Pecans

My opinion: pecans are superior to walnuts. Naturally sweet and wonderfully aromatic, I encourage you to use more pecans in your cooking and baking! And here are some of the top health benefits you get from them.

Naturally sweet, reaaaal nutty

Oh goodie! Finally a nut that is an actual nut. Pecans are a tree nut that originate in North America. I feel like they may be slightly more commonly used in North America still, I’m thinking of pecan pie for example, which is maybe not so common here in the UK where I am. We often use walnuts, and there’s nothing wrong with those, but genuinely - if you’re not using pecans in your salads, granolas or baking - why not? They are so yummy, they have this natural sweetness to them, even when consumed raw, that makes any honey or other sweetener redundant. I absolutely love them and they are probably the nut that is consumed the most in our home at the moment.

Like other nuts we have looked at, pecans are calorie dense. I think that is a wonderful thing, calories = energy, which is fantastic. But it’s something you may want to consider if for some reason you are trying to cut down on your calorie intake. An ounce of pecans equal nearly 200 calories. They contain a lot of good fat (remember fat is not the enemy, or do you need a refresher?), as well as copper, Vitamin B1, zinc and magnesium. We’ve looked at zinc and magnesium several times so you can go back to previous posts to learn more about those, but what is Vitamin B1 really? Well, also called Thiamine, Vitamin B1 converts carbs into energy that your body can use. Nice! That ounce of pecans also contains about 4 grams of carbs, and possibly other food that you eat alongside the pecans will contain even more. Copper I believe we’ve covered a bit before too, but let’s just remind ourselves: it’s good for our immune system and nerve cell function.

I love to top up my bran flakes with pecans, and I add them to my homemade granola. I also pop some in my salads, and add them to brownies.

Do you like pecan nuts? How do you use them in the kitchen? Message me on Instagram @TheFromScratchBody!