eat them correctly
It is good to eat walnuts with honey, and the calorie content of walnuts is 654 kcal per 100g.
Nutritionists recommend a woman to eat 5 walnut kernels a day, and men - 5-8. Also, it is useful to mix nuts with honey and dried fruits.
Often people do not realize how useful walnuts are, and they eat very little of them. And many refuse nuts for fear of getting fat; they are sure that nuts contain a lot of fat and calories. However, scientists claim that nuts contain healthy polyunsaturated fats and not monounsaturated fats, which lead to blockage of blood vessels.
Also, nuts rarely lead to excess weight; due to nuts' high nutritional value, satiety occurs faster without overheating.
The harm of walnuts
Walnuts should not be overused Walnuts are high in calories, so a large number of them are contraindicated for obese people and children. Too much consumption can cause spasm of blood vessels in the brain or inflammation of the tonsils.
Walnuts are also contraindicated for neurodermatitis, acute diseases of the intestinal tract, or pancreas. Only fresh nuts should be eaten, as moldy ones contain a fungus that produces aflatoxins - substances that provoke tumors' formation.
What is made from walnuts?
Walnuts are added to salads and appetizers - vegetables and meat, cold and hot. They form the basis of many sauces - for example, Georgian satsivi. Various preparations are made from walnuts, for example, jam and tinctures. They even find use in soups, desserts, and pastries.
Pie with nut filling
Spas nut pie recipe
Cooking time
- 2 hours
Ingredients
For the test
200 g flour
- 1 tbsp Sahara
- Salt
- 100 g butter
- 1 yolk
- 3 tbsp sour cream
For filling
- 500 g walnuts
- 300 g sugar
- 2 eggs
- Juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 3 tbsp sour cream
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Cooking method
- Pour the sifted flour and salt into a bowl. Add the diced butter and crush with your fingers.
- Add all the other ingredients, knead the dough and refrigerate for half an hour. Roll out, put in a mold, and form sides.
- Grind the peeled walnuts into small crumbs in a blender. Add sugar, eggs, lemon juice, finely grated zest, and sour cream. Mix well.
- Pour the filling into the prepared base, smooth with a silicone spatula.
- Bake the pie in an oven preheated to 180 degrees until the filling and dough are browned.
- Cool the nut tart before serving.
Adapted and translated by The Cop Cart Staff
Sources: Today Lifestyle
