'a pawful of nuts'

Firstly, it is an expression coined by my Mum, and now very much part of the family lexicon. And the act of enjoying 'a pawful of nuts' is happily administered I would guess at least every other day in my Mum and Dad's house, as has been the case for many years. During our school years, Mum would bring offerings of nuts, raisins and carrots on a saucer, beautifully laid out, often like the rays of the sun. A pawful has always been a glorious thing.

'A pawful of nuts' however is also a healthy snack. Nuts when eaten raw and unsalted provide a source of plant protein. Many nuts are also rich in the right kinds of fats (unsaturated and containing omega 3).

Nuts are however high in calories and quickly make up your daily requirements for fat and protein. No matter how tempting it is, the key phrase is 'a pawful of nuts' and is not the same as 'the energetic pawfulling of many nuts'. The Harvard School for Public Health suggests a daily serving of 1 ounce (25g) of nuts. At approximately 185 calories per ounce, this serving should replace other fatty snacks and/or animal protein, rather to be seen as an additional supplement
(http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/nuts-for-the-heart/index.html).

But how many nuts is 25 grams approximately? I decided to conduct a home weigh-in exercise (admittedly my weighing scales are not digital, but then again this is an approximation):

25g equals the following amounts of nuts and seeds:

• 22 almonds (low GI)
• 7 brazils
• 15 cashews
• 20 hazelnuts (low GI)
• 8 macadamia (halves)
• 12 pecans (halves)
• 30 pistachios (unshelled and unsalted)
• 10 walnuts

Seeds and pinenuts are too onerous to count, so 25g translated into rounded dessertspoonfuls=

• 1.5 dspns, pinenuts
• 2 dspns, sunflower seeds
• 2 dspns, pumpkin seeds

**You can work out what your daily minimum requirement is for protein in grams by multiplying your weight in pounds by .36. If you weigh 140lbs (63kg or 10 stone), your requirement would be a mere 50g. That means one Harvard-approved one serving of nuts is half your daily protein requirement. A bit of a shock, but true.

the demon palm oil

The damaging nature of palm oil is most often attributed to its source and impact on the environment. Most widely publicised is the plight of orangutans in Borneo and Sumatra. TV programmes have helped raise this issue and further reading is available from Friends of the Earth: http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/oil_for_ape_summary.pdf).

As a result, more companies are switching to sustainable sources of palm oil and are rightfully keen to differentiate themselves. Both Simpsons Bakery and Nairns are using organic palm oil that is claimed to come from ecologically sustainable sources. Nairn's supplier is even one of the founding members of Roundtable for the Production of Sustainable Palm Oil (http://www.rspo.org/). This can at least allay some of our fears.

There are however more direct consequences of consuming palm oil and that is its effect on the body. Producers are often keen to cite that it is free of trans-fatty acids, which indeed it is: trans-fatty acids have been used widely in processed foods, have detrimental affects on health, and are best avoided. What producers however omit to tell you is that palm oil is a saturated fat, also known to poor for one's health.

The World Health Organisation’s recent report states that it is a contributory factor in increasing risk of heart disease due to it being high in saturated fats (http://www.who.int/hpr/NPH/docs/who_fao_expert_report.pdf). A source even closer to home, the NHSDirect Health Encyclopedia states it in even plainer English: 'You should avoid food containing saturated fats because these will increase the levels of bad cholestrol in your blood.' This advice is given clearly across encyclopedia entries for the prevention of stroke, high blood pressure and arteriosclerosis.

Palm oil, whether organic or sustainable, both or neither, is used in many processed baked goods: it is relatively cheap and contributes to products having a longer shelf life. Anyone attempting a wheat-free diet and has read the labels will know that to get a product that has one without the other is a boon. When I manage to track down any of these highly-desirable and rare-breed products I will be sure to share these with you.