Nuts

I have never been a big fan of nuts in general. As a kid I was just about the only one around who couldn’t stand peanut butter. I came around in my early 20’s when I became obsessed with peanut butter banana sandwiches. Two tastes that individually, I didn’t care about, but when put together – “It’s got like this Ba-boom Zap kind of taste!” (Thanks Remy.)

I would still plow through peanut butter and banana sandwiches if it weren’t for the stinking heartburn that pops out of nowhere ONLY when I eat these. Seriously. This is my heartburn trigger of all things.

I like peanuts, though I normally don’t eat them often. Every once in awhile I will succumb to Reese's, but it usually isn't my first go to. I got to know soy nuts (love those on salads) and sunflower seeds (though they strike as more work than they are worth). Pine nuts… mmmm… pine nuts. We went through a bit of a pistachio thing when we would drive through the California Central Valley on our way to Napa or San Francisco from Reno when I was in grad school and could pick them up at farm stands for $2 a pound.

But typically? Nuts? I avoid them.

Macademia white chocolate chip cookies? No thanks.

Brownies with walnuts? Why ruin a good brownie?

Peanut butter sandwiches for my kid? There are allergic kids around, we don’t want to be responsible for something like that.

You get the idea. Not a fan of nuts.

The other day one of the soccer parents supplied snack and to my surprise there was a Capri Sun (mainstay at soccer games like orange sections were when I was a kid… what happened to orange sections and soccer? Is it the whole home prepared food paranoia?) and a package of Trail Mix. Ok, yes, make me feel bad for sending rice krispie treats!

I know my kid well enough to know he was thrilled. Not for the Trail Mix, but there were M&Ms in there! Leif has a nut aversion like I do. Also kind of like me – an antiaversion to chocolate.

He sat in his carseat (in AB’s car, yes he has finally succumbed to the kids eating in his new car) digging through the nuts for M&Ms, while pawning off the raisins on his sister who was none the wiser to the real goal in mind.

I looked back and those nuts looked delicious!

I can’t explain it, but I held out my hand for the bag of Trail Mix, which he readily handed over to me in hopes of ease in obtaining the coveted chocolate. I poured out a handful and picked out the M&Ms and handed them over while maintaining his secret and handing the raisins to Skadi.

Then I devoured the remaining nuts.

I am still not sure what came over me. It wasn’t like I was that hungry. They just looked… delicious. And they were!

At work the other day one of my coworkers saved some German marzipan for me. I had no idea what it was, German confection? Sure thing! Then she told me it had almond paste in it. Hmmm… I wondered for a minute if I shouldn’t just resist her generosity with sharing her chocolates that she loved so much citing a nut aversion…

Naw!

It did have chocolate on it after all.

My new interest? Marzipan.

At the grocery store I was looking for something to put in my desk drawer for snacks. I was tired of the 100 calorie packs when I stumbled upon the nut section. I stood there for awhile pondering the options… then finally settled on a canister with *gasp* an assortment of nuts including macademia, Brazil and walnuts!

I always wonder what my body is telling me when I crave a food. I do believe that your body tells you what it needs. But I am not really craving nuts… just enjoying them. I have gone through a few taste bud changes in my lifetime (when I lost my taste for shrimp was a milestone one and then gaining it back recently was another). Maybe that is what this is.