Nutty Wordy Wednesday

I mentioned in a previous post that my plant-loving friend Amanda helps me think about how the function of a plant part affects its nutrient content. I also put quotes around "nut" in referring to peanut butter, sunflower butter, etc. I know tahini is from sesame seeds and peanuts are legumes, but what makes a nut a botanical nut?

Nuts 2 by Steffen Zahn

The Nut: a one-seeded hard-shelled fruit. Includes chestnuts and hazelnuts; excludes almonds and walnuts (drupes).

The Legume: the fruit of a plant in the Fabaceae family. Includes peanuts, soy, peas, and carob.

The Seed: a small embryonic plant: embryo, nutrient supply, and coat. Angiosperms are enclosed in fruit; gymnosperms are not. Includes cereals, legumes, and nuts.

Seeds are the botanical basket that contain plant protein and oil sources. True nuts are fewer and farther between than I'd imagined. And nutrient profiles are all over the map. For example, chestnuts have an ω-6:ω-3 ratio of 9; hazelnuts, 90. Another - kidney beans sit at 0.6; and garbanzo beans at 26. All the more reason to eat a variety of plant foods!