It’s National Macadamia Nut Day, so today’s tip is to add some to your meals.

Believed to have originated in Australia, the nuts grow on a genus of evergreen trees. They were named after named after John Macadam, a botanist who first described the genus.

While macadamia nuts contain even more heart-healthy monounsaturated fats than the nuts included on the FDA’s recommended list of heart-healthy nuts, they did not make the list because of their caloric density. (The FDA recommends that an ounce of nuts a day can be part of a heart-healthy diet.)

A one-ounce serving of dry roasted macadamia nuts, about 10 nuts, has 200 calories.* But that doesn’t mean that you can’t include them in your meals—just don’t eat them by the bowl full. According to a 2008 study in the Journal of Nutrition, a diet rich in macadamia nuts may lower LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol (it’s the monounsaturated “good” fats lower blood pressure and cholesterol).

Macadamia nuts. Photo by Fotostreet | IST.

(Dog owners note: Like chocolate, macadamias are toxic to canines.)

WAYS TO ENJOY MACADAMIA NUTS

Some of our favorite uses:

 
Macadamia Butter

Pick up a jar of macadamia butter at a natural foods store (Artisana macadamia nut butter was a NIBBLE Top Pick Of The Week).

Use it as you would peanut butter—as a spread, in ice cream, in baking, in sauces. We like it as a sauce with this easy fish recipe, which serves 6:

FISH FILETS WITH MACADAMIA BUTTER

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COOK THE FISH. Lightly rub fish fillets with oil and sprinkle with salt. Sauté or steam, as you prefer (you can also fry them). Move to a warm serving platter.

2. MAKE THE SAUCE. Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the macadamia butter and cook over low heat for 1 minute.

3. PLATE & SERVE. Plate the fish, pour the macadamia butter sauce over the fillets. Garnish the fillets with chopped parsley and chopped macadamia nuts. Serve with a lemon wedge, your favorite green vegetable, steamed, and brown rice, quinoa or other whole grain.

More recipes.

Find more of our favorite nuts and nut butters.

 
*It also contains 2 g of fiber, 2 g of protein and 20 g of fat (including 4 g of saturated fat); 15% of the daily value (DV) for thiamine, 8% DV for magnesium, 6% DV for vitamin B6 and phosphorus, 4% DV for niacin and iron and 2% DV for zinc and calcium.