Almonds are a tree nut closely related to the peach, apricot and cheery family.  There are two types of almonds, sweet and bitter.  The former, the type we eat, and the later are used for almond oil used as a flavouring agent ie Amaretto.

1 oz or 24 almonds is about 160 calories and is made up of about 60% fat and 20% of each of carbohydrate and protein.   Of the nearly 14g of fat, 9g are monounsaturated and 3.5g are polyunsaturated.  Almonds are an excellent source of potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc and vitamin E.  They also contain antioxidant amygdalin which has cardio-protective and anti-caner properties.

In addition to being eaten raw or roasted, crushed almonds are a great addition to a salads, soups, stir-fry or oatmeal if you are looking to provide a little crunch.  Almonds can be pureed into nut butter, used as part of a dip or pulverized and pressed into burgers.

Check out the Almond Sunflower Seed Burger and homemade Almond Milk recipes