What the hell are Pili Nuts?
If you’ve never heard of the Pili Nut, then obviously you’re not following me on Instagram, so go ahead and fix that right now (IG: depasi_fitness).
Sourced from the Phillippines, these are the perfect keto nut. Super high fat, low protein and super low carb. Apparently they are quite popular in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but Americans haven’t caught on yet. Possibly because most people here in The Land of Obesity aren’t super excited about high fat products, which is unfortunate. If you're not on board with the whole keto thing, I've included instructions for a Pili Nut Coffee Creamer at the end which can be worked into a lower fat nutrition plan.
The Pili Nut is high in calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, thiamine, and my favorite- saturated fats. Although Stephen James Organics (currently one of the main Pili Nut retailers in the U.S.), Wikipedia, and a few other sources consistently state that the Pili has “the highest Vitamin E content of any nut”, I’ve looked into this and can’t find any actual data confirming this in the research. Nutritiondata.com doesn’t even list any Vitamin E at all in Pili Nuts.
But whatever, who cares. As a keto eater, we’re getting plenty of vitamins and minerals from eating the whole animal, and the reason for the excitement about this unique nut (aside from the taste) is the macronutrient ratios, not the micronutrients.
If you want them skinned, dehydrated, and sprouted, you can pay $4 per ounce from the aforementioned Stephen James Organics, or you can go with what I used in these recipes, Divine Organics, which come out to $1.50 per ounce and they also have a far better fat:carb:protein ratio. The latter seems to be the better choice, personally.
Pili nuts taste great raw, similar to a really big Pine nut, but not exactly. However, the skin tastes like tree bark, and not in a good way, which somewhat masks the true flavor of the nut. They’re still good with the skin on, but make sure you try them skinless as well (see blanching method below).
When making pretty much any other nut milk at home, for example, almond milk, you have to soak the nuts for 8-12 hours before you can even get started (on that note, if you do want to make home-made almond milk 5x cheaper than store-bought, Vanessa Romero has a great recipe here). Not so with the Pili, due to the super high fat content, these bad boys are ready to rock right out of the bag, saving you an overnight nut-soak. You also typically need a food processor or a high-powered blender like a Vitamix, but because Pili nuts are so soft and fatty, pretty much any standard blender will do. They’re really just begging for a reason to become liquid.
I’m going to cover two different ways to make Pili Nut Milk, blanching and cheesecloth straining. The chocolate recipe utilizes and explains blanching, while the vanilla recipe covers the cheesecloth method. Personally I prefer blanching, but I wanted to offer both methods, as the total time and effort required are pretty similar, so it’s really just personal preference.
Both of these exceeded my expectations as far as taste, this stuff is crazy good.
Chocolate Pili Nut Milk (blanching method)
Ingredients & tools
Sea Salt (a pinch or three)
4 cups cold filtered water
Small pot filled with 3C tap water for boiling
Strainer (wire mesh)
Instructions
Put about 3C water (doesn’t have to be exact) in a small pot and bring to a boil.
Add 1/2C Pili Nuts
Boil for 1 minute and 45 seconds
Pour the contents of pot into a wire strainer (not plastic) over the sink to collect the nuts
Dump the nuts on a plate in a single layer and let them cool (5 min)
Grab a small bowl to put the nuts in after you remove the skins.
Now that they’ve been blanched, the nut should slide right out of the skin with minor protest.
Grab a nut by one end and give it a firm squeeze, using your other hand as a backstop so it doesn’t shoot across the room (yeah, I did that). About 90% of the time the whole nut will just pop out and you can toss it in the small bowl, setting the skin aside. Occasionally you’ll have to do a little more work removing some stubborn skins, but it’s still a pretty quick process.
I've decide ed to treat you to some sexy jazz while I skin these nuts, you're welcome.
Add the filtered water and nuts to the blender.
Blend on highest power for about 2-3min, or until you can visibly see through the glass that all the chunks of nuts are gone.
Remove lid, add Walden Farms Chocolate Syrup and Sea Salt.
Here I went with some Ocean's Eleven-esque style theme music, because things are getting pretty intense
Blend about 45 more seconds.
Pour into a carafe (or individual 8oz. servings into mason jars, as shown in the vanilla recipe below).
And you're all done-zo! It will taste best after being chilled, so throw it in the fridge and pace around in nervous anticipation for a few minutes, then when your significant other starts asking questions just read some more articles on my blog for an hour, then, drink up.
Vanilla Pili Nut Milk (Cheese cloth method)
Ingredients & tools
2 tsp. vanilla extract
25 drops liquid stevia
4 cups cold filtered water
Sea Salt (a pinch or three)
Strainer
Cheesecloth (spellcheck is telling me this is a single word, but I really want to hyphenate it. I face such tough decisions on a daily basis.)
Small/medium pot or bowl, something that won’t be too hard to accurately pour contents out of
4 Mason Jars (optional, you can also use a carafe or whatever)
Instructions
This method is easier at the beginning, then kind of a pain in the ass at the end.
Add the water, Pili Nuts, stevia, vanilla, sea salt to blender.
Blend for 2-3 minutes, or until you can visibly see through the glass that all the chunks of nuts are gone. There will still be some dark bits of skins floating around.
Once it becomes fully blended, the skins will give it a dark appearance.
Now line your strainer with cheesecloth.
Place the lined strainer in your pourable pot or bowl, and slowly pour in the contents. After you fill up the strainer, you'll need to lift it out of the pot to allow it to drain.
This is a slowwwww process. It can help to stir the straining contents around with a spoon when the narrow stream starts to slow or stop.
Once you’re left with a bunch of wet solids and no more visible liquid, grab a ladle and smash the pulp into the cheese cloth to get the rest of the liquid out.
Next, pour the contents of the pot into mason jars, adding 8oz to each. Or pour it all into a carafe or whatever, but I like the mason jars as you know the exact macronutrients of each glass.
Nutrition Info (same for chocolate and vanilla)
Here’s the Pili Nut label, but fear not, I’ll do the math for you.
Total Per Batch (4 Cups):
Fat: 48g
Protein: 6g
Carbs: 2g
Total Per Serving (1 Cup):
Fat: 12g
Protein: 1.5g
Carbs: 0.5g
Allergen/Intolerance Info
Dairy Free
Wheat Free (and gluten free, but I hate the word gluten)
Soy Free
Egg Free
Nightshade Free
Anti-freeze Free
Anthrax Free
Update- Coffee Creamer Recipes
Pili Nut Coffee Creamers
I get that not everybody reading my blog is on board with the keto lifestyle, which means that an 8oz. beverage with 12g of fat is not super appealing. Not a problem. You can still work in the delicious Pili Nut flavor without having to eat rice cakes the rest of the day to hit your macronutrient percentages. But everybody loves coffee right? Here's how to adjust.
Chocolate Pili Nut Coffee Creamer:
1C. Pili Nuts (blanched & peeled)
2C. Cold, filtered water
4 TBSP Walden Farms Calorie Free Chocolate Syrup
30 drops liquid stevia
1/8 tsp. sea salt
Vanilla Pili Nut Coffee Creamer
1C. Pili Nuts
2C. Cold, filtered water
2 tsp. vanilla extract
35 drops liquid stevia
1/8 tsp. sea salt
Pili Nut Coffee Creamer Nutrition Facts (per TBSP)
Fat: 3g
Carbs: 0g
Protein: 0g
Hope you guys enjoy these recipies as much as I do. If any of my readers experiment with a new flavor/recipe on their own, share it in the comments!
