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Health & Fitness

Get Your Vitamin E Through Walnuts!

Walnuts are not only tasty, but they are healthy and good for your brain!

Walnuts are the only nuts - and one of the few foods - that offer good amounts of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA- an omega-3 fatty acid). The body cannot manufacture ALA but needs it to protect heart by improving your ratio of HDL (good) to LDL (bad) cholesterol and reducing inflammation (the cause of most ailments).  

Walnuts also play a crucial role in the development of the brain and cognitive function.  

Lastly walnuts are a great source of disease-fighting antioxidants, including a type of Vitamin E (gammatocopherol).

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Try adding walnuts to your hot or cold breakfast cereals, eat them as a snack, or use walnut oil in salad dressings.

Try this recipe as well - it's full of goodness!

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 Recipe: Banana Bread with Walnuts & Flaxseed

Ingredients:

⅓ cup natural applesauce

½ cup whole-wheat flour

¾ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup ground flaxseed

¾ tsp coarse salt

¾ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

1 large whole egg, plus 1 large egg white

⅓ cup honey

1½ tsp pure vanilla extract

¾ cup mashed very ripe bananas (about 2)

½ cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)

 

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Brush a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with softened butter. In a bowl, whisk together both flours, flaxseed, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
  2. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat whole egg and egg white until thoroughly combined. Add applesauce, the honey, vanilla, and bananas, and mix until combined. Add the flour mixture, and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Stir in walnuts by hand.
  3.  Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan on a wire rack before turning out onto rack to cool completely, top side up. The bread can be wrapped tightly in plastic and kept at room temperature for up to 4 days.
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