Nuts Are a Healthy Part of the Mediterranean Diet

Posted on : June 20th, 2019

sun dried tomato pasta

The Mediterranean Diet appears to be making a comeback. After years of trying to make the Paleo, Atkins, Keto and so many other diet fads work, people are rediscovering that maybe a less restrictive and truly easy to maintain plan might work best. What’s great about the Mediterranean Diet is that nothing is forbidden and the shifts you do make are not extreme. You eat less red meat, more fish, few processed and refined flour or sugar foods, lots of whole grains, fruits and vegetables (7-10 servings a day). There’s a focus on portion control and moderation but there’s lots of variety and flavor. It’s basically a fun, common-sense diet that people already prefer in many different countries. Think it would be romantic to live in Italy or a Greek island? Great! Eat like they do!

I never really thought about nuts as being a staple of the diets in that part of the world but it turns out that I’m quite mistaken. A handful of nuts or seeds are typically eaten almost every day! Think about Greek yogurt with nuts and a favorite fruit, Middle Eastern-Spiced Rice with Toasted Almonds, Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Apricots and Almonds, salad with feta cheese and nuts, Baklava (dessert made with pistachios). The list goes on and on.

But nuts are not eaten in large amounts in the Mediterranean. Think of them as a healthy snack, a garnish, something to add texture and crunch, and you’ll have the right idea. They are an important source of calories, unsaturated heart-healthy fats, protein, and needed antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. And research has shown that when a typical Mediterranean diet is supplemented with tree nuts, it reduced the risk of cardiovascular death by 30 percent.

Here at Maisie Jane’s we, of course, have lots of flavorful nut snacks to make getting your handful of nuts per day easy and almost sinful! Or share the love of pure and simple roasted nuts with your family and friends with our bulk value bags. And how could you resist making your occasional sweet treat a healthier one with one of our popular chocolate coated nut choices? Oh wait, I almost forgot my FAVORITE way to add nuts to a Mediterranean Diet—Maisie Jane’s almond or cashew butters made with nothing but unsweetened 100% roasted ground nuts and our special treat sweetened varieties as well.


 Maisie Jane’s California Sunshine Products, Inc. was founded on strong beliefs and passion for offering unique, flavorful, top-quality, nut products. We strongly believe in earth-friendly practices that start on our family-owned and operated orchards. We use organic farming practices and continue in the process by using all-natural ingredients with no preservatives or GMOs. We believe in honest, friendly and helpful customer relations at all levels. We take pride in every task, every day, with every person.