I've placed all your questions and the answers to your questions in this reply just in case you've missed them.

What you are allowed to eat and not eat is up to you. You make up your own rules within low-carb guidelines. Some people don't eat peanut butter or peanuts, but if you want to, you can. Some people eat dairy, some don't.

I don't eat peanut butter, but that's because I've decided that it's not part of my program and I would rather use my carbs on vegetables instead of snacks. Everyone has their own rules.

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Question: I heard macadamian nuts and almonds are the best. My question is how many am i allowed to have at a time? also. are pistachios o.k.? i heard cashews are really bad. any info. on peanuts will be helpful. and another question? how do peanuts fit into the program?

Answer: How many you can eat depends upon how many carbs you want to eat in a day and whether or not nuts stall you.

There is a carb counter in Low Carb Tools in the orange bar, top of the page. It will give you the carb counts for different varieties of nuts.

Question: I understand we are suppose to be eating a lot of protein but my question is:

if i eat a piece of fruit for a snack (of course, a low carb fruit) - do i have to eat protein with it or can i eat it alone?

Answer: best to eat protein with it to moderate the insulin effect (re-read your chapter in PP on insulin for more info)

Question: so for example, if i eat a half of an apple or a tangerine, or some strawberries - should i eat peanuts or peanut butter with it?

Answer: Nope! Peanuts are a legume, not a nut. A better choice would be a piece of cheese.

Question: a legume? i thought we are allowed to eat pistachios, almonds, etc. i also thought peanut butter is allowed because it is high in protein. am i totally wrong?

Answer: As Karen pointed out, peanuts are not really nuts - they are legumes which is basically the bean family. So whether you can eat almonds and other nuts has no bearing on whether you can eat peanuts.

Although peanuts have a pretty low glycemic index, they do contain considerable carbohydrates - about 18% by weight. So you can probably eat them but be sure to include the carbs in your daily totals - don't let them become a major source of hidden carbs.

Karen