Nutrient-dense nuts are a great addition to your diet, but often pre-packaged nuts are seasoned and sugared making them a far less healthy snack choice.
This week’s #bebetter52 challenge is to incorporate healthy nuts into your diet. So many of the nuts consumed today are covered in sugars, salts, and seasonings that turn a healthy snack into an unhealthy treat. To be their healthiest, nuts should be naked and free of additives. Whether you choose to eat your nuts plain or mixed into your morning yoghurt or on top of your favorite salad, eating nuts in their bare state will allow you to receive the most benefits.
Tips for eating nuts:
Eat your nuts raw! Raw and unseasoned nuts offer the most nutrition without added calories or overly processed ingredients. When more “flavors” are added to your nuts, the healthy benefits are reduced.
Avoid roasted nuts. They tend to lose some of their nutritional value, so you get less bang for your buck. Roasted nuts also tend to be roasted in oils that add extra fat and calories to your diet. If you prefer roasted nuts to raw, we recommend either roasting them yourself without oil or, if you must, with olive oil.
Add nuts to your meals! Nuts make a great addition to salads, smoothie bowls, yogurt or even fruit salads. You will soon discover they add great texture to your meals.
Here are some of our favorite healthy nut choices:
Almonds. Almonds are filled with calcium, magnesium, vitamin E and fiber. They are known to lower cholesterol and to help prevent cancer.
Walnuts. Walnuts contain ellagic acid, an antioxidant that helps fight cancer. They are also great for your heart and brain.
Brazil Nuts. These nuts are a great source of protein, copper, niacin, magnesium, fiber, vitamin E and selenium.
Pine Nuts. Pine nuts contain vitamins A, B, D, E and P (flavonoids), and contain 70 percent of your body’s required amino acids.
Cashews. Cashews are rich in copper, magnesium, zinc, iron and biotin. They contain a high amount of oleic acid, which is great for your heart.