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Can a handful of nuts a day help keep you healthy? And how much, exactly, is a handful?
Nuts and Your Health
The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends: “Choose a variety of protein foods, which include seafood, lean meat, poultry, eggs, beans and peas, soy products, and unsalted nuts and seeds.”
The Dietary Guidelines also recommend fat intake should emphasize heart healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, such as those found in seafood, nuts, seeds, and oils.
Choose MyPlate (a recommended food pattern to help people implement the dietary guidelines) states, “In general, 1 ounce of meat, poultry, fish, ¼ cup cooked beans, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, or ½ ounce of nuts or seeds can be considered as ‘1-ounce equivalent’ from the Protein Foods Group”
Nuts, with their healthy fats, are higher in calories than some other sources of protein and MyPlate recommends: “Choose unsalted nuts as a snack, on salads, or in main dishes. Use nuts to replace meat or poultry, not in addition to these items. At the 2,000 calorie level, MyPlate recommends approximately 5- ½ “1-ounce equivalents” from the Protein Group."
A Handful of Nuts
How many nuts are in a handful of nuts? A handful equals about 1-ounce. This serving size corresponds to the serving size listed on the “Nutrition Facts” panel on food labels. The International Tree Nut Council Nutrition Research & Education Foundation gives these examples of the average number of nuts per 1-ounce portion:
Feel Like a Nut?
It’s easy to nibble on nuts. Here are two quick ideas. Store shelled or unshelled nuts in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to 6 months or for a year in your freezer for best quality.
It’s in the Bag
You don’t have to fire up the stove or get out your cookbook to enjoy nuts. Your handful of nuts may be enjoyed simply out of hand.
Divide a container of nuts into small snack bags for easy snacking at home, the office, or on the road. Simply count, weigh 1 ounce of nuts on a kitchen scale, or grab a handful and store in each snack bag. Keep in the refrigerator until you’re ready to enjoy! A handful of nuts may help you resist the gooey sweet roll in the break room at work.
Just a Sprinkle
Sprinkle nuts into these foods:
(16 servings, Serving size: ¼ cup)
1 cup almonds
½ cup chocolate chips or M&M’s
1 cup dried fruit
½ cup dried cranberries
1 cup oatmeal squares
Measure ingredients and put in a large zip-close bag. Shake to mix. Portion into single-serving zip-close bags.
Per serving: 140 calories, 20 grams (g) carbohydrate, 6 g fat, 3 g protein
Sources:
Trail Mix recipe from the North Dakota State University Extension Service
Nuts for Nutrition by Alice Henneman, MS, RD, Extension Educator
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension - Lancaster County
