Dried fruits at Christmas

Nutri lipidomica

Every dried fruit, its fats

Nuts are a particular food category. It is a complete food even if the fatty macro nutritional component prevails over carbohydrates and proteins. And it is precisely the fat component that requires particular attention in the quantities to be consumed of this precious food.

Dried fruit mainly provides mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids with a very low contribution of saturated fats and without cholesterol. Furthermore, each type has a characteristic lipid profile and this makes it versatile and suitable for the most diverse nutritional needs. However, it is necessary to pay particular attention to the fact that in addition to polyunsaturated acids of the omega-3 series, those of the omega-6 series. It will therefore be necessary not to exaggerate the consumption and choose the variety based on the lipid profile that suits better your molecular needs.

Nutrilipidomic Recipe

Mandorlini sweeties with chestnuts

The December recipe is a sweet that contains the flavors of Christmas. We have chosen almonds for this preparation, but it is possible to replace them with hazelnuts if we wanted to add more omega-9 or with walnuts if we needed to increase the omega-3 intake. In this regard, we remind you that hazelnuts, richer in omega-9, will be more suitable for cooking at higher temperatures and for longer times, while walnuts and almonds, by virtue of their more consistent intake of polyunsaturated than hazelnuts, must be treated at lower temperatures and for shorter times.

For the sweet part of the recipe, the choice fell on chestnut flour, gluten-free and naturally sweet. This allowed us to obtain a tasty product without the use of other sources of sugar. The flavours can be changed according to personal taste.

Ingredients (for 8 people, 2 almonds each):

almonds with skin 100 g
chestnut flour g 100
2 egg whites (about 60 g)

a pinch of cinnamon
lemon zest

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 120 degrees.

In a blender, blend the almonds with the lemon zest and leave them a little coarse. Add cinnamon and blend a little more. Place the mixture of almonds and flavorings in a bowl and cover. Wipe the whites until creamy firm consistency, then add them to the almond mixture. Gently mix from top to bottom and slowly add the chestnut flour while continuing to mix until everything is blended. At this point on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper, make small quenelles with a spoon, and arrange them side by side. Place in a static oven at 120 degrees for 15 minutes. The almonds can be kept for 2 weeks in a closed glass container.

Image for illustrative purposes

Nutritional values per recipe and per person

	Kcal	Pro-teins (g)	Carbs (g)	Sugar (g)	Fat (g)	Satu- rated (g)	Mono-insatu-rated (g)	Polin- saturated (g)	Fibers (g)
Almonds	575	21,22	21,67	3,89	49,42	3,73	30,89	12,07	12,2
Chestnut flour	343	6,10	76,20	23,6	3,70	0,6	1,2	1,4	15
Egg whites	104	21,8	1,5	1,42	0,17
Per recipe	1022	49,12	99,37	28,91	53,29	4,33	32,09	13,47	27,2
Per persona	128	6,14	12	3,61	6,66	0,54	4,01	1,68	3,4

Article by

Dr. Nicoletta Bocchino – Nutritionist Biologist

The food recommendations in the article are not intended as a substitute for a personalized nutritional plan and are to be adapted to specific cases.