Peanuts are Not Nuts? You Must Be Nuts.

Veggie Daddy Fact: Peanuts are not nuts, they are legumes.

"What the hell are legumes?" you might be asking. That's a good question. Is that one of the four food groups? Let's see...If I remember way back in 3rd grade, I believe, I remember being told with a slide presentation at Hermosa View Middle School in Hermosa Beach, California that there are four basic food groups: Meat, Dairy, Bread, and...gosh, I can't remember the fourth one. I'm pretty sure it wasn't legumes, though. Oh yeah, fruits and vegetables. (How could I forget that? Now I feel silly...)

I just learned that peanuts are not nuts yesterday, so I thought I'd share it with you, too. Chances are high this is new info for you as well. And schools clearly exaggerate the dangers of peanut allergies, somehow jumping from peanuts to all tree nuts. If you're a vegetarian, this clearly presents a problem when you're trying to find something to bring in your kid's lunch. You want to feed your child, but the nut police are waiting there to grab you.

This actually happened, you know. Last year, one of my girls had a Cliff Bar on her person at lunch time. The woman on duty instantly snatched her lunch away from her and threw it in some peanut-infested food incinerator they probably keep there in the basement of the school. Needless to say, my girl went hungry. Yet most of the research I've found out there says peanuts aren't that dangerous. Not only that, they're not even nuts!

The kicker of this story is that the Cliff Bar she had didn't have any nuts in them. But the label said the product (yes, it's processed, I realize that--more on that later) MAY contain nuts. This clearly establishes that the nut police are out full-force. I think it's called ZERO TOLERANCE. That's like getting fined because you might be driving over the speed limit. Yikes, you wouldn't want to do that!

FOOD DIARY

2:30 P.M.

Snack: one home-made vegan chocolate peanut-butter muffin (the horror!), 1 big glass of water

(everything I eat is vegan unless I specify otherwise)

No, my daughter can't eat this crap at school, just as well, though; she might kill some poor kid sitting next to her who might accidentally be caught licking the crumbs off the floor, even though they know just what happens to them if they eat something infested with nuts, er, legumes because of their peanut allergy.

Almonds? Nope. Pistachios? Nope. Cashews? Nope. Brazil Nuts? For Godsakes, no!

Eat Bright,

Veggie Daddy

P.S. Still hungry after your meal? Try drinking a big glass of water. The way you feel might surprise you. It sure did me.

And yes, the muffin was oh-so-delicious! I can feel the plant proteins vibrating through my entire being.