Pistachios for Snacking

If you are looking for a healthy snack and who isn’t, you might want to check out pistachios. Have to admit that I have never tasted them, but I’m always up for a new snack food, so will have to give them a try.

Apparently research suggests that an ounce of the little green nuts can reduce the risk of heart disease. That’s always good to know.

A little trivia I picked up…

The pistachio bush/tree grows in dry mountain areas such as Turkey, Iran, and Afghanistan in a wild condition.

Pistachios are great tasting and are a wise, nutritious snacking choice. A one-ounce serving is a generous 49 nuts and contains more than 10% of the Daily Value for dietary fiber, vitamin B-6, thiamin, phosphorus and copper.

The pistachio is grown in clusters on trees that reach up to 30 feet high and often take up to 15 years to produce significant quantities of nuts. Pistachio trees can continue to grow pistachios for centuries. Although referred to as a nut, the fruit (what we call the “kernel”) of the pistachio is actually a drupe whose edible portion is the seed. This buttery, sweet, and delicate flavored kernel is naturally green and is covered with a fine, thin, pale brown skin that need not be removed before eating. The green color of the kernel is the result of chlorophyll, the same pigment that makes leaves green.

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