Kitchen Shrink: The nerdy and nutty professor – smart, spreadable school lunches
With schools back in full swing, I’ve noticed that the nut butter options in the supermarket aisles keep occupying more and more real estate every season, spilling over to neighboring jams and jellies. Alas, peanut butter, the once beloved (and solitary) school lunch staple for generations has earned a seedy reputation, persona non grata in many schools across the land for several years now since the mere inhalation of the aromatic oil and airborne dust shed from the pungent peanut has been found to trigger reactions of all manners.
As well, all peanuts, even organically grown ones are vulnerable to the formation of a carcinogenic aflatoxin, (mold) that forms on the legume both pre- and post-harvesting. So, here’s a line-up of some high-brow, healthier options for lunches and after school snacks, most making top grades:
Tahini is a smooth and creamy paste from pulverized sesame seeds, one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet, that also resembles peanut butter in texture, taste, and color. These petite, precious seeds are endowed with a load of protein (5 grams per ounce), amino acids, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, including calcium, magnesium, folate, zinc, iron, Vitamin B6, and phosphorous, boosting blood, bone, heart, respiratory, and digestive health, and warding off type 2 diabetes. Tahini makes a great dipping sauce for dates, dried apricots, flat breads, and crackers.
Almond butter, whether crunchy or smooth, is a Herculean peanut butter substitute packed with monounsaturated “friendly” fats, a rich store of protein, fiber, immune enhancing alpha-tocopherols, cell regenerating Vitamin E’s, and nerve calming, energy enhancing B’s. In Japan teens have a yen for dried sardines paired with slivered almonds, while in India almonds are highly respected as “brain food” for developing children.
Cashews satiate incorrigible sweet tooths without clobbering the pancreas with a sugar load. Sadly, this delightful spread’s short on proteins compared to other nut butters and high in oxalates notorious for triggering kidney stones. So, use sparingly.
Gorgeous, jade green pistachio butter, a favorite Italian breakfast offering among kids of all ages is decadently creamy and delicately sweet with a mound of nerve calming B’s that seamlessly converts calories into energy,
Sunflower, pumpkin (pepita), hemp, and poppy seeds make silky, nutrient-rich butters with a mother lode of proteins, heart-healthy fatty acids, iron, and zinc. Some words of advice: for pepitas choose raw over roasted as the processing tampers with the integrity of the fats in the seeds. As for poppy seeds, they have been maligned for containing opiates, while it’s the pods that are the narcotic dealers, and any residue on seeds would have been removed during processing. So have at it as poppy seeds actually contain compounds to ramp up skin and hair health, keep digestion humming, and ease coughs and congestion. Hemp is also drug-free and an inflammation buster to relieve achy joints, preserve gray matter, and a healthy heart. Finally, sunflower seeds are brimming with magnesium, particularly helpful for taming pesky headaches.
Spread on a whole wheat or multi-grain bagel, tortilla, sourdough baguette, sliced apples, bananas, or stuff in celery stalks.
Pecans, a hickory nut cousin, are a powerhouse of antioxidants, guarding vital organs from toxins and free radicals to prevent assorted diseases. With its tantalizing, buttery flavor and sweet, floral notes pecan butter throws all the others under the school bus.
Although hazelnuts have one of the lowest levels of natural sugars, they create a subtly sweet and earthy nut butter with notes of coconut. Filberts pair well with chocolate (who doesn’t like Nutella), so whip up your own version (recipe below) with sassy orange zest, woody cinnamon, or fragrant vanilla beans, and slather on everything from breakfast toast and waffles to strawberries and melon spears.
Coconut butter, while botanically a fruit butter, is still a healthy, tasty, and satisfying spread, packed with potassium, magnesium, iron, and especially fiber that translates to healthy blood sugar levels, and a smooth-running digestive tract. The downside—it’s high in saturated fats, so use once a week to mix things up with a tropical twist.
Walnuts that coincidentally resemble miniature hemispheres of the brain are chock-full of alpha-linolenic acid (plant-based omega 3’s) that increase cognitive functioning by keeping the brain lubricated and lively. Soporific walnuts also bolster melatonin levels, one of the sleep regulating hormones. So, munching a cracker or biscuit topped with some scrumptious walnut butter before bedtime will give some much-needed zzz’s, making scholars rested and alert in the morning.
Brazil nut butter blessed with a generous supply of protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber is also cursed with a high fat content along with moderate amounts of barium, selenium, and radium (natural radioactivity), so moderation is the key here (a tablespoon a day).
Pine nut butter is a dicey choice in light of the oddity that health practitioners have labeled, “pine mouth.” This strange phenomenon that tinkers with taste buds making all foods seem bitter and unpalatable for several weeks occurs in some people after eating pignolias. Whether a reaction to rancid nuts, or some other chemical or environmental cause, there are plenty of other nuts on the trees to choose from.
A little goes a long way with high fat (the “friendly” kind) macadamia nut butter, but so worth the calories. These Hawaiian grown gems are also packed with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals to boost brain, heart, immune, and digestive health. Aloha!
