5 Healthy Ways of Adding Almonds to Your Daily Diet

Nuts are known to be healthy - they are full of essential nutrients and minerals that are good for your well-being. These are a bite-sized nutrient package that most of us do not include enough of in our diet. Nuts are a great option if you're looking for a quick fix to eat healthier.

Amongst nuts, almonds are considered to be one of the healthiest. A handful of these nuts have protein, vitamin E, fibre, riboflavin and many other essential nutrients that ensure a wholesome and healthy life. Almonds are nutrient rich and also make a delicious snack that offers natural goodness in every bite.

In fact, an interesting study published in the England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) revealed that people who ate a 28g serving of nuts such as almonds, at least seven times per week had a 20 percent lower all-cause mortality rate (death from any cause) compared to those who did not eat nuts.

Almonds are also a weight-wise snack which has been proved in various scientific research studies such as the one published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The study found that study participants consuming 43 grams of dry-roasted, lightly salted almonds every day experienced reduced hunger and improved dietary vitamin E and monounsaturated ("good") fat intake without increasing body weight.

Hence, to make sure you reap all these benefits of almonds, here are 5 healthy ways of adding almonds to your daily diet:

Make the Healthy Swap

We are all familiar with untimely hunger pangs. It is difficult to ignore them and we often end up wondering about healthy alternatives. A handful of almonds can be just that! Keep them handy and you are good to go. Start with replacing that bag of cookies, in your drawer/bag that you gobble down while at work, with some wholesome almonds. Easy to store in a jar or mint box, these tasty nuts can keep you from consuming unnecessary junk in between meals and help maintain a balanced diet.

Power breakfast with almonds

Almonds make a great addition to any meal. Since breakfast is said to be the most important meal of the day, you can make it wholesome by adding these nuts to your favourite choice breakfast. These not only add a healthy crunch to your breakfast but also help enhance its nutritional value.

Post Workout Snack!

While exercising every day is essential for a healthy and fit body, it is also important to keep a check on the post-workout snacks we consume. More often than not, we find ourselves reaching out to anything and everything to munch on, post a workout session. However, what we do not realize is that we end up gaining back the calories we burnt at the gym right before. Hence, introducing a habit of munching on almonds post a rigorous exercise helps keep a check on this, in addition to providing essential nutrients and taste.

'Chai' Time with Almonds

Taking a break with a hot cup of chai or coffee is an everyday ritual for all of us. Be it at home or at our workplace, we always make time for that well-deserved cuppa. However, our chai time experience is never complete without its accompaniments. However, like we all know how unhealthy our regular fried namkeen is, some dry roasted and flavoured almonds can be the healthy choice to make. The delicious crunch of almonds can complement your hot beverage at any time of the day. You can also try different almond snack recipes such as the Sweet Chilli Almonds recipe, for a flavorful chai time.

Top your Salad with almonds 

Salads - a go-to choice for weight watchers, can be made healthier and taste better by adding almonds in it. Especially since the concept of salads is no longer limited to the raw greens, various, exciting recipes can be prepared using healthy vegetables and fruits which almonds sprinkled over them. One such salad you can try is the almond, oranges and roast pumpkin salad.

Source: Anurup A