Almonds are one of my favorite nuts and I love mixing them into so many different foods. These little nuts are so packed with nutrients that many say it’s the most nutritious nut. Eating almonds consistently can reduce your risk of a heart attack, lower your cholesterol, help reduce your risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease, and among many other benefits, help you maintain a healthy weight. A few nutrients that almonds have a high percentage of are: vitamin E, magnesium, calcium, folic acid, protein, phosphorus, and potassium. With so many nutrients, so many benefits and tasting so good, you want to make sure you include almonds in your diet. Be creative and enjoy them in a variety of ways.

  1. Almonds go great in oatmeal. Mix a serving of sliced almonds in cooked oatmeal and enjoy a nutty, oatmeal delight.
  2. Add a nutty taste and some crunch to your favorite chicken dish. After you cook your chicken, add the almonds to the skillet with a little bit of lemon juice and cook until almonds turn slightly brown. Here’s a recipe for Almond-Lemon-Chicken.
  3. Mixing almonds into a salad adds a crunch and more nutrients to your everyday lunch. 
  4. Use almond butter instead of peanut butter for your sandwich. Grind your own almond butter at a health food store or buy an all-natural version that doesn’t have extra sugar in it. One tablespoon of almond butter has about 100 calories, nearly 3 grams of protein, 9 grams of fat, and about 4% of DV of calcium, and 3% of Iron.
  5. Substitute flour for almond flour in your quick-bread recipes, like pancakes, muffins or banana bread. You’ll have to add an extra egg and almond flour isn’t good for kneading breads. You can find almond flour at a health food store.
  6. Grind up almonds and use as a breading for your fish. Here’s a yummy recipe for almond crusted tilapia.
  7. Use chopped almonds in your favorite cookie recipe. There are a ton of almond cookie recipes, like this Greek almond cookie. Yum!
  8. Use in stir fries. Almonds can flavor and texture to vegetable stir-fries.
  9. Cook in with rice. About two minutes before rice is done, add almonds in to finish cooking the rice with the nuts.
  10. Drink almond milk. Almond milk is low in calories and contains some healthy fat. Almond milk is great for individuals who are lactose intolerant or for anyone looking to mix up their calcium source, if you get the type that is fortified with calcium.
  11. The nut-flavor is great in almond oil, which can be used the same way as any vegetable oil.
  12. Use almonds for a wonderful topping on ice cream.
  13. Mix in these tiny nuts into your cold cereal. Cheerios are a great one to mix almonds in with.
  14. Cover your pancakes with almond butter and bananas.
  15. One way that uses almonds in a different way than eating is using almond oil in your facial mask to help clear skin issues. Here’s an article on almond oil benefits for the skin and hair. Who knew?!
  16. Yogurt and almonds make a super-powerful breakfast or snack.
  17. Make almond paste and use in place of oil in recipes. Get this easy-to-follow almond paste recipe.
  18. The obvious choice is snacking on almonds. Count out 14 almonds to stay within a serving.
  19. Almond extract is great in French toast to bring out a bit of flavor.
  20. Use almond extract in rice pudding. Rice pudding is one of my favorite comfort dishes.
  21. Add almond milk or almond extract to your coffee.
  22. Use almond flour to make the crust for pies, especially with apple pie. We also like to use almond flour pie crusts in quiches, like this Mexican-quiche-with-oat-almond-crust recipe.
  23. Eat baked nut chips. Several brands now offer chips that are made from brown rice and almonds, with no wheat or gluten and are not fried.
  24. Grind almonds and blend into soups. I have this carrot and almond soup recipe on our list to try.

Fortunately, these versatile nuts are available year-round, but are the freshest in mid-summer, at the height of almond season. How do you like to eat your almonds?