The funny thing is that I didn't even know I liked pistachios until I started going to Will's parents' house for Christmas. I always thought pistachio ice cream was the weirdest idea ever (perhaps because I always expected it to be mint), and I just never took to the little ole pistachio. But Will's family always has a bowl of pistachios in the living room, with a smaller bowl sitting on top of the pile of nuts to catch the shells, and I quickly became addicted to these delicious nuts. Thank goodness they're one of the healthiest nuts out there - and thank goodness the shells remain as evidence of how many I've devoured! :)
Anyway, today is World Pistachio Day! Celebrate good times, come on! And now, a word from the wonderful folks at Wonderful Pistachios (you may know them from their funny ads).
February 26 is World Pistachio Day, encouraging us all to take a moment to reflect on the amazing history and modern day health benefits of this wonderful nut.
- Did you know that pistachios are one of the oldest flowering nut trees? Evidence suggests that humans were enjoying them as early as 7,000 B.C.!
- Dubbed “the skinny nut” by nutrition experts, pistachios are one of the lowest calorie, lowest fat nuts!
- U.S. President Barack Obama is a self proclaimed fan of snacking on pistachios!
- And in China, pistachios are given as a gift during the Chinese New Year and are known as the “happy nut” because they look like they are smiling. :)
- For more fun facts, click here!
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| Sweet map courtesy of the folks at Paramount Farms |
Ok, ok, pistachios are really good and all, but am I really just posting a whole post about pistachios for no reason other than because it's their special day? Well, as much as I love any reason to celebrate, the most awesome part of all this Pistachio Party Time is that one of you lucky readers is going to win a sweet stash of these salty snacks! The kind folks at Wonderful Pistachios are offering a giant (24 oz!) bag, as well as several small (8 oz) "snack" size bags as a way to celebrate World Pistachio Day. Which, again, is today. In case you missed that.
So how do you win? Leave a comment telling me how you deal with the shells. Do you keep a little bowl inside the big bowl? Do you scatter them all over the floor? Use them in your compost bin? Do you have a ridiculously awesome (but sort of mono-tasking) contraption like this? Let me know and you could win a pistash (ha ha, get it) of your own! For extra entries, tweet this contest, share it on facebook, and/or blog about it - and then come back here and leave a comment for each thing that you do. There is no limit to number of entries, so get crackin'!
I'll be choosing a comment at random, and the contest is officially closed on Tuesday 3/1/11 at 11:59pm PST.
Oh, and super awesome bonus? My friend Suki is also giving away pistachios! Her contest ends at 11:59pm TONIGHT though, so if you want to enter, head on over to her blog!
Little bowl next to nut bowl. All the way.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid I used to throw them into old plastic milk jugs and then seal up the top with masking tape. I'd use it as a musical insturment. It was my way of recycling the shells. Also, you can use them to make a rain stick if you take an old wrapping paper tube and drive some nails into it.
ReplyDelete-Andrew
I really can't know about World Pistachio Day! Thanks for shearing.
ReplyDelete