Are Flavored Cashews Worth The Hype?

Cashews have always been one of the most popular nuts. They are a rich, vitamin-packed culinary nut. It is not only because of their intense nutritional value, which makes them the favorite of any health freak but their sweet, creamy flavor, which attracts the crowd. Their versatility ranks them at the top of the list compared to other nuts like Almonds, the Brazil nut, and even the beloved peanut. The variety is never-ending when it comes to you using cashews.

For instance, you can use them as a garnish, incorporate them into a sauce, or blend them into nut milk, butter, or even cream. We will get into how you can use cashews later. You first need to know how this fascinating nut gets to you and how it can benefit you because it does.

The Journey From Fruit To Nut

Cashews are those kinds of nuts that pack nutrition to the brim. But have you ever thought about how such a tiny nut gets to you? Cashews are native to South America particularly, Brazil. Primarily introduced to Africa and India, and today these regions are the largest producers of cashews. Laborers in these developing countries work under harsh and unforgiving conditions to make sure you get a toxin-free nut. With so much hard work that goes into harvesting bulk cashews for the market, fair trade cashews help them fulfill their everyday necessities. Fair trade also ensures that these cashews are certified organic. This term means that the producers did not use any pesticides, GMOs, or other artificial chemicals during any phase of the growth cycle. The nuts are separated from the fruit, neatly cut, air-dried, and stored in jute sacks until it is time to sell them. They are then processed, packaged, and sent to your nearest wholesalers for you to purchase. The supple taste of cashews stays intact only if stored in an airtight container after you buy them.

Why Are Cashews So Good For You?

We now move on to the benefits of cashews. Although just a nut, cashews are thought to be the most nutritional amongst other nuts. So much that you can call them the ”powerhouse of nutrients”. People tend to eat flavored, roasted, and salted cashews to mix things up. Some benefits of eating cashews are that they help you manage your weight when you snack on them. You can take care of your bones and your heart by having a few nuts now and then. Many people who gym prefers to munch on cashews as it helps them to gain muscle mass. Their diet mainly consists of dry fruits like cashews which offer a high-calorie diet to build muscle. All of this makes it necessary for them to choose the right calories. Additionally, cashews are wholesome in carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals. To talk about them precisely, there are:

• 56 grams of carbohydrates which provide sufficient energy to work our muscles. Carbohydrates also help store the excess sugars as glycogen, which the body uses later. Glycogen further helps in becoming the sacrificial energy source; it makes sure that no muscle tissue breaks down so the body can obtain energy.
• 9 grams of fiber; People with diabetes prefer to eat cashews regularly. They lean towards cashews because they are the best source of fiber. It is a nutrient that helps prevent blood sugar spikes and has shown to be widely helpful for diabetic patients.
• 89 grams of iron; Even just a few cashews a day will give you enough iron and copper for the number of red blood cells in your body to increase. The iron also helps in making your immune system strong, which is another plus point for cashews.
• 0 grams of magnesium; Many women require magnesium for their bodies which they can easily find in cashews. It primarily assists in protein formation, muscle movement, and nervous system regulation. It also aids in metabolizing foods and synthesizing fatty acids.
• 17 grams of protein; having more protein in your diet will make you feel fuller. This trick will help you, so you do not end up eating between meals and wreck your diet. The amino acids that cashews offer help in building and maintaining muscle mass. Proteins also happen to be the basic building block for the production and renewal of muscle tissue.
• 64 mg of zinc; cashews have known to be a prominent source for healthier hair. Zinc helps in amplifying this trait. Zinc is mainly present in cells throughout the body. It fights off the invading bacteria and viruses in your immune system and an enormous part in making proteins and the genetic material in all cells.
• People do not face the risk of stroke, heart attack, and cardiovascular disease and prevent coronary heart disease because of the low-fat content in cashews. Additionally, it helps control LDL cholesterol levels.

How Can You Eat Your Cashew?

Cashews have a rich nutty taste, mild flavor, a rich texture, similar mouth feel to peanuts. Cashews are slightly lower in fat than most other nuts, even though they are heavily rich in nutrients. Such a versatile cooking ingredient offers so many prospects in a culinary environment. Their naturally creamy texture is perfect for making dairy-free cream, ice cream, milk, and cheese. Cashews can be so handy in the kitchen that you can use them in savory and sweet dishes. The following are ideas you can use to incorporate cashews into your food:

1. Roasted and salted cashews make scrumptious nut butter that you can use to replace peanut butter because roasted cashews contain less fat than other nuts. The fat they comprise is about 75% unsaturated fatty acids. So eating nut butter from roasted cashews is nothing but a healthy addition to your diet.
2. You can crush bulk cashews to make a puree, or take the easy route and make a spread or butter instead.
3. You can blend cashews into your milk and make it creamier. To make it even more chef-like, you can make yourself a smoothie and add cashew ice cream to it for a pop of flavor.
4. Cashew Fettucine sounds like a great idea when you know you are biting into the creamy goodness of cashews with the alfredo sauce.
5. Breakfast dishes like pancakes topped with cashews and maple syrup taste like heaven.
6. You can even go eastern and cook up a korma or even a dish with fish, with cashew bits in it. They make it so much more flavourful than you think.
7. You can whip up a trail mix for your football matches and your long hikes with the family. All this so you can snack on a healthy alternative.
8. If you are a health freak, you can use cashews in your salads. You can opt for roasted and salted cashews for more flavor and make your salad a little less boring. Instead of adding olive oil to it, you can add cashews. They contain Oleic acid, which is the same fat that makes olive oil so healthy.

If you prefer to stay out of your kitchen but still want to eat cashews, there are some other options you can try out instead. You can go for flavored cashews. These may sound a little peculiar to you, but they are all that anyone can talk about these days. You can find these cashews in tons of flavors, and with so much variety, you will never get tired of eating them. You can find flavored cashews in chocolate, spicy oregano, guava, strawberry, cheese, mint, lychee, and even peppered. Moreover, you can blend them to make yourself flavored milk, or you can add them to your dairy-free ice cream as well. Diabetic patients will have more to choose from when it comes to cashews, considering their restricted diet. So go with whatever you like, and you can choose from flavored cashews or roasted and salted ones too.

Final Words

To sum this all up, cashews can never go out of style when you know how to utilize them in such ways. It came to us as a nut, and we made dishes and trail mixes that had so much nutrition that you could gain muscle mass. The benefits of cashews are like a bottomless pit. The next time you see some cashews around you, remember how much power that boxing-glove-shaped bean holds. Get yourself a handful of cashews and start making healthy choices in your life!