Nuts & Seeds

Discussion in 'Biology & Genetics' started by Orleander, Feb 17, 2008.

  1. kmguru Staff Member

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    11,757
    Yes you can buy them at the Indian stores here in U.S., I forgot about that. We do not have one close by....so when I go to Dallas or Washington DC, I stock up with stuff like "Hot Mix" by deep foods...yummy...
     
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  3. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    Fruit Roll Ups are not fruit.

    Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!

    They are candy. My kids aren't allowed to have them or the so called 'fruit snacks'.
    They can have real fruit instead.
     
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  5. kmguru Staff Member

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    They are, if you know where you are buying from. It will say 100% Fruit Juice. The Betty Crocker brand may be fake stuff and they may have trademarked the name. Apparently it was called Fruit Leather too. We had not bought for many years as the kids grew up and we now get fruit juices as well as real fruits...

    http://www.stretchislandfruit.com/
     
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  7. Enmos Valued Senior Member

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    That's the strangest looking fruit I ever saw..

    /marvel
     
  8. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    what about macadamia nuts? Why are those so expensive? Are they rare or just difficult to harvest?
     
  9. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

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    No food was forbidden in our house and I was never tricked into eating something "healthy" instead of what I wanted. We had plenty of fruits and veggies but the only cooking my mother was even half decent at was desserts so we had a lot of excellent desserts. She also liked chocolate candy so there was always plenty around.

    I was left home alone a lot and I never gorged on candy or anything else. Frequently got involved with a project and forgot to eat lunch until 3 or 4 o'clock.

    48 years after leaving home I'm still healthy and trim. I've kept up with nutritional info, get plenty of vitamins, minerals and fiber, avoid trans-fats, all that stuff. But I still eat lots of candy in addition to my fruits and veggies. My wife is a chocolatiere so there's no shortage in our house.

    Don't turn any kind of food into a forbidden pleasure. It will backfire later in life.
     
  10. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

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    I can't find any reason for this. They are originally from Australia and in fact are the country's only high-profit export crop. A tree can bear fruit for a hundred years. They require moderate temperatures and about 40 inches of annual rain, and have been cultivated in many places including Hawaii, California, Israel, Kenya, South Africa and Brazil. They're rather tricky to crack open but I'm sure industrial processes have solved that. They're the staple food of the gigantic Hyacinthine Macaw in domesticity, one of the few birds with a strong enough beak to crack them.

    My wife occasionally uses macadamias in her homemade chocolates. I don't remember ever hearing her remark that they're exceptionally expensive. Have you shopped around? She usually buys her nuts raw at Trader Joe's.
     
  11. kmguru Staff Member

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    11,757
    I am not particularly fond of them. These nuts are best when eaten together with other nuts. Meaning I can eat a pound of Cashews in one sitting but not Macadamia nuts...

    I have bought premium IceCream with Cashews or Pistachio but not Macadamia. But it should be a good nut to eat like any other nut....
     
  12. Walter L. Wagner Cosmic Truth Seeker Valued Senior Member

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    Since this is such a nutty thread, I thought I'd add my two cents worth.

    The cashew is a close relative of the mango. You can notice the similarity of the fruit.
    They are both in the same family as poison oak and poison ivy.

    Consequently, some people are allergic to mango, with a reaction similar to poison oak.

    Likewise, the fruit of the cashew, and the raw cashew nut, cause allergic reactions in many people. Make certain the cashew nut is roasted before you try to eat it.

    Enjoy your fruits!
     
  13. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    Macadamia nuts are about $8.99 a lb. I'd rather buy a nice steak at those costs.
     
  14. Billy T Use Sugar Cane Alcohol car Fuel Valued Senior Member

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    The nuts are a more healthy protien source. Their oils are good for your heart etc. too. Although humans do have some inate tastes, most are acquired. I think the nuts taste better than steak, which I seldom eat, even though it is cheaper here in Brazil (world's largest cattle herd.)
     
  15. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    LOL, who eats steak for the health of it?
     
  16. Myles Registered Senior Member

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    I think people who eat seeds are nuts.
     
  17. Orleander OH JOY!!!! Valued Senior Member

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    LOL, I take it you don't save and dry your pumpkin seeds at Halloween?
     
  18. kmguru Staff Member

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    11,757
    I love pepita seeds...they are supposed to act as Viagra too!
     
  19. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

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    But nuts are an incomplete protein source: they don't match the amino acid profile required for human nutrition. The only food that matches that profile is meat and other animal products such as eggs and milk. It is possible to live on a vegan diet but one must meticulously balance the nuts (or legumes which have a similar but not identical amino acid profile) with grains, which provide the missing amino acids. This is not terribly difficult but it does require paying attention.
    Humans are the only primates who evolved into true hunters, and we therefore have an instinctive taste for meat. To deny this instinct is presumably no harder on our spirit than denying any other primitive instinct, such as having promiscuous sex or killing off rival tribes, but these denials and their impact must be acknowledged for good emotional health.
    Meat is a healthy source of nutrition for Homo sapiens, who alone among primates, as I already pointed out, is specifically adapted for it. It's instructive to note that the life expectancy of an adult who had managed to survive the illnesses of childhood was around 50 in the Mesolithic Era when our ancestors were hunter-gatherers and ate a lot of meat. In the Roman Era, when humanity had shifted to a grain-intensive diet, that life expectancy had plummeted into the low 20s. I've been eating beef copiously throughout my life and my cholesterol level is still okay. It's the trans-fatty acids, most of which are artificial, that are so bad for ya. If you don't eat too much meat so your body starts storing fat, you'll probably be fine with it.
    Many common seeds can be eaten raw and were a staple of the Mesolithic diet. They fall into the same nutritional category as nuts, a source of (incomplete) amino acids as well as certain vitamins and minerals.
    I just can't stand the ordeal of cracking seeds, and only eat the ones that have been factory-processed. And of course those are too expensive to eat on a budget. We buy pumpkins at giveaway prices the day after Halloween, cook and freeze the contents, and use them in dog food, parrot food and pastry all year long. The seeds go to the parrots but it's not their favorite food. I suppose we should try putting them in the outdoor feeders and see if the grosbeaks like them, they're tiny flying pigs who will eat almost anything.
     
  20. Myles Registered Senior Member

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    5,553
    No, when I was a kid we went door knocking and got apples and nuts. WE played games such as apple bobbing, snap apple and so on but no nuts. Pumpkins are not grown commercially in the UK or Ireland so that might explain te difference/
     
  21. kmguru Staff Member

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    11,757
    Unfortunately the physical changes does not match with such evolution. Our enzyme profile in the mouth is still that of a vegan and the K9 teeth is yet to evolve....
     
  22. Myles Registered Senior Member

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    We feed or dicky birds on peanuts, with some fat added in winter.I shall have to look up grosbeak. Ours are mainly tits and finches. We also have a resident robin.plus nesting blackbirds and thrushes/
     
  23. lucifers angel same shit, differant day!! Registered Senior Member

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    7,590

    yeah we have nuts for birds in our garden and in the winter we also use fat!
     

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