Sometimes in the mornings when I drive my children to school the radio announcer will tell us what we can celebrate that day. It may be a well-known holiday or something smaller. For example, today, May 13^th, is International Hummus Day, National Crouton Day, and National Fruit Cocktail Day. We call it, ‘the day of the day’ and we get pretty excited about it.

I looked ahead on the calendar just a bit and found out that this Friday, May 17^th, is National Walnut Day. I am excited about this one because we have been getting some questions this past year about using walnuts in our Spend Smart. Eat Smart. recipes. We try to keep our recipes flexible, so you can use what you have on hand or what you like. But this is not always helpful when many people have a lot of one ingredient on hand – like walnuts.

Here is a list of Spend Smart. Eat Smart. recipes you can add chopped walnuts to:

• Chocolate Surprise Cupcakes: Top these cupcakes with walnuts for a yummy dessert.
• Club Salad: Use walnuts as the protein in these salads.
• Fruit Crisp: Mix ¼ cup of chopped walnuts into the fruit crisp topping.
• Oatmeal Cookies: Use ½ cup of chopped walnuts as the optional add-in for these cookies.
• Pumpkin Oatmeal: Any oatmeal can be topped with walnuts for some protein.
• Yogurt Parfaits: Add a sprinkle of chopped walnuts to the top of a yogurt parfait.
• Zesty Whole Grain Salad: Walnuts add a nice texture to this unique salad.

If you are finding yourself with some extra walnuts this Friday, enjoy them in one of these recipes.