04-04-2016, 06:01 PM
part of switching to a Plant Based Diet is finding a balance in terms of nutrition and style that works for you. Some people eat more frequent meals, others less (like me). And so aside from the very essential nutritive aspect, is also the way that one chooses to go about it.
For me, I'm a big fan of nuts. I use them every day, and they are a great source of proteins and fats (in my view).
The only thing is ... nuts are pricey. Especially if you choose to go the Organic route. And because it's an international market: nuts move from Vietnam, Australia, Turkey, the USA, etc etc, the prices are relatively fixed. It only depends on your local currency exchange rate that determines if you are paying a higher amount, or a slightly lesser one. But be warned: if you ever want to buy nuts in bulk quantities, your eyes might just explode at the market rates. Nuts are power packed and dense, but their pricing is equally dense.
My go-to nut mix in the last 6 months has been what is called the 'ABC nut mix'. It's basically an equal parts combo of Almonds (A), Brazil Nuts (B), and Cashews ©. I use a small handful in my green smoothies. It blends superbly, and just seeing the ABC mix is enough to make my heart skip a little. There's something so beautifully rich in this particular combo.
As an aside, I had a long standing Almond allergy before I used this mix on a regular basis. It goes back many years: I'm not sure quite exactly how many, but I'm guessing back to teenage years at least. Surprisingly, it was not actually the almond inside which caused the issues; it was the skin. I don't know how I know, but when I used to look at almonds, it was the exterior which set off warning signals - this is bad to eat! Don't eat!
So when I started with this ABC nut mix in my smoothies, I used a very small amount. Just 2 almonds (organic, raw), because I knew it would set off the adverse bodily reaction. And lo and behold, after my first experience, I had the physical symptoms. There were small, isolated red welts which would appear. No rhyme or reason. The chest, the thighs, down around the chin. They would also swell sometimes, and then break the skin, sort of like a linear pimple. It would be sore to touch, like it was 'angry' and 'fiery'.
I had known that this reaction would appear - I knew that this was a food to avoid for me. But as Ra also mentioned, food allergies are just catalyst. And there is a deeper signal being indicated. So I had decided that I was willing to work through it this time, rather than leaving out this one food from my diet for this lifetime because I was unwilling to face what it was trying to tell me.
So discomfort and temporary disfiguring aside, I said yes to Almonds. And sat with them as the allergic response kicked in and stayed kicked in as I repeated the small dosage each day.
After the third day, some part of me questioned - are you crazy dude? This food *obviously* is causing this reaction. It hurts, it's breaking the skin, it's disfiguring - what are you trying to do? go against painful signals? Like seriously man, stop retriggering this allergic reaction.
But I stuck with it. I asked myself and kept trying to 'hear' what the allergy was pointing to. Even though I started having doubts on the third day, I was still gaining awareness, even after the initial outbreak on the first day. I knew that it was yellow-ray related (solar plexus). It was to do with social interactions.
Things started coming together. I recalled dreams that I had had when I was about 12. Persecution type dreams. Where I was running away from the law. I felt I had done something bad, and I was being chased down for 'punishment'. Trial by the law (society). Those dreams had repeated over a six month period, but I had never made use of them as a teenager. I didn't know how to. I was just so shaken when I woke up, that I was glad that it was over. But obviously they were signifiers of something.
Those dreams, and the sense of persecution, of having 'trespassed' on some societal law, and then the subsequent fear of being reined in ... these were the areas of mental exploration and balancing.
After about a week, the symptoms started dying down. And then vanished. I was gobsmacked. I, of course, am a true believer in the power of balancing and it's physical effects. This has been my path for many a year now. But each new example and experience of it always leaves me in some kind of wonder.
With some trepidation, I increased the almond levels, just to see what would happen. Nada. Nothing. Problem solved!
Of course, some people could say that is was just a matter of exposure, and letting my body get acculturated to this particular substance. I'm happy for you to explain my experience that way.
And my particular allergy is quite mild compared to what others experience. I didn't go into convulsions or have my airways close up, like some people do with certain nut allergies.
I could also have tried to balance the allergy without exposing myself to the substance. But I found it quite helpful - paradoxically - to be in the discomfort, and trying to enter into it authentically, to see what it was trying to point to. And through that feedback, I found my way to those teenage-level dreams, and it offered the key to this particular understanding. No need to run away, or overactivate the body for flight. There is no danger *right here*. It is just a perceived sense of persecution made real.
So that is just an aside on the main topic of Nuts. It's kinda relevant, as nut allergies are not uncommon these days.
/ /
as for other nuts:
pistachios: so dreamy, so succulent. Out of this world color!
pine nuts: not a fan
Walnuts: awesome and crunchy
peanuts: pass
cashews: a real mainstay, totally reliable
pecans:
macadamias:
Hazelnuts:
For me, I'm a big fan of nuts. I use them every day, and they are a great source of proteins and fats (in my view).
The only thing is ... nuts are pricey. Especially if you choose to go the Organic route. And because it's an international market: nuts move from Vietnam, Australia, Turkey, the USA, etc etc, the prices are relatively fixed. It only depends on your local currency exchange rate that determines if you are paying a higher amount, or a slightly lesser one. But be warned: if you ever want to buy nuts in bulk quantities, your eyes might just explode at the market rates. Nuts are power packed and dense, but their pricing is equally dense.
My go-to nut mix in the last 6 months has been what is called the 'ABC nut mix'. It's basically an equal parts combo of Almonds (A), Brazil Nuts (B), and Cashews ©. I use a small handful in my green smoothies. It blends superbly, and just seeing the ABC mix is enough to make my heart skip a little. There's something so beautifully rich in this particular combo.
As an aside, I had a long standing Almond allergy before I used this mix on a regular basis. It goes back many years: I'm not sure quite exactly how many, but I'm guessing back to teenage years at least. Surprisingly, it was not actually the almond inside which caused the issues; it was the skin. I don't know how I know, but when I used to look at almonds, it was the exterior which set off warning signals - this is bad to eat! Don't eat!
So when I started with this ABC nut mix in my smoothies, I used a very small amount. Just 2 almonds (organic, raw), because I knew it would set off the adverse bodily reaction. And lo and behold, after my first experience, I had the physical symptoms. There were small, isolated red welts which would appear. No rhyme or reason. The chest, the thighs, down around the chin. They would also swell sometimes, and then break the skin, sort of like a linear pimple. It would be sore to touch, like it was 'angry' and 'fiery'.
I had known that this reaction would appear - I knew that this was a food to avoid for me. But as Ra also mentioned, food allergies are just catalyst. And there is a deeper signal being indicated. So I had decided that I was willing to work through it this time, rather than leaving out this one food from my diet for this lifetime because I was unwilling to face what it was trying to tell me.
So discomfort and temporary disfiguring aside, I said yes to Almonds. And sat with them as the allergic response kicked in and stayed kicked in as I repeated the small dosage each day.
After the third day, some part of me questioned - are you crazy dude? This food *obviously* is causing this reaction. It hurts, it's breaking the skin, it's disfiguring - what are you trying to do? go against painful signals? Like seriously man, stop retriggering this allergic reaction.
But I stuck with it. I asked myself and kept trying to 'hear' what the allergy was pointing to. Even though I started having doubts on the third day, I was still gaining awareness, even after the initial outbreak on the first day. I knew that it was yellow-ray related (solar plexus). It was to do with social interactions.
Things started coming together. I recalled dreams that I had had when I was about 12. Persecution type dreams. Where I was running away from the law. I felt I had done something bad, and I was being chased down for 'punishment'. Trial by the law (society). Those dreams had repeated over a six month period, but I had never made use of them as a teenager. I didn't know how to. I was just so shaken when I woke up, that I was glad that it was over. But obviously they were signifiers of something.
Those dreams, and the sense of persecution, of having 'trespassed' on some societal law, and then the subsequent fear of being reined in ... these were the areas of mental exploration and balancing.
After about a week, the symptoms started dying down. And then vanished. I was gobsmacked. I, of course, am a true believer in the power of balancing and it's physical effects. This has been my path for many a year now. But each new example and experience of it always leaves me in some kind of wonder.
With some trepidation, I increased the almond levels, just to see what would happen. Nada. Nothing. Problem solved!
Of course, some people could say that is was just a matter of exposure, and letting my body get acculturated to this particular substance. I'm happy for you to explain my experience that way.
And my particular allergy is quite mild compared to what others experience. I didn't go into convulsions or have my airways close up, like some people do with certain nut allergies.
I could also have tried to balance the allergy without exposing myself to the substance. But I found it quite helpful - paradoxically - to be in the discomfort, and trying to enter into it authentically, to see what it was trying to point to. And through that feedback, I found my way to those teenage-level dreams, and it offered the key to this particular understanding. No need to run away, or overactivate the body for flight. There is no danger *right here*. It is just a perceived sense of persecution made real.
So that is just an aside on the main topic of Nuts. It's kinda relevant, as nut allergies are not uncommon these days.
/ /
as for other nuts:
pistachios: so dreamy, so succulent. Out of this world color!
pine nuts: not a fan
Walnuts: awesome and crunchy
peanuts: pass
cashews: a real mainstay, totally reliable
pecans:
macadamias:
Hazelnuts:
![[+]](https://www.bring4th.org/forums/images/collapse_collapsed.png)
I used to eat almonds all the time but their Omega 6/3 ration isn't that great.
