Don't Go Nuts With the Nuts

Now that we know there's such a thing as "good fat" and "bad fat," some of the foods we believed in the past to be bad for us are now taking on a different light. Olive oil, avocados, and nuts are among the foods that are high in monounsaturated fats (MUFAs), which lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) while increasing HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol).

Good, indeed, but they're still fats and they're still just as fattening as they were before they were deemed "good." Which brings us to nuts.

Nuts can be part of a healthy eating plan but what's important to remember is that while they may contain good fat, 50% of the weight of most nuts is oil, and oil contains more than twice the number of calories per gram compared to carbohydrates and protein. When you're trying to cut back on calories, only a very few should be consumed. Which may be difficult, because it's easy to eat more than just a few nuts and the calorie content of nuts is so high that just a few extra handfuls could ruin your diet day.

If you want to add nuts to your diet, the safest way to do it is to get a small container to keep your daily portion in. An empty Altoids container is perfect. Fill it with the nuts of your choice, then measure them and calculate the calories. I have a little plastic paper clip box that's a bit smaller than an Altoids container that works even better. It holds 14 almonds, which is about 100 calories, a nice size to toss in my purse and snack on throughout the day.

Anyway, here's some info to underscore just how calorific nuts can be, followed by calories per piece so you can put together your little, with emphasis on the word little, snack pack of nuts.

Calories per 1/2 cup:

Almonds -- 415
Walnuts -- 392
Pecans -- 353
Peanuts -- 425
Pistachios -- 350
Cashews -- 370

Per single nut:

Almonds -- 7
Walnuts -- 13 (per half of shelled walnut)
Pecans -- 10 (per half of shelled pecan)
Peanuts -- 6
Pistachios -- 4
Cashews -- 11