Top 7 Dry Fruit Recipes to Curb Hunger Pangs and Be Healthy

Reviewed by: | Author: Manoja Kalakanti

Drat that hunger pang which threatens to jeopardize your weight loss journey! You have had a meager lunch and an even more meager dinner; and just when you think you’ve conquered all your hunger pangs, you lose the battle, the war and all the day’s efforts go down the drain. Why? Because you end up hogging the icecream you served your guests!

Top Dry Fruit Recipes to Curb Hunger Pangs

Isn’t it just awful? So you need to find a few healthy options to satiate your untimely hunger, which also take care of vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Worry no more as there are plenty of dry food options to eat in between your main meals so that you don’t hog all the way to the bank!

Benefits of your Favorite Nuts

Before you fill up your larder with a number of dry fruits, remember you have to stop at a handful, or that unsightly bulge on your waist, which you worked so hard at the gym to get rid of may make a comeback soon! Okay, before we give you a lowdown of the options available, find out why these delectable nutrient dense nuts are your man Fridays; not because you can have it on Friday, but because you can seek solace in them when you are on a dieting spree. There are nuts like, peanuts, walnuts, almonds, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, pine nuts, pistachios, cashew nuts and more.

  • It lowers your cholesterol – The good fats in nuts, especially the polyunsaturated and the monounsaturated fats reduce the level of bad cholesterol levels. This can easily be considered to be a heart healthy food to eat.
  • Rich source of omega-3 fatty acids Omega-3 fatty acids are your heart’s ally, and you simply cannot eliminate them from your diet, and nuts are the best plant-based sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Keep your heart in optimal health with the help of nuts. So they are a part of the list of good healthy foods to eat.
  • Fiber – There are reams of paper written on the benefits of including fiber in your diet. Said to be a potent force in preventing diabetes, fiber makes you feel satiated by eating just a little amount. Isn’t that we all want?
  • Vitamin E – Vitamin E helps in preventing the development of plaque in the arteries of your heart, which leads to various heart ailments.
  • Plant sterols to keep your heart healthy – Plant sterols help in keeping your cholesterol in check. The best part is, nuts are a natural source of plant sterols.
  • It contains L-arginine – Another substance to keep your heart in the right order. As it keeps the walls of your heart flexible, it prevents blood clots, which prevent the blood from flowing easily.

Nuts

  • Nuts and seeds are the storehouses of health benefiting poly-phenolic flavonoid antioxidants such as carotenes, Resveratrol, Latin, Cryptoxanthin and more. These compounds are proven to protect against diseases like cancers, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, nerve diseases which are degenerative in particular, and viral or fungal infections. Studies suggest that resveratrol present in peanuts reduces stroke risk by changing the molecular mechanisms in the blood vessels, reducing their propensity to cave into vascular damage. So you should be chomping on nuts as they are heart healthy foods to eat.
  • It’s a veritable treasure trove of vitamins and minerals; they are a rich source of minerals like manganese, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, potassium, fluoride, and selenium. Manganese stops the free radical process that causes infinite damage to the body. Potassium controls heart rate and body pressure. Copper is essential for the production of red blood cells. Iron is required for red blood cell formation. Fluoride is a major component of bones and teeth and plays a vital role in the prevention of dental caries, so keeps your teeth in good health. Do not feel clueless as to what foods to eat, as it is said when in doubt, eat nuts.
  • Nuts provide many vital B-complex groups of vitamins such as riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B-6, and folate. These vitamins are vital to keeping your health in the optimum condition and well-being.

How to Eat Nuts?

We all know how to eat nuts, don’t we? Open a packet, and pop it into your mouth. But like everything else we need some changes to keep our palate busy, the same kind of foods, with the same kind of flavor seldom seems fun. We need some change to keep our body in guessing mode too! We all know what the healthy foods to eat are.

If you do forget to eat those healthy and soaked nuts early in the morning, add them to the following foods to add texture and some much-needed crunch to food.

  • Edible nuts and seeds can be eaten as they are, as we said straight from a packet, salted or sweetened.
  • Desserts get that bit of texture with the addition of nuts. Just sprinkle some over desserts, like sundaes, ice cream and forget about sharing it with someone, they are just too good to share!

desserts

  • They are part of our baking wonders. Add a few almonds and walnuts to a gooey chocolate cake, and you are sure to be transported to some kind of gastronomic heaven.
  • Who doesn’t like to raid the refrigerators at night and enjoy the crunchy, slightly bitter awesomeness of peanut butter or almond butter? Your go-to solution for depressing and lonely nights, also a wonder solution when you are famished, your grumbling stomach’s protests lead you to that jar to make you and your stomach super happy!

Nutty Recipes

When we think of food, we have to know the recipes as well, don’t we? Even if you are crushing over some nuts, you can try these gourmet delights to keep your famished self-happy!

Nutty Balls

This recipe contains a natural sweetener like honey, so a super healthy snack to take care of your sweet cravings.

Nutty balls

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup plain (not unsweetened) soy milk
  • Unsweetened flaked or shredded dried coconut, one cup
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • 1/4 cup nuts (see Notes), chopped
  • 4 dried figs, chopped.

Preparation

  • Boil honey and soy milk in a medium saucepan over high heat; boil for about 1 minute or so. Set it aside. Put coconut on a plate or in a shallow bowl and set aside.
  • In a blender, pulse oats, sesame seeds, nuts, and figs until finely ground. Add honey to the mixture in a saucepan and stir together. Wet your hands with water and roll 1-tbsp portions of the mixture into balls; then roll in coconut.

Nutty Shortbread

Boost your midday slump, with this scrumptious concoction. You will have difficulty in stopping yourself from having more!

Nutty-shortbread

Ingredients

  • 3 cups raw, skin-on hazelnuts, divided
  • 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, divided
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 cup plus 3 tbsp. Cold butter, cubed
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
  • 7 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

Preparation

  • Preheat oven to 350°. Roast hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet until they turn light golden, for about 18 minutes. Scrape the warm nuts in a kitchen towel to remove half of the skins. Finely chop 1/2 cup nuts in a blender. Reduce oven temperature to about 325°.
  • Put chopped nuts, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, the flour, 1 cup butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/4 tsp. salt in a large bowl. Blend on low speed in a mixer until they blend well.
  • Grease a 9-in. Square baking pan, line with foil, then greases the foil. Press dough evenly into bottom of the pan. Bake until it turns out golden and firm, for about 45 minutes. Roughly chop half of the remaining nuts to make 1 cup.
  • Bring together the remaining 1/4 tsp. Cinnamon, 3 tbsp. Butter, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 tsp. Salt, the maple syrup, and the brown sugar to a boil in a small saucepan whisking frequently. Remove from heat and pour in 1 cup whole hazelnuts and the chopped nuts. Pour over crust and spread evenly. Bake until set when the pan is tilted for about 18 minutes.
  • Let cool on a rack. Lift foil with a cookie to a board. Cut cookie into 16 squares, and then cut each square in half diagonally.

Mango Macadamia Delight

Put your hand up if you love mangoes! There’s very few people who do not like mangoes, and more so when they are combined with nuts. Try this wonderful recipe and keep away from crazy hunger pangs, and what’s more, you also will be eating for a healthy heart.

Mango-Macadamia-Delight

Ingredients

  • 3 cups shredded cooked chicken
  • 1 cup chopped mango
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 1/3 cup chopped green onions
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh tarragon
  • 1/3 cup lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup crème fraîche (or sour cream)
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • Belgian endive spears from 3 large heads
  • 1/4 cup chopped roasted, salted macadamia nuts

Preparation

  • Combine chicken, mango, celery, green onions, and tarragon in a large bowl.
  • Blend together lemon juice, crème fraîche, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper. Add to chicken mixture; stir gently to combine.
  • Spoon the chicken salad with endive spears, and then add the macadamia nuts, sprinkling them on top.

Delicious Almond Cake

Cakes and nuts share an unbreakable bond! But you have to try this recipe to enjoy its full benefits.

Almond-cake

Ingredients

  • 250g butter, melted, plus extra for brushing
  • 400g marzipan
  • 4 eggs
  • 350g ground almonds
  • 225g granulated sugar
  • 4 tsp. Almond extract
  • Zest of an orange (optional)
  • 50g almonds, roughly chopped

Preparation

  • Preheat the oven to 180c. Cut a rectangle of baking parchment to line the bottom of a baking tin. Grease the tin liberally with melted butter before putting in the baking parchment.
  • Knead the marzipan to make it soft. Roll it between two pieces of baking parchment to fit the baking tin snug.
  • Put the eggs into a large mixing bowl. Add the ground almonds, sugar and almond extract, then add the melted butter. Beat the mixture at high speed until the mixture becomes creamy. Add the grated orange zest to the mixture if using and mix well.
  • Pour half of the mixture into the tin, and smooth over with a palette knife. Gently place the rolled-out marzipan on top.
  • Pour over the remaining cake mixture and smooth over, taking care to cover the marzipan completely.
  • Sprinkle the chopped almonds over the top.
  • Bake for 30 minutes, until the top and sides are a light golden color. To check, push the cake away from the edge of the tin with a palette knife and have a look whether it detaches itself from the sides of the cake tin smoothly.
  • Cut into small squares. Serve hot or cold, as per your choice.

Almond Bars

There are many times when we travel, and to feed our hungry selves, we are forced to eat foodstuff which won’t find favor in a nutritionist’s list of the 50 healthiest foods to eat. So we need something ready in our bags to pop in our mouths to keep our blood sugar levels steady. Here is one, try it and just make sure you know when to stop!

Almond-bars

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Cashews
  • ½ cup Almonds
  • ½ cup Pecans
  • ½ cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
  • 1 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract
  • Zest of half a Navel Orange
  • ½ tsp. Sea Salt
  • ¼ tsp. Ground Ginger
  • ½ cup + 1 Tbsp. (total of 9 Tbsp.) Raw Honey

Preparation

  • Line a 9*5 inch baking tray with unbleached parchment paper baking tray and set aside.
  • In a blender place all the ingredients . Pulse. If the mixture doesn’t come together add 1 tablespoon of water at a time pulsing the food processor in between. If needed, add more water until the mixture comes together.
  • Place the mixture in the prepared baking pan and with a spatula press until it is uniform on all sides. Place in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. Cut into squares and keep leftovers covered in the refrigerator.

Cinnamon Bars

Get the awesome combination of nuts and coconut with this recipe. Cashews, almonds and pecans together make a delicious and crunchy snack to have in between main meals.

Cinnamon-Bars

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Cashews
  • ½ cup Almonds
  • ½ cup Pecans
  • ½ cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
  • 1 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract
  • ½ tsp. Sea Salt
  • ½ tsp. Ground Cinnamon
  • ½ cup + 1 Tbsp. (total of 9 Tbsp.) Raw Honey

Preparation

  • Line a 9*5 inch baking tray with unbleached baking tray and set aside.
  • Knead the mixture together, if the mixture doesn’t come together add 1 tablespoon of honey to bind the whole mixture together. If needed, add more honey until the mixture comes together.
  • Place the mixture in the prepared baking pan and with a spatula press until it is uniform on all sides. Place in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. Cut into squares and serve. make sure you cover the bars with something otherwise they woild seem too hard to consume.

Cacao Bars

Cacao nibs are full of dietary fibre and it helps to keep your bowel movements regular. It is also great for your cardiovascular health and it helps that they are delicious.

Cacao-Bars

  • 1 cup Cashews
  • ½ cup Almonds
  • ½ cup Pecans
  • ½ cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
  • ½ cup Cacao Nibs (chocolate chips might get too malty)
  • 1 tsp. Pure Vanilla Extract
  • ½ tsp. Sea Salt
  • ½ cup + 1 Tbsp. (total of 9 Tbsp.) Raw Honey

Preparation

  • Preheat oven to 350F.
  • Line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper, leaving flaps on all 4 sides.
  • Roughly chop the almonds and cashews by hand, or take the help of hand chopper or in a blender. Pieces should be about ¼” at the largest.
  • Combine all the ingredients except honey in a large bowl and stir well, till they are nicely combined.
  • Pour in the honey and coat all the ingredients with it, using a fork.
  • Spread mixture into the prepared baking dish, pressing down to pack it in and reach all edges and corners of the pan. Grease your hands with butter to press it together.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
  • Remove to a wire rack. Use the parchment flaps to set the cake.
  • After the bars have cooled about 30 minutes, lift the bars out of the pan by the parchment paper flaps and flip over onto a piece of parchment to reveal the bottom part of the cake.
  • Peel off the parchment paper.
  • Allow to cool completely and cut into bars according to your desire.
  • Consume within a week.

Stop at a handful! Yes, as they are delicious, it is too difficult to stop one from consuming more. Nuts are pretty calorie rich, too. So if you are watching your waistline, too much of it is not really good. They are portable, so take them away to your office, school, anywhere. They last a really long time. So it is another point in their favor. They are also one of the top healthy foods to eat to lose weight. So keep a jar in your refrigerator and yes, happy munching!

Dry Fruits Benefits – Top 7 Delicious Dry Fruit Recipes – PDF

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