Normally I just eat nuts as they are. They’re a great snack, especially paired with a couple dried apricots, apples or roasted kale. But every once in a while I want something a little sweeter. There are tons of ways to do this. I’ve used a variety of combinations of nuts, oil and sweeteners. This version has pecans, agave nectar
Ingredients:
- 1 cup pecans
- 1 1/2 tablespoons agave nectar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt to taste
Directions:
1) Mix all ingredients in a bowl
2) Put the mixture in a baking dish and bake at 350ºF for 15 minutes
3) Let nuts cool and eat.
I’ve found that the best time to eat them is 7-10 minutes after they come out of the oven. They’re still warm but not too gooey. So good.
I picked up some macadamia nuts the other day. I’m excited to try this with a few of them. I’m thinking coconut oil and honey with those.
February 4th, 2010 at 10:42 am
Wow…I just picked up some agave nectar yesterday…This will be a great use for it :)
February 7th, 2010 at 8:35 am
Be careful with that agave nectar… keep in mind it is not a natural product. As you can read about on Wikipedia, it is synthesized using enzymes on the starch from the agave plant, and is up to 90% fructose, which is the kind of sugar that everyone seems to be agreeing leads to insulin resistance. In fact they feed fructose to rats in order to give them insulin resistance, it is such a predictable response. HFCS is 55% fructose, table sugar is 50% fructose, and honey is about 38%. I avoid all of it myself. According to Wikipedia, natural fruits are only about 0%-8% fructose, and in addition to that, before worldwide importation, fruits only came around once a year. It seems that humans are not naturally supposed to be exposed to as much fructose as we are today. Though, I don’t know why humans seem to have such a taste for sweet things.
I came here through your comment on the WAPF’s page and just thought I’d share that. It’s a shame the WAPF hasn’t really cracked down on fructose yet, though they do say to avoid sugar.
February 7th, 2010 at 6:26 pm
Thanks Jared… I’ve actually been reading about agave nectar over the last few days. One article was even on the WAPF site: http://www.westonaprice.org/Agave-Worse-than-Sugar-Nutrition-Foundation-Warns.html
I’ve been actively learning about nutrition for the past 6 months now and this isn’t the first time I’ve “learned” that something is good for me and then shortly thereafter learned it’s not really that good for me after all.
I suppose I should just try to get used to the food I eat not being sweet, but I keep looking for something at least sort of healthy that will sweeten things. Live and learn I guess.
February 19th, 2010 at 11:43 am
Animal products, grains, and dairy are all acid forming, and deadly to the human body, and process slowly and ferment inside. These are the true contributing factor of diseases. Why not look at the fact that the peoples diet consisted primarily of bananas, coconut, and yams. It’s possible they ate young coconut which is reduced in fat, or drank the water mostly. A low fat raw vegarian eating routine is the best most vitamin and mineral rich diet there is. High fat DOES prohibit uptake. Google “Weight Loss Cover-Up Exposed” by Astrid Lasco, to find the truth about what really makes us sick. Read it people!