Jun 04, 2019

Nuts: benefits, snack suggestions and fitness recipe

Healthy eating has some mandatory things, such as eating several times a day, drinking 1,5 L of water and including several food groups in your meals. However, some others can and should be decided by us, or with the support of a nutritionist, such as the amount of food we should consume on a daily basis and the best times to ingest certain foods.

Nuts belong to the group of unsaturated fats, which is many times seen as the bad guy in every diet due to the high number of calories. Yet, they are vital for development and our body’s vital functions, and they are a good option for a weight loss or weight management diet.

Many nuts, such as almonds, walnuts, cashews and peanuts contain that essential nutrient and can be eaten raw, as a simple healthy everyday snack, or used in various recipes.

Suggestions of healthy snacks with nuts

Besides being ideal as a healthy snack option for losing weight, nuts can be perfect for taking to work, school or whatever your routine is while keeping a balanced nutrition in short time intervals during the day.

Here are some interesting snack options so that you can add them to other ingredients and products of your choosing:

Soy yoghurt with a crumbled almond topping
Diced fruit with peanut butter
Homemade granola (nut mix) instead of cereal
Rice cakes with a flavoured peanut topping

Check out CSN's impressive nut collection

Fitness recipe with nuts

This recipe is a great option for different purposes – whether to take with you to work or simply to enjoy at home. The advantage of nuts is the diversity of applications they have. They can be used at any moment of the day and with any recipe, sweet or savoury. In this case, my suggestion is a pie that can be an afternoon snack, part of your breakfast or just a dessert.

I have chosen almonds as the good fat for this recipe, but I’ve also added other very tasty ingredients which are, above all, healthy! Follow the below steps to enjoy this delicious recipe.

Ingredients

2 russet apples (preferably)
2 cups of almonds
1 cup of peanut butter
1 cup of pitted dates
Cinnamon to taste

Preparation

Base:

Start by placing the almonds (or any nut – choose your favourite) in the grinder until they are completely ground.
Add the peanut butter and the pitted dates to the ground almonds. Grind it all again to obtain a homogeneous mix.
Place this paste in a baking tin and make sure it’s spread evenly. It’s supposed to look like the base of a cheesecake.

Topping:

Peel the apples and cut them into small thin slices.
Lay the apples in a row on top of the mixture you’ve placed in the baking tin.
Bake it in the oven at 140 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Tip: even though this takes 20 minutes in the oven, I advise you to check it from time to time so that it doesn’t burn.

Enjoy!