Ten Facts About

Cashew nuts with their protein-rich, low-salt appeal are the ideal accompaniment to a busy daily life but deliver even more value when you are exercising or following a training plan.

Chia is an annual flowering plant in the mint family native to Mexico and Guatemala. For centuries it was an important food source for the Aztecs but after invasion by the Spanish it mysteriously disappeared from farmers fields. 

Apricots have been a valued food for so long that just where and when they were first domesticated are facts lost in time. The scientific name Prunus Armeniaca links them to Armenia where they have certainly been grown for centuries and where fifty varieties are produced today.

Hazelnuts were one of the first foods picked in Britain. And we now know that those early humans could not have made healthier start. Twenty first century research shows that eating hazelnuts as with other nuts daily can cut our risk of dying early by a fifth. 

Brazils are packed with monounsaturated fats which are linked to lowering cholesterol levels and protecting heart health. In a large handful of nuts (6-9 kernels, 25g) almost half of the weight is made up of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. It also contains 3.5g of protein and almost as much carbohydrates.

The first question you ask when you discover quinoa is …how do you pronounce it? Well the word derives from an Andean language called Quechua. In that original the word is kinua or kinoa and pronounced kee-no-ah.

Sunflower seeds are a storehouse of vitamins and minerals? A handful, around 35g or just over an ounce, contains over 80 per cent of your daily requirement for Vitamin E, 70 per cent of your copper need.

Pumpkins are part of the gourd family known to science as Cucurbita which is native North and South America. Archaeologists have found evidence in Mexico that the plants were being grown and improved there as long as 10,000 years ago, much earlier than maize and beans.

Dates are one of the oldest cultivated crops on earth. Date palms have been grown for so long – certainly thousands of years – that no one can be sure of the start date or where the story began.

Goji berries are the fruit of a woody shrub in the nightshade family that also includes the potato, tomato and tobacco. When the bright red fruits form from purple flowers they are shaped like elongated grapes and are prone to damage.

Prunes are not what they used to be. At least not from an image point of view. Once an unappealing product associated with curing digestive issues they are now becoming recognised as a nutritious dried fruit with a flavour – and sweetness – deserving of a place in healthier mealtimes and elegant recipes.