Of all the healthy nuts, walnuts are the
healthiest. Photo by J. Eltovski | Morguefile.

Pistachios are just one of seven healthy nuts recommended by the USDA for daily snacking.

The “Magnificent Seven” healthy nuts include:

 
You can have one or one-and-a-half ounces per day—as a snack, in salads and yogurt parfaits and mixed with rice and other grains. There’s a place for nuts in every meal of the day.

Then there was Nutella, a brand-name spread of chocolate and ground hazelnuts.

Completing the trio is biscoff spread, relatively new to the U.S. It was invented in 2007 on a Belgian reality tv show. When it was introduced commercially, it sold out in three hours.

Biscoff spread is made of ground spice cookies called spéculoos in Europe and biscoff in the U.S. If you like ginger and cinnamon, you may find it even more delicious than peanut butter and Nutella.

Check out our Top Pick Of The Week, biscoff spread from Lotus Bakeries.

As with PB and Nutella, you can use it on everything from bagels and toast to dips and frosting. The review has plenty of ideas and recipes.

Hot cross buns: an Easter tradition. Photo
courtesy Amy’s Bread.

Hot cross buns are sweet yeast buns made with raisins or currants and decorated with a cross. The cross was originally made with knife cuts in the dough; today it’s piped or spooned on with icing.

The cross symbolizes the Crucifixion, and the buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday. The first recorded use of the term “hot cross bun” appears in 1733.

However, the buns have much earlier roots. As with some other Christian traditions, this one is believed to predate Christianity. Similar buns were eaten by Saxons to honor Eostre, the goddess of spring, whose name is probably the origin of “Easter.” In pre-Christian times, the cross is believed to have symbolized the four quarters of the moon.

Celebrate Easter—or celebrate spring if you don’t celebrate Easter—by baking a batch of delicious hot cross buns with this recipe.

The recipe is courtesy Amy’s Bread Revised and Updated, by Amy Scherber and Toy Kim Dupree.

But how about a superior avocado, packaged for healthy gift-giving as a one-time gift or a monthly club?

Such avocados are grown by a fourth-generation farmer who took a page from the 21st century playbook and is selling his avocados online. They’re handpicked for you and shipped directly from his farm to your table.

Joseph Holtz, from a farming family in Alsace Lorraine, immigrated to California in 1902 and began to farm. He sold eggs, dairy, honey and avocados, among other products. Farming became the profession of his sons and grandsons. The tradition of family farming, a dedication to pristine quality agriculture, has been passed down through each generation.

Today, great-grandson Ben Holtz focuses on growing Hass avocados, the extra-creamy variety that represents 95% of avocados sold in the U.S. They are named after Rudolph Hass (rhymes with pass), a postman who patented the variety in 1935.

In addition to avocados in medium and large sizes, there are kits with salsa or guacamole fixings.

Every avocado has been nurtured with artisan care and is guaranteed to be delivered in perfect condition. If you want to send a healthy gift, a nutrient-dense selection of hand-picked California avocados fits the bill.

Avocados contain some 20 different types of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, the latter thought to prevent many chronic diseases. The fats are mono- and polyunsaturated “good” fats, recommended as part of a healthy diet. Naturally sodium-free and cholesterol-free, avocados act as a nutrient booster by enabling the body to absorb more fat-soluble nutrients, when eaten with foods that contain alpha- and beta-carotene and lutein.

We enjoyed our avocado gift box, eating most of the avocados straight from the shell. The fruits* come with a letter from Farmer Holtz, stating the date they were picked and the date they will be ripe enough to eat. They won’t ripen for at least a week, giving recipients plenty of time to plan how to use them.

*Avocados are a tree fruit, not a vegetable.

If you need a healthy thank-you gift for Easter dinner, or a nutritious gift for Mother’s Day, send these delicious avocados. Buy online here.
  

Colorful and delicious. Photo courtesy Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery.

You’ll need two dried apricots for each “sandwich.”

 
This recipe is courtesy Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery, one of our favorite cheesemakers.

Find more of our favorite cheeses and recipes in our Gourmet Cheese Section.