Cashews--A Handful of Pleasure

A friend recently posted something on Facebook that I laterally had never heard of before.  Thanks Kristina. The article stated that cashews are a natural anti-depressant.

I know many people don't care for any type of nuts either due to allergies or just the taste. But as long as I can remember cashews have been one of my top nuts of choice. One reason also could be because every time I eat one I think of my grandpa Conner. Some people have dessert, other's maybe an after dinner beverage but his was to sit in his recliner, and reach for the little recycled pork and bean jar with the foil wrapped top and get a handful of his guilty pleasures.

 Now I bet he didn't know back then that a little handful of these nuts was actually a remedy for what ailed him. Gramps was a World War II veteran who kept all the stories inside. The quiet man through the years kept many things tucked deep inside I would later discover. But, those monthly routine visits to the San Pedro Commissary probably did him more good than any of us would realize. He would buy large quantity cans of the nuts to squirrel away in his closet for future indulgence. The price back then was high, not as high today(this 10 oz. bag above was $4.29 at Aldi's) but they were cheaper than apparently a doctor visit for a prescription today.

A friend that worked on the Port of Los Angeles docks one time asked him if he wanted a bag of raw cashews. The process of preparing and roasting was long and he only did it once because they just didn't taste the same to any of us.

It is hard to believe that two handfuls of cashews equals a dose of prescription Prozac.  Hey it works for me!

A few of the amazing benefits are: high in vitamins,  can prevent gallstones (wish I had known that a few years ago), can prevent cancers, helps your hair and the list goes on.

It is probably the only nuts that you don't shell yourself. Due to the toxicity of the outside shell they must be done before roasting and consuming.

As they say you learn from your elders (thanks Gramps) and quoting a Mounds/Almond Joy commercial, "sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't) hey its cheaper than a doctor visit and oh so much better for you. Yummy