nuts

Are your fingernails brittle? Textured? Flecked with white spots?

Pistachios belong to the family Anacardiaceae, commonly known as the sumac family. They are in the genus pistache P which has six species; the scientific name for the species pistachio nut is Pistacia vera L. The plant is native to regions in western Asia and was found to be eaten by people in Turkey and the Middle East as early as 7000 B.C.E. and cultivated for millennia.

Seed cycling might sound like something better suited to gardening, but is actually a natural method used to support a woman’s menstrual cycle.

The pecan is a member of the walnut family. The genus contains twenty-two species and the pecan is closely related to the hickory nut. Pecans are native to the central southern regions of what is now the United States. The term pecan is derived from the Algonquin word “paccan” which refers to both hickory and pecan nuts.

Across the U.S., fall is here with the reddening of leaves, the number of pumpkin patches opening in October, and the crispness of the air, but fall is also ubiquitous in grocery stores and farmers markets.

There’s something so European-chic about muesli; I can just picture a fashionable French lady eating it on her balcony while watching the sunrise. But that’s not the only reason I’m getting into it lately. Muesli is also a super filling yet healthy breakfast option that comes together in a snap.

This slightly sweet, buttery nut is one of my favorites. I love popping a bunch of raw cashews in the oven and then lightly toasting them for an afternoon snack. I also like to sprinkle them on cereal or anything that needs a crunch. 

Popeye may have believed that the main health benefit of spinach was its iron content, but he would not have been able to flex his muscles as well if spinach was not so high in magnesium. That’s right – Popeye knows best. Eat your greens!

You likely learned about zinc – a type of metal – in chemistry class when you memorized the periodic table. Or maybe you have slathered on some thick, white sunscreen with zinc oxide in it? (Zinka sunscreen was all the rage in my middle school!) Perhaps you reach for a zinc supplement when you feel a cold or flu coming on?

Seven - it seems like a consistent, magical, cosmic number. The same number of days it supposedly took to form the earth, the number of main chakras in the body, days of the week, and the main levels of tissue formed in the body...all counted by sevens. What nurtures one doesn't always nurture all, but when the foods which can nourish the whole are recognized, eating healthy takes on a whole new meaning.