My New Favorite Superfood

Almonds, who knew? For years I have eaten them on occasion, knowing they were good for me somehow. But upon investigating for myself, trying to create a simple list of healthier things to consume for my body, almonds are now one of my favorites!

I become so depressed about all of the 'can't haves' when trying to create healthier eating habits, that I decided to put together a list of things I should be eating. What I found was literally a new Food Group (not really, just all the good stuff put together in one understandable category!), the SuperFoods. Being as picky an eater as I am, I was pleasantly surprised to see so many food items that are in the SuperFoods categories, one of them being almonds.

Why are they so great? For one thing, after I eat a handful, (depending upon the size of your hand, or just measure out 1/4 cup of them), which comes in to just around 200 calories, I feel full! Here's why:

Each serving of raw almonds (19 almonds/180 cal.) provides the following:

14 grams of fat - 10 g monounsaturated

3 g polyunsaturated (source of Omega-6/Omega-3)

1 g saturated

0 mg cholesterol

0 mg sodium

6 g carbohydrates

3 g dietary fiber

1 g sugars

7 g protein

8% calcium

6% iron

Also, these nutrients: vitamin E, magnesium, manganese, and folate, with small amounts of iron, niacin, riboflavin, copper and zinc.

That's a lot of great nutrition packed into a handful of almonds! Anyway, I learned that I can contribute that feeling of fullness to all of those 'good for you' kind of fats. And they work great, by the way! Not to mention, the fiber and protein content is a great bonus. Besides the enjoyment factor of snacking on almonds, they are also said to have the following health benefits:

A daily serving can help to lower LDL (the bad cholesterol) by 10%

The Vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant, is thought to reduct the risk of heart disease and certain types of cancer

The Magnesium helps to regulate blood pressure

Aid in weight loss

Almonds have been an obvious incorporation into my daily routine. I find myself grabbing a handful around 3 o'clock in the afternoon when starvation starts to hit, easily holding me off until dinner time.

I have to admit, as a mom who is a fanatic about spending less, it is hard for me to shell out the money for almonds. We currently purchase the Kirkland Signature Raw Almonds at Costco. I just checked Costco.com (on-line ordering of almonds apparently only available to business members) and they are currently retailing at $11.75 for a 3lb. bag. Kind of steep, however, the benefits of this little diamond in the rough far outweighs its cost, so they have become a regular purchase for us. And, eating only a handful a day allows that 3lb. bag to last a while.

I figure my new almond habit is one small part of fitting healthier foods into my diet. One step at a time, one new SuperFood at a time, building better health today, saving on health costs later. Have a great day :)