Emerald 100 Calorie Almond Packs *Review*

These days, it seems grocery store shelves are absolutely littered with "low calorie" or "100 calorie" snack packs.  They usually come in the form of a cardboard box labeled with some colorful picture of a very yummy looking cookie, cracker, or combination of the two.  Sometimes they come with a little bit of frosting, other times they have intricate lacy designs dancing across the surface of these mini cakes.  If you've ever bought a box, you know it's filled with perfectly portioned little foil baggies topped off with miniature versions of the cover art, dry little cakes that aren't much bigger than your fingernails (or more plentiful.)  Rarely do they taste very good, and I can guarantee that almost NEVER will they leave you the least bit satisfied.  Not to mention, despite being only 100 calories, these little treats aren't the least bit healthy for you.  They're filled with artificial ingredients that'll encourage your body to hold onto that body fat you're trying so hard to lose.  Ladies and gentleman, there is an alternative to the nasty 100 calorie snack cake fad.

Luckily for you, this solution comes pre-packaged, therefore you'll get the portions right every single time.  AND it's loaded with tons of vitamins, minerals, protein, healthy fats, and low in carbohydrates.  And guess what else, it's a much tastier product than any of those stupid little crackers.  What is this revolutionary low calorie snack pack?  They're called Emerald 100 Calorie Almond Packs.  Now Emerald is a big name in nuts (check out their website here: http://emeraldnuts.com/press/images/products/Emerald_family.jpg), and I believe that these 100 calorie snack packs are probably one of the smartest ideas they could've come up with.  You get around 20 nuts per package (or maybe like 25, I'll have to count next time I have a pack), which equals out to be about 100 calories exactly.  Here's the nutritional label for each snack pack:

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 18g (1 pack)

Amount per Serving:  Calories 100

Calories from Fat 81.0

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 9g    13%

Saturated Fat 0.6g    3%

Cholesterol 0mg    0%

Sodium 150mg    6%

Total Carbohydrate 4g    1%

Dietary Fiber 2g    8%

Sugars 1g

Protein 4g    6%

Est. Percent of Calories from:

Fat 71.7%

Carbs 17.7%

Protein 10.6%

So what exactly is so great about these little packets of almonds?  Well, obviously it has to do with the properties of almonds themselves.  Not only are almonds one of the healthiest nuts you could ever consume, they're very satisfying and therefore will leave you more full than you might expect (and definitely more full than a 100 calorie cookie pack.)  With plain, roasted almonds, you get all sorts of remarkable health benefits:

Healthy Fats:  Almonds have a very large amount of unsaturated, heart healthy fat.  The fat in almonds has been shown to lower LDL (bad) cholesterol quite effectively, and will also prevent unneccessary inflammation in your body.

Lower Risk of Obesity/Weight Gain:  That's right, you read correctly.  The fats in almonds (and other nuts) has actually been shown (in several studies) to DECREASE the risk of weight gain.  Here's a little blurb from an article regarding the subject:

The 28-month study involving 8,865 adult men and women in Spain, found that participants who ate nuts at least two times per week were 31% less likely to gain weight than were participants who never or almost never ate nuts.

That's pretty awesome, isn't it?  So while nuts may be calorie dense, they definitely will NOT add fat to your figure if enjoyed in moderation.  And, because fat is satiating, you're more likely to remain full for longer after consuming a 100 calorie almond pack, which can keep your calories for the rest of your day in check.  Neat!

Protein:  While almonds aren't the greatest source of protein out there, you still get a good 4 grams of protein per 100 calorie Emerald almond pack, which is nothing to be scoffed at.  The protein in almonds can help you to sustain lean muscle mass, which will in turn keep your metabolism running full tilt and your fat loss efforts at a maximum.

Vitamins/Minerals:  Almonds are packed with all sorts of those little healthful vitamins and minerals our bodies need to stay healthy, and each almond pack has 25% of your daily vitamin E, 4% of your daily iron, and 4% of your daily calcium as well.  That's a pretty good profile for such a pocket sized snack!

Now before I conclude, I'd like to personally vouch for these almond packs as being one of the greatest things that's ever happened to my college diet.  They're incredibly versatile, portable, and can be incorporated into your diet no matter what your goal may be.  Want to lose weight?  It can be easily done with these packets, they'll fill you up and put your body into fat burning mode.  Want to pack on the muscle?  It's easy to throw a couple of these packets in your belly to increase your daily calorie consumption and give your muscles protein and healthy fats to help develop more lean mass.  I personally use them for the latter purpose, and find they compliment a meal of canned salmon quite nicely, and give my body a little more material to work with when it comes to my muscle building goals.

All in all these 100 calorie almond packs from Emerald are probably one of the smartest choices you can make when it comes to mid day snacking.  They're easy to carry just about anywhere, and are EXTREMELY healthy.  They've got all sorts of nutrients that your body needs to really become a lean, mean, muscular fat burning machine.  Not to mention that these almonds are absolutely DELICIOUS.

So what are you waiting for?  Pick up a package, you won't regret it, and your body will finally thank you for the elimination of those nasty snack cakes.



GOOD LUCK!

Vegetables: To Cook or not to Cook?

I've always been intrigued by the debate about which is healthier:  Cooked vegetables or raw vegetables.  The claim by many is that cooking vegetables removes significant levels of the nutrients in them, therefore they become less beneficial to the human body.  The other side of the argument (which I tend to lean toward) is the fact that we as humans have weak digestive systems, and are unable to process much of the raw, fibrous plant matter contained in uncooked vegetables, so while even though more nutrients may be present in raw veggies, we can't actually absorb them.  There's good data for both sides of this argument, and many reasons to mix it up and have both cooked and raw veggies in your diet.

Reasons to cook vegetables:

1.  Easily accessible nutrients:  Across the board, all the vitamins present in vegetables (A, B1, B2, B3, C, E, etc.) tend to be more easily absorbed because the vegetables are softer, and easier to digest.  This means theoretically that while cooked vegetables have a tad less of each vitamin compared to their raw counterpart, you end up getting MORE of those leftover nutrients than you would have gotten originally if you'd just eaten the vegetable raw.

(Here's a chart displaying the amount of each main vitamin in various vegetables when they're both raw and cooked:  http://www.beyondveg.com/tu-j-l/raw-cooked/raw-cooked-2f.shtml)

2.  Beta Carotene- This extremely powerful nutrient present in many vegetables (especially carrots) is absorbed much more readily when the vegetables are lightly steamed.  Beta Carotene converts to Vitamin A in the body, which will aid in eyesight (ever heard the myth that if you eat enough carrots you can see in the dark?)

3.  Antioxidants- Same deal here.  Useful antioxidants like carotenoids and ferulic acid are utilized by the body much more effectively if vegetables are steamed or boiled.   

4.  They taste better!  At least this is what the majority of people agree upon.  I am partial to cooked vegetables myself, they're quite delicious, warm, easy to chew, and the flavors are much more palatable.  My friends would be a little stunned to see this because I'm usually munching on a pack of raw baby carrots or a stick of celery.  However if given the choice, I'll choose cooked every time.

5.  You can eat more of them!  Cooked veggies aren't as fibrous as raw veggies, and therefore won't fill you up as fast.  That means you can cram more of those useful nutrients down your gullet before your body tells you to stop.  On a muscle building diet, this is a must.  

6.  Anti nutrients are destroyed:  These things won't kill you, but they definitely won't help you.  But what exactly is an anti nutrient?  A good analogy is an apple seed.  The seeds are the valuable part of the apple, and the apple tree doesn't want you to eat its future offspring, therefore apple seeds have evolved to contain traces of cyanide.  Raw grains contain many anti nutrients, and the amount you absorb can be reduced by cooking them before consumption.  This destroys a good portion of those pesky little devils, and the analogy holds true with vegetables (mostly beans) as well.  

Reasons to leave them raw:

1.  They fill you up!  Raw vegetables are extremely fibrous, especially greens like lettuce, broccoli, celery, and spinach.  These foods all are extremely low calorie, healthy snacks that can fill your belly in a heartbeat if you're having one of those hungry hungry hippo moments.  Try a cup of raw broccoli sometime.  No, it may not taste great, but you'll definitely feel like you've eaten a significant meal.  

2.  Easy to snack on:  Raw veggies are easy to pack up.  Try packing a bag full of carrots, celery, pepper slices, and broccoli and I guarantee you'll end up with a filling snack that didn't take more than two minutes to make.  Raw vegetables are firm and robust, and won't be easily crushed.  They're relatively dry as well, so you won't soak the rest of your lunch by accident.  Plus, raw vegetables give that satisfying crunch, and if you can get used to the natural taste, you're golden.  

3.  More Vitamin C:  This vitamin tends to be the one that gets the bad end of the stick when veggies are cooked.  Much of the vitamin C is destroyed by steaming, boiling, or frying, so if you're looking for a little more in your diet (and you should be) then crunch on a few raw veggies today.  

4.  They make your body work!  Have you ever heard of negative calorie foods?  Well stop thinking about them right now, because there are huge debates on whether they exist or not, and the evidence is leaning toward a big fat NO.  However that doesn't mean your body isn't expending large amounts of energy to digest raw foods such as celery and broccoli, and the few calories that are in those foods make them great choices to give your digestive system a workout.  This isn't a pointless endeavor, a healthy digestive system can save you from all sorts of health troubles later in life.  The fiber in those tomatoes will only do you good!  

I say have them both ways!  Veggies are good for you no matter if they're steamed, boiled, fried, cooked, or right off the vine.  I love the way they taste each way, and once you try a few I bet you'll like them too.  Buy some baby carrot packs and much on them at work, or on a walk, or while you're outside reading a book, or while you're cooking dinner, whenever, wherever however you like!  In my opinion, there isn't really ever a bad time to have some vegetables.  

Load those plates high, crunch into a few carrots, and enjoy!