In celebration of World Pistachio Day I thought you might want to impress your friends with some fascinating facts about this delicious little nut.
7 Critical Things You Should Know About the Pistachio
- Pistachios contain only 3-4 calories per nut
- Pistachios are the lowest calorie, lowest fat nut
- Pistachios have more than 30 different vitamins, minerals, and beneficial phytonutrients
- Pistachios are HEART HEALTHY!
“Scientific evidence suggests, but does not prove, that eating 1.5 ounces per day of most nuts, such as pistachios, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease.” – Food & Drug Administration
- California is the leading producer of pistachios worldwide
- In China, the pistachio is known as the “happy nut” because they look like they’re smiling
- I love pistachios and so does…
Want to WIN A CASE of Wonderful Pistachios? So do I! To enter the drawing tell us something you think is Wonderful about pistachios in the comment section. The winner will be announced on Sunday, February 28th.
Now I really must go crack myself up some more.
Miz says:
February 26th 2010my first memory is how Id try and “say” (ok lie :)) that I didnt dip into my moms bag but my redred fingers would betray me.
remember when they were dyed red?!
Tom McMath says:
February 26th 2010I always have pistachios in the pantry. They can be used in so many ways, from ice cream to snacks to lamb tagine. I can’t buy the ones that are already shelled because I end up eating the entire bag in a couple of sittings! When we were kids, we’d have pistachio fights amongst my brothers. Oooooh, would Mom get mad!
Tracy says:
February 26th 2010What’s wonderful about pistachios?!?! Just even saying the word is treat to the tongue. No other nut name sounds so smooth
Janis Brendeland says:
February 26th 2010My favorite thing with pistachios is they can easily slip in your pocket and aren’t messy. Then when I’m at a movie and others are eating popcorn, I can easily eat some and not feel I’m missing a thing. The trick is to put an empty baggie in your pocket so you’re not dropping the shells on the floor.
Jessica@HowSweet says:
February 26th 2010They are so tasty and super low in calories! That means…I can eat more! :)
carrie says:
February 26th 2010i think the little bit that comes off the nut and stays in the shell after your crack em and eat the nut is FANTASTIC. i LOVE LOVE LOVE pistachios, everyone in my house loves ‘em, too.
Jess (Fit Chick in the City) says:
February 26th 2010Love that video! Love pistachios!
Anna @ Newlywed, Newly Veg says:
February 26th 2010I love pistachios!!! I love how they’re so salty, but also slightly sweet. Yum!
Erica says:
February 26th 2010I love pistachios! I love how they taste good with any dish or just plain as a snack!
Marisa (Loser For Life) says:
February 26th 2010The best thing about pistachios is that they take a little longer to eat because of the shell. Helps with portion control!
amanda says:
February 26th 2010I think pistachios are great because not only are they a lower calorie nut but they also require extra energy to be spent on opening each shell. Best nut ever!
April says:
February 26th 2010Pistachios are so much fun too eat and they have a great green color!
Lance says:
February 26th 2010Pistachios. What is wonderful is that my son loves them. In a day and age of all sorts of junk food out there – that he chooses this, as a snack….IS wonderful!
Donna Bush says:
February 26th 2010YUM! I love pistachios. Our whole family is allergic to walnuts so I substitute these instead. We love to make a bark recipe from Food Network (Aaron McCargo, Jr., “Big Daddy’s House”): dark chocolate, pistachios, almonds & dried cherries.Yummy, and it makes a lot so we can enjoy some and give a great gift.
Diane says:
February 26th 2010I think that pistachio ice cream and gelato are both the bomb! They emphasize the sweet/salty contrast. And I am looking up that bark recipe immediately. They are an excellent addition to trail mix or granola bars. The greenness of them surely will elicit spring?I forgot they used to dye them red. Why?
Shannon says:
February 26th 2010Hey…did you know pistachios are biblical? They are mentioned in the Old Testament in Genesis 43:11. My son just had a project on pistachios. I have a coupon for these things and I can’t find them anywhere! Hopefully I will win and I can finally try these. :)
chau says:
February 26th 2010love snacking on them at home or at work!!!
Tracey @ I'm Not Superhuman says:
February 26th 2010I love pistachios. They also make it harder to eat too many. It’s work getting those nuts out!
Mom says:
February 26th 2010I am on my way to FRESH MARKET!
….AND IT IS OKAY TO EAT THE WHOLE PACKAGE!!!
Naomi(onefitfoodie) says:
February 26th 2010ahh I LOVE pistachios!! I need some more right now because I just ran out too!
something wonderful about pistachios is that they are fun to eat, because you have to work to get them out of the shell and they are lower in calories=MORE FOR ME :)
–do you contact the winners of your giveaways or should we be checking back??
Teri [a foodie stays fit] says:
February 26th 2010I love that pistachios make really good gelato. :)
Jodi says:
February 26th 2010Crunchy, munchy healthy goodness. Love em!
ashley says:
February 26th 2010I love the color of pistachios and how they taste wonderful all by themself :-).
julie says:
February 26th 2010I love pistachios, though I thought chestnuts were the lowest fat. I take pistachios hiking, they’re salty, fatty, perfect! When I was a kid, they used to come dyed pink, that was weird, glad they don’t do that anymore.
Evan Thomas says:
February 26th 2010I love how they taste with a little salt. It’s truly AMAZING. And anything that is naturally bright green captures my heart
FatFighterTV says:
February 26th 2010What’s Wonderful about pistachios is they’re uniqueness as a nut – the way they are partially open, and their taste is so different than other nuts. I love pistachios. And now I love that they are known as the “happy nut” – I will smile back at them from now on. ;)
april says:
February 26th 2010I love how long it takes to eat them!
Erica best says:
February 26th 2010What’s wonderful about pistachios? i love the taste so good now i want to go to store and buy some lol
Nikki says:
February 26th 2010My dad and I eat pistachios almost every day. They are my favorite nut. They are wonderful because they are portable and healthy and taste great!
Jody - Fit at 52 says:
February 26th 2010Got to love those pistachios!!! What is great about them.. well, they are from my state, CA! :-) OK, on the serious side, so very healthy BUT if you buy then in the shell, makes it a lot easier to portion control since it takes time to open the shell & eat them. They are their own portion control mechanism in the shell! :-)
Juliana says:
February 26th 2010I love pistachios, not only cause there delicious but they take longer to eat getting the little guys out of the shell…so you eat less…an all around good nut :)
Goff says:
February 26th 2010Something many people don’t know about eating pistachios is that they make a fabulous breading for fish or chicken. The flavor is unique and obviously good for you, one of my all time favorites!
MGraham says:
February 26th 2010Because they are expensive here in Ontario, when I buy them, my kids think they are a very special gourmet treat worth savouring, each little nut by nut. We gather around a bowl as a family and chat between shelling and crunching. When asked what they want as snacks for their birthday parties, they both ALWAYS choose pistachios!! I have those same memories as a kid-pistachio ice cream and even pudding! Okay, off to the store to get some! I will be the hero tonight!
2Heavy says:
February 26th 2010Yes, Pistachios rock! The 2nd best part is the mini workout getting the little buggers out of the shells. Salty yum. There’s a big bucket of them on the shelf at work; I guess I’ll have to be refilling it to keep whoever they belong to happy, and healthy! It’s hard to eat too many when you have to work at getting them out of the shells.
2Heavy says:
February 26th 2010Yes, Pistachios rock! The 2nd best part is the mini workout getting the little buggers out of the shells. Salty yum. There’s a big bucket of them on the shelf at work; I guess I’ll have to be refilling it to keep whoever they belong to happy, and healthy! It’s hard to eat too many when you have to work at getting them out of the shells.
Priscilla says:
February 26th 2010I love, love, love! pistachios in my salads. I add pistachios, a few sliced red grapes and dried cranberries and it’s the perfect salty/sweet mix! Get crackin’!
Melissa says:
February 26th 2010I snacked on these a lot during 3 long days at the American Dietetic Association Conference in Denver. I even have a Green Nut Pistachio bag to show my love. Wish I could find some that are roasted but unsalted tho.
Bethany says:
February 26th 2010I LOVE pistachios! I think they should have a day to themselves. I love the way they taste and so do my kids so we can have a healthy snack together as a family and know that we made a wise choice AND had something that taste good. Yum!
StuffSmart says:
February 26th 2010We Love Pistachios. It is such a bonus that they are a healthy snack!
Karen Wade says:
February 26th 2010Pistachios remind me of my mother and our family life when I was a child and we lived overseas in Tehran, Iran, in the late 1960s. Pistachios were cheap and plentiful, and for some reason were dyed red. I loved them, and still do. Unfortunately, my young, 27 yr old mother died over there due to an accident, and we children were sent to live with our grandparents in Portland, Oregon. For me, Pistachios are a comfort food. When I see Pistachios in the store, I instantly want to buy them, but usually the price deters me.
Karen Wade, Vancouver, WA
Amanda Thebe says:
February 26th 2010How did you find out its National Pistachio Day? hee hee
An amazing have in your snack handbag that the kids enjoy too!
Virgene Rich says:
February 26th 2010Pistachios are a family favorite. Every year for Christmas they are a coveted Christmas bingo prize. You have to work so hard to eat them it seems like they don’t count at all!
Jules Lives Out Loud says:
February 26th 2010I looove the salt and pepper ones that I buy at Costco. I keep them sealed in a rubbermaid clear container in my pantry where they are an everyday go-to snack for my family. What’s not to love?…perfect protein snack, great in salads and I love em with chocolate. Hmmm, wonder why you don’t ever see pistachios in candy bars? I put them in my xmas bark = DELISH!…..and they are my favorite shade of green.
Have you ever seen them growing on trees? They are beautiful and have like a sticky red fruit like covering over the shells. Maybe thats where the whole red dye thing originated.
Lily @ Lily's Health Pad says:
February 26th 2010I think the taste is pretty wonderful!
The Candid RD says:
February 27th 2010I LOVE pistachios!! I think everything about pistachios are wonderful, but I especially love the shell casing. Why? Because it means I eat them slower, and take my time and enjoy every bite of each one. It also helps my clients who are trying to maintain a healthy weight. They eat these slower, because it takes more time. PErfect!
Alissyn Edwards says:
February 27th 2010Pistachios remind me of my amazing Uncle George. I grew up playing on his pistachio farm and always loved roaming around through the seemingly endless rows of trees. I liked to pretend I was a princess lost in a maze, awaiting Prince George to come save me. My brothers and I were often the ones who got to watch Uncle George work his magic tree shaker as we were always fascinated by it! He was a true farmer in every sense of the word and did everything himself, right down to the packaging. Every year for Christmas, it was tradition to receive a specially wrapped package of pistachios from Uncle George. His pistachios were the best, treated with love and care! A few years ago, the tradition tragically ended when his pistachio farm caught on fire. The fire completely burned down all of his trees, his house, and took his life. I haven’t had a pistachio since.
Paul says:
February 27th 2010The fun part of pistachios is getting to the bottom of the bag and finding the nuts that have fallen out of the shells. These are called the glory nuts! They taste the best! Count the glory nuts and use that number in a lottery ticket. You’ll be surprised! The believe the reason they dyed the pistachios red is because they attract the eye and it’s easier to find the inside skin on the shell. After all! that is the best part, isn’t it!!
Ruby Durant says:
February 27th 2010I Love pistachios because, I just Love Nuts , period. I LOve their buttery flavor and I can’t wait to add these to my arsenal of soul food ingredient makeover recipes. It is going to be fun creating recipes with these nuts. And the fact that they have less fat than most nuts is a bonus to apply to my 12-week weight loss journey.
Diane Fit to the Finish says:
February 27th 2010I love pistachios. I remember when they all used to be died red. Now I like to use them in recipes – I have a pistachio chicken recipe!
Julie says:
February 27th 2010Pistachios simply taste great. Period. I just love them. It’s such a treat to eat them out of the shell. They have the perfect light crunch without being too hard on my teeth. They’re also great in a lot of foods like ice cream, chocolate, and cookies! But really, I just love them in their plain goodness glory, lightly salted, please.
Christa Corvi says:
February 27th 2010I love that they now come in different flavors (Well it is at least new to me)
Lana Toth says:
February 27th 2010Pistachio nuts are not only very tasty -
It takes Time to Open them – so this causes one to Eat LESS nuts .
Dolores says:
February 28th 2010It’s fun to cram your mouth full of pistachios and then attempt to say, “PISTACHIOS!”
Get Crackin' With Pistachios | Fitness & Spice says:
February 28th 2010[...] are wonderful! I want to thank all of you who gave us some wonderful ideas on how to use pistachios last week. You can bet I’m going to be topping salads with a few nuts and making pistachio ice cream [...]
mary says:
February 28th 2010I, like other people, remember when they were red. We got red pistachios every Christmas from a family friend, and it was my brothers and my favorite gift!. I could hardly wait for the next year!
Liliana says:
March 3rd 2010I like a lot pistachios, but I didn’t know that they were so good! I will incorporate them more often to my nutritional plan.