Peanut fever

This middle-aged man has always enjoyed having nuts in his life and I’m not talking about people without a full deck of mental cards.  

The nuts I like are food and some of my recent favorites are almonds, cashews and pistachios.  Recently I decided to diversify and since then have been enjoying peanuts.

About one month ago, I decided to buy a 5-lb. bag of Hoody’s In-Shell Peanuts from my neighborhood Costco; they are roasted and unsalted.  I brought this big bag of peanuts to my office and it’s where I eat them.

Sometimes I do so as my first meal of the day that begins with a protein shake and then two ounces of peanuts.  It’s a light first meal as far as calories go but the combination of fat and proteins gives me satiety on days when I want to eat light in the morning yet need to take the edge off my brain and gut crying to be fed.

This combination gives me 440 calories of which about 17 percent are carbohydrates, 30 percent are protein and 53 percent are fat.  In the macronutrient classification scheme of things, this is definitely a low-carbohydrate mix of calories.

Not that low-carb is how I’m trying to eat but my focus the past month has been to eat a higher-fat diet.  A recent math check tells me my macronutrient calorie mix the past month has been about 38 percent carbohydrates, 24 percent protein and 38 percent fat.

Eating two ounces of in-shell peanuts is more work than eating a two ounce package of shelled peanuts that I can be wolfed-down my digestive track, with force stronger than a commercial-grade garbage disposal, in less than a minute.

And a little more caution is required to avoid making a peanut shell mess.  Both of these elements contribute to eating fewer peanuts in a sitting and that’s good.

I’ve barely put a dent in this big 5-lb. bag so there are many more peanut-centric morning meals for me the next couple of months.  Twice a week seems to be all I can handle as I continue having peanut fever.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum.