macadamia nuts

Are macadamias fattening?
Some people fear that nuts may be fattening because of their oil content. They make our food tasty and promote satiety. It has been demonstrated that low fat diets are unsatisfying and difficult to maintain. The substitution of nuts for other foods in dietary trials did not result in any weight gain.

A dietary trial at Harvard University compared a low fat, low calorie diet with a low calorie diet containing ample fat from nuts and olive oil. Over 12 months both groups lost an average of 4.5 kgs with the diet containing nuts more successful in keeping weight off after a further 6 months and the participants showed no change in blood pressure. The summary concluded that healthy fats can be part of a weight loss program as long as total calories are controlled. When adding fat calories to a reducing diet it is essential to choose foods such as nuts that are rich in monounsaturated fats, vitamins, minerals, dietary fibre and phytochemicals as well as flavour.

Disclaimer: This report is prepared in good faith from a range of sound independent sources. No person should act on any aspect without first obtaining specific, independent professional advice.

Lobster mornay with macadamia nuts
Chef: Victoria Ramshaw
Find more great seafood recipes in "Catching and cooking seafood around Australia" by Paul Cross and Victoria Ramshaw.

Serves 2 as a main, or 4 as an entree

Degree of difficulty: Medium

You need:
2 lobsters boiled and halved
30ml brandy
butter
100g parmesan, grated
salt and cracked pepper to taste

Mornay Sauce
60g butter
60g flour
500ml milk
1 small onion studded with 4 cloves
150g grated romano or a mild parmesan
30ml thickened cream
pinch of nutmeg
200g chopped macadamias
lemon or lime quarters
salt and cracked pepper to taste

Method:
To prepare Mornay sauce melt butter in pan and add flour stirring continuously to form a paste or roux.

Cook for 4 minutes on a low heat ensuring the mixture does not brown.

Remove from heat and cool.

Place the onion in the milk and heat on a medium setting for 5 minutes.

Pour milk into cooled roux in three lots stirring constantly.

Cook on low heat stirring for 5 minutes.

Stir in the cream and cheese (reserve some cheese for topping) until combined and sprinkle in nutmeg.

Remove lobster meat, keeping the shell intact, and cut meat into medium medallions.

Melt butter to cover base of fry pan and lightly saute meat on a low heat with brandy, salt and pepper.

Cover the base of the empty lobster shells with a little of the mornay sauce placing sauteed lobster meat on top, and top with remaining sauce.

Sprinkle with chopped macadamia nuts and grated cheese.

Grill until golden and serve with lemon and lime quarters.

Orange Chilli Duck Salad

A refreshing salad to serve up on those warm summer evenings.

Ingredients
%uFFFD (375g) Chinese cabbage, thinly sliced, chilled in cold water
1 medium red onion, cut in half, thinly sliced
100g (16) snow peas, trimmed, cut into strips
1 medium red capsicum, cut into strips
4 roasted duck breasts or legs
100g (3/4 cup) roasted macadamia halves

Garnish
2 firm, ripe mangoes, flesh scooped out, cut into cubes
1 cup torn coriander leaves

Dressing
Whisk together in a bowl:

3 tablespoons macadamia oil
1 teaspoon each finely grated orange rind and sugar
4 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1-2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
%uFFFD teaspoon hot chilli flakes or to taste
2 teaspoons fish sauce
Method
Pour boiling water over snow peas and capsicum in a bowl. Stand for about 1 minute, drain and rinse in cold water. Either thinly slice duck breasts or remove meat from duck legs and chop into small pieces. Drain cabbage and place in a bowl with other ingredients. Toss through dressing. Garnish with mango and coriander. Serves 4 for a Main or 6 for a Starter.

Note: Omit duck and use shelled deveined prawns or sliced cooked chicken.

After health examination of young female students aged 18-23 years, they were randomised into three groups, 20 in each, and were given three kinds of rolls topped with macadamia nuts, coconut or butter for 3 weeks. Physical and metabolic parameters were measured before and after the intervention.

Body weight (BW) and body mass index (BMI) were reduced significantly in the group fed macadamia nuts from the initial levels (BW: 49.4 ± 1.2 %u2192 49. 0± 1.1kg, BMI: 19.9 ± 0.4 %u2192 19.7 ± 0.4 kg/m2, p<0.05). In addition, serum total cholesterol (TC) and LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) concentrations were decreased from their initial levels significantly in the group fed macadamia (TC: 180 ± 6 %u2192 169 ± 5 mg/dl, LDL-C: 97 ± 5 %u2192 90 ± 4 mg/dl, p<0.05), and in that fed on coconuts (TC: 180 ± 5 %u2192 169 ± 5 mg/dl, LDL-C: 103 ± 4 %u2192 94 ± 3 mg/dl, p<0.05). In these two groups despite the reduction of TC, the ratio of LDL/HDL atherogenic index (AI) remained the same within 3 weeks.

This study indicated that macadamia nuts reduced body weight and BMI, and Total Cholesterol in young Japanese women without any risk factors, suggestive of the health benefit of macadamia nuts for life style related disease prevention, if used continuously.

The above research projects were funded by Horticulture Australia Ltd with the financial support of the Macadamia industry

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