Christmas tree Nuts // fruit

🌱🌰🤔 Did you know that nuts of all kinds are key ingredients in Christmas baked goods and other dishes? It just wouldn’t be Christmastime without the sound of cracking shells as part of the holiday soundtrack. Luckily nuts can be eaten and enjoyed at any time of the year. 

🎄 There are more than 20 different types of edible nuts around the world for you to choose from locally. Mix them and get inspired by Grandma Sita’s Christmas tree made with delicious nuts. Go nuts – Christmas is just around the corner!

💪 Nuts are a healthy energy source snack when unsalted and unsweetened due to their unsaturated fats, antioxidant capacity, nutritional composition (fiber and magnesium among others), and high oil content. Adding nuts and seeds to your plant-based meals provides a wide range of health benefits making a wonderful ally on a plant-based diet. 

👩‍🍳 Nuts are used in cooking, eaten raw, sprouted, or roasted, ground to make nut butter, or pressed for oil that is used in cooking and cosmetics. Nuts can be added to main meals because they add texture and flavor e.g., sprinkled on top of porridge, a salad, or a curry and other recipes, but most often, some types of nuts are used in baking recipes 

👵💚 Grandma Sita’s tips:

*Eating a moderate amount of nuts each day is extremely beneficial, literally as much nuts as fits in the palm of your hand. 
*Most nutshells are inedible but don’t throw nutshells, because they are very useful in composting. Win-win!
*One of the great things about composting cucumbers is that almost every part of the plant can be used. Cucumbers compost down incredibly quickly as they’ve got a high water content.

📗 In many countries is a tradition to have bowls of nuts on the table during the festive season. But where did the tradition of nuts at Christmas come from? Well, it depends on who you ask. This could stem from the European tradition of scattering nuts during holiday festivities and historical references to nuts as a religious symbol. Whether it’s pagan or Christian, the idea of nuts bringing good luck at Christmastime appears to have stuck. Whatever, go nuts for festive treats are the ultimate choice!

🌎 All of us can act at home to reduce our waste and transition our diets to one that is planet-forward before, during, and after any festivity season, and every single one counts. Happy Holidays ahead!