Hello clean fam. Hope you all had a lovely week. Thank God the weekend is here again. I love weekends except when I have a clients wedding, birthday or any event, then I know my weekend's gonna be crazy. I happen to be one of those chefs that has a hard time leaving a job for her workers, no matter how many they are or how competent they are, I just have to be in the center of it all and everything has to go my way. I know I sound like a control freak but that part of me is dominant only in the kitchen.
So today I'm going to tell you about my favourite nut in the world the Peanut or groundnut, whatever name suits you. There's just something about peanuts that keeps me coming back for more. Some say it's the culprit behind the horrible acne experience they've suffered, others say it isn't. Well I think one man's food is another man's poison. I happen to belong to the first category of people that think it aggravates acne because whenever I eat peanuts, I wake up with a greasy face but that hasn't stopped me from eating peanuts. If you're one of those who read the bible like me, there's a scripture in the book of Job where Job said to God "though you slay me, still will I trust you", well that's kind of how I'll describe my relationship with peanuts, though it greases up my face, still will I eat it. Now I'll give you a brief history of peanuts and peanut butter.
BRIEF HISTORY
The peanut plant originated in South America, probably Peru. There are no fossil records to prove this but people in South America made pottery in the shape of peanuts as far back as 3, 500 years ago. I guess archaeologists are too busy digging up dinosaur fossil and searching for king Solomon's mines, to even worry about peanut fossil. The Incans of Peru in Brazil used peanuts as sacrificial offerings and entombed them with their mummies to aid in the spirit life. Picture a mummy, still wrapped in grave cloth, sipping a beer and eating peanuts or doing it the way we do in Nigeria, soaking garri( cassava flakes) and groundnut.
Peanuts were grown as far North as Mexico when the spanish began their exploration of the new world. The explorers took peanuts back to spain, and from there traders and explorers spread them to Asia and Africa. Africans were the first people to introduce peanuts to North America beginning in 1700s. No wonder they thought it was slave food, little did they know what they were missing out on and that in a few years down the line they will be one of the world's largest consumers of peanuts. Records show that it wasn't until the early 1800s that peanuts were grown as commercial crop in the United States. So they missed out on 100 years of peanut delight, ignorance is such a terrible thing. They were first grown in Virginia and used mainly for oil, food and as a cocoa substitute. At this time peanuts were regarded as a food for livestock and the poor and were considered difficult to grow and harvest. Peanuts remained unpopular in the U.S until someone by the name of PT Barnum travelled across the country, selling roasted peanut in a circus wagon. Soon other street vendors joined the trade. They sold roasted peanuts in carts and it also became popular at baseball games.
Like peanut by itself wasn't good enough, a Canadian by the name of Marcellus Gilmore Edson, in his God given wisdom decided to invent Peanut butter. God bless his soul and God bless the Maple leaf country. He first developed it as a delicious and nutritious staple for people who could hardly chew on solid food. Afetrwards other people got into the peanut butter making business.
Peanut has become such a big deal around the world especially in the U.S. For people who didn't think much of it in the first place the North Americans sure love it a great deal. There are six cities in the U.S named peanut, can you believe that? They have Peanut, California; lower Peanut, Pennsylvania; upper Peanut, Pennsylvania; Peanut Pennsylvania; Peanut Tennessee; and Peanut West Virginia. That's a lot of peanuts. They even have a whole month dedicated to peanuts, yeah! The month of March. I heard a funny but true story about a man named Tom Miller who pushed a peanut to the top of Pike's peak which happens to be 14, 100 feet high, using his nose. I admire his passion and dedication to peanuts but I think he needs a day job, preferably one that he'll have to work during the weekends too or else one day he'll push a grain of rice to the top of mount everest using his left eye lid. There's already enough craziness in the world.
HEALTH BENEFITS
Unlike other nuts, peanuts belong to the Legume family along with beans and peas which makes it quite rich in protein and other wonderful nutrients. A serving of peanuts contain 207 calories and it ranks low on the glycemic index or GI (blood sugar level) which makes it super healthy unlike refined or processed foods which have high GI values, hence making them unhealthy. Peanuts are rich in biotin, copper, manganese, vitamin B3, molybdenum, folate, vitamin E ( my beauty vitamin), phosphorus, vitamin B1 and protein. Wow! No wonder the americans are nuts for peanuts.
-Peanuts make your heart go nuts
Peanuts are rich in monounsaturated fats. If you have being following my posts, you'll remember when I talked about HDL ( high density lipoproteins) and LDL (low density lipoproteins) and how HDL is a friend to your heart and LDL is the enemy that makes things go bump in the night. What does this have to do with monounsaturated fats? Well I'll tell you. Monounsaturated fats reduce LDL cholesterol, while possibly increasing HDL cholesterol. Studies of diets with special emphasis on peanuts have shown that this legume is a big ally for a healthy heart. In a study involving 22 subjects, a high monounsaturated diet that emphasised peanuts and peanut butter decreased cardiovascular disease risk by an estimated 21% compared to the average diet.
-Peanuts vs Fruits as a source of antioxidants
In my previous posts I explained what antioxidants are but for the benefit of new readers who skipped straight to this post, I'll give a brief explanation. Antioxidants are chemicals(both naturally occuring and man made) that can prevent or slow cell damage caused by oxidation. Any substance that can counteract free radicals ( cancer causing monsters) is an antioxidant. Peanuts might not compete with fruits like pomegranate or cranberries when it comes to their antioxidant content but its antioxidant content is higher than that in apples, carrots, beets, strawberries and blackberries. The antioxidant content of peanuts increase when they are roasted. The antioxidant content of peanut was also discovered to be the reason behind its cardiovascular disease preventing property. In the Iowa Women's Health study in which risk of death from cardiovascular and coronary heart diseases showed strong and consistent reductions with increasing peanuts/ peanut butter consumption. Total death rates decreased 11% and 19% for peanut butter intake once per week and 1-4 times per week, respectively. So to lower your risk of cardiovascular and coronary heart disease, enjoy a handful of peanuts or other nuts, or a tablespoon of peanut butter, at least 4 times a week.
-Reduce risk of stroke
Stroke has become a leading cause of paralysis and death in some cases. It is a common but avoidable ailment. I call it 'avoidable' because our lifestyle and 'foodstyle' contribute a great deal to the wear and tear of our bodies. What causes stroke? Well I'll tell you. A stroke occurs when there is shortage of blood supply to the brain. The severity of the stroke depends on the severity of the blood flow shortage. A phytonutrient called Resveratrol was first studied in red grapes and red wine, but now also found to be present in peanuts. Studies done on animals showed that Resveratrol improved blood flow to the brain by as much as 30%, thus greatly reducing the risk of stroke. Although the resveratrol content in peanuts is far less than that in red wine, regular consumption of peanuts and peanut butter might turn out to be significant in terms of the resveratrol provided by this food.
-How pickled food increase risk of colon cancer and peanuts prevents it
Colorectal cancer or colon cancer is the second most fatal malignancy in developed countries and the third most frequent cancer world wide. Taiwanese researchers examined peanuts' anti-colon cancer potential and the study carried out showed that the risk of colon cancer was greatly lessened in subjects who included peanuts in their daily diets and the risk increased in subjects who included pickled foods in their daily diet. It was also discovered that the risk of colon cancer was much higher in women who ate pickled foods than men. Eating peanuts just 2 or more times each week was associated with 58% lower risk of colon cancer in women and a 27% lower risk in men.
-Help prevent Gallstones
Firstly, what are Gallstones? Gallstones are hard, pebble-like deposits that form inside the gall bladder. Gallstones may be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a golf ball. These stones develop because cholesterol and pigments in bile sometimes form hard particles. They are usually yellow-green in colour, yuk!! All you need to keep gallstones at bay is to incoperat peanuts or peanut butter in your daily meal. Peanut butter and jelly sandwich is a fun way to get your daily peanut fix or you can take 2 tablespoons of peanut butter at least 3 times a week although doubt you'll be able to stop at 2 tablespoons after having the first taste.
-Protect against Alzheimer's and Age-related Cognitive Decline
Research published in the journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery amd Psychiatry indicates regular consumption of niacin-rich foods like peanuts provide protection against Alzheimer's disease and age-related cognitive decline. This reminds me of the tv series 'Grey's Anatomy'. If you're a tv series junky like me then you'll know what I'm talking about. So Meredith Grey's mother Ellis Grey was a brilliant surgeon who died a slow and painful death from Alzheimer's. I'm guessing she didn't know much about peanuts or else she might have lived and made Meredith's life hell on earth. It's not enough to be a brilliant, you've got to eat right.
-Eating nuts lowers risk of weight gain
Contrary to belief that eating peanuts contribute to weight gain, a study published in the Journal Obesity shows such beliefs are groundless. People who eat nuts at least twice a week are much less likely to gain weight than those who almost never eat nuts. If you eat peanuts and you keep gaining weight, don't blame it on the peanuts.
FUN WAYS TO INCOPERATE PEANUTS/PEANUT BUTTER INTO YOUR DIET
1) We all know the legendary and delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwich a.k.a PB &J.
2) In Nigeria we use peanuts or as we like to call it groundnut, in so many ways. My favourite is soaked garri (cassava flakes) and groundnut. Just saying it makes me crave it. On those hot afternoons when you get home and you're almost sun roasted, just mix garri, groundnut amd cold water, you can add sugar if you like. Oh heavens, you'll suddenly realise that life isn't so bad afterall. All your worries will slip away with the first spoon of garri and groundnut. We also eat groundnut with banana, garden eggs (not the same as egg plant), tapioca. We grind groundnut and mix it with ground corn, pepper and a little bit of sugar or so, I'm not quite sure about the last ingredient, then they are shaped into golf size balls and eaten as a snack. It's called 'Dankuwa' in northern Nigeria and in the south south region of Nigeria precisely Edo state where I come from, it is called 'Emumu'. In my tribe we also use groundnut to make a soup simply called groundnut soup and it is delish to say the least.
3) Another fun way to eat peanut butter is to add a tablespoon to your morning smoothie.
4) Enjoy a handful of hand roasted peanuts with a glass of tomato juice as an afternoon snack. I like to add peanuts to a glass of thick strawberry yoghurt so they just float around in the yoghurt and I eat it with a spoon, I just love it.
5) Combine peanut butter, coconut milk, and thai red or green curry paste for a quick, delicious sauce. Pour over healthy sautéed vegetables. This just gave me an idea for another recipe.
6) Toss cooked brown rice with sesame oil, chopped peanuts, scallions, sweet red pepper, parsley and currants.
When purchasing peanut butter be sure to read the label. Hydrogenated (trans-) fats and sugar are often added to peanut butter. Buy organic and choose brands that contain peanuts and salt and nothing else.
Now for the downside;
SIDE EFFECTS OF EATING TOO MUCH PEANUTS
- Weight gain
I know I said earlier that peanuts do not contribute to weight gain but in life too much of everything is bad. Even though most of the fat in peanuts are healthy, cholesterol lowering unsaturated fats, over consumption that leads to extra weight may offset this benefit and contribute to heart disease. Moderation is key.
- Nutrient deficiency from unbalanced diet
When you get full from consuming large amounts of peanuts, you may eat smaller amounts of other healthy foods. A nutritionally unbalanced diet may result in you having a deficiency of nutrients, which can negatively affect your health.
- High blood pressure
As long as you buy unsalted nuts, you won't have to worry about their impact on your blood pressure because peanuts are naturally sodium free. Consuming too much sodium boosts your blood pressure, which increases your risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke.
That's all folks. Hope you enjoyed reading the post and most importantly I hope you will join the Ravineux Eat Clean Stay Healthy Campaign. Your life and well being matters to me and to all of us at Ravineux Catering. Till next week, eat clean, stay healthy and stay out of the doctor's office. Have a great weekend!!
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