Walnut Butter - Delicious All Natural Superfood

Many years ago, while living in Italy, I came across a culinary tradition of eating bread and freshly cracked walnuts together.  A family of humble means had invited us over for dinner, and when they brought out bread and walnuts after the man meal it initially seemed to me like a strange combination, but one taste convinced me that it was one of those magical flavor combinations that are simply meant to be.  Try it out with good substantial artisan bread and freshly cracked walnuts--it's a classic.

I haven't always loved walnuts...the occasional bitterness was off-putting. However, the home we moved to 9 years ago has a mature walnut tree so we have had an abundance of them.  In the "waste nothing" spirit I began using walnuts in baked breads, in pancakes etc. and developed a belated fondness for them.  That has turned out to be a very good thing because walnuts are a high-nutrition super-food.

The Health Benefits of Walnuts:

According to the website "The World's Healthiest Foods" it would be difficult to overestimate the potential health benefits associated with walnuts.  Here's their take:

Researchers are convinced—more than ever before—about the nutritional benefits of walnuts when consumed in whole form, including the skin. We now know that approximately 90% of the phenols in walnuts are found in the skin, including key phenolic acids, tannins, and flavonoids. Some websites will encourage you to remove the walnut skin—that whitish, sometimes waxy, sometimes flaky, outermost part of shelled walnuts. There can be slight bitterness to this skin, and that's often the reason that websites give for removing it. However, we encourage you not to remove this phenol-rich portion.

The form of vitamin E found in walnuts is somewhat unusual, and particularly beneficial. Instead of having most of its vitamin E present in the alpha-tocopherol form, walnuts provide an unusually high level of vitamin E in the form of gamma-tocopherol. Particularly in studies on the cardiovascular health of men, this gamma-tocopherol form of vitamin E has been found to provide significant protection from heart problems.

Most U.S. adults have yet to discover the benefits of walnuts. A recent study has determined that only 5.5% of all adults (ages 19-50) consume tree nuts of any kind! This small percentage of people actually do a pretty good job of integrating tree nuts (including walnuts) into their diet, and average about 1.25 ounces of tree nuts per day. But the other 94.5% of us report no consumption of tree nuts whatsoever. In a recent look at the nutritional differences between tree nut eaters and non-eaters, researchers have reported some pretty notable findings: on a daily average, tree nut eaters take in 5 grams more fiber, 260 milligrams more potassium, 73 more milligrams of calcium, 95 more milligrams of magnesium, 3.7 milligrams more vitamin E, and 157 milligrams less sodium!

Many of us can go local for our supply of walnuts. According to the latest trade statistics, 38% of all walnuts are grown in the U.S. Of that 38%, the vast majority (almost 90%) come from California, and particularly from the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys. Buying walnuts closer to home can provide great benefits from the standpoint of sustainability.

Phytonutrient research on the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits of walnuts has moved this food further and further up the ladder of foods that are protective against metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular problems, and type 2 diabetes. Some phytonutrients found in walnuts—for example, the quinone juglone—are found in virtually no other commonly-eaten foods. Other phytonutrients—like the tannin tellimagrandin or the flavonol morin—are also rare and valuable as antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients. These anti-inflammatory and antioxidant phytonutrients also help explain the decreased risk of certain cancers—including prostate cancer and breast cancer—in relationship to walnut consumption.

I'm particularly happy with our walnut habit given my recent research into the power of anti-oxidants as an antidote to the negative effects of the bad foods we love to eat--walnuts are chock-full of anti-oxidants.  Eat a handful of them within an hour of that burger or donut and you help neutralize the resulting artery-clogging cell-damage.

Will Walnuts Make Me Fat?

Given their high calorie and fat contents, many people still shy away from eating walnuts regularly.  However, a new report published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that adults who incorporate nuts (BTW walnuts are tied with almonds and peanuts for lowering cholesterol) into their diets don't have to limit their consumption. A review of 31 studies about eating nuts found that people who added nuts to their diets and who replaced other foods with nuts lost more weight (an average 1.4 pounds more) and reduced their waist sizes by more than half an inch.

"Although the magnitude of these effects was modest, the results allay the fear that nut consumption may promote obesity," wrote the researchers, according to Reuters Health. "Our findings support the inclusion of nuts in healthy diets for cardiovascular prevention."

Walnut Butter - a Delicious All-Natural Superfood!

I have been thinking lately about replacing our peanut butter with walnut butter.  That way I can control the ingredients while getting the remarkable health benefits of walnuts.  Also, for those with sensitivities to peanuts, walnut butter can be a life-saver.  I researched a number of recipes for walnut butter, made my own modifications, and ended up with a DELICIOUS version all my own.  In fact it is so good that even though I only made it two days ago my family has been gobbling it up--it is nearly gone!

Here's how to make your own walnut butter:

• 4 cups Walnuts
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 3 Tbsp Oil (I used olive but you can use walnut oil or any vegetable oil)
• 2 Tbsp Honey

Toast the walnuts before making them into butter in order to bring out their natural sweet nuttiness and to mitigate any bitterness.  Walnut butter with toasted walnuts will result in a slightly coarse textured butter, but we'll smooth that by adding oil.  Toast walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes or until they are fragrant (be careful not to burn them). Cool the walnuts before making them into butter by spreading them on the counter after they come out of the oven.  Next put

the walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and grind them until they become sticky or paste-like. Add the salt. Add the oil, a little bit at a time until the walnut butter binds together and then add the honey.  Keep processing this mixture until you reach the consistency you want.  Your food processor won't get it as smooth and creamy as commercial peanut butter no matter how long you process it, but the slightly coarser texture is actually kind of nice.

Try this on toast or plain bread and add your favorite jam.  It's also delicious on ice cream and can be mixed into Asian savory dishes like curry.  Check it out--it's delicious!