Almonds

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Almonds are a healthy addition to your balanced diet. They are a good source of fat, protein, trace minerals, vitamin e, etc. They are high in calcium and have shown in clinical studies to aid in weight loss as part of a healthy diet.

I can not stand raw almonds. I can choke them down if I have to, but they are not good. They have a bitter flavor and get stuck in my teeth-yuck. So, since I happen to have a bag of raw almonds here (donated by my MIL, an avid almond consumer) I've been trying to eat them. But, I just can't. For the first couple days of the diet I tried to chew them up quick and follow it with some water to wash it down but still, they are sick and I realized, if I'm not enjoying the food I'm eating, I'm not going to enjoy my diet and I'm not going to be able to stick to it. So, I roasted them myself!

I put about a half cup of almonds in a baggie with about a teaspoon of vegetable oil and then laid them out on a foil covered cookie sheet. I lightly salted them and baked for 10 minutes. They turned out great! I'm not feeling bad about the oil or the salt since they were just thinly coated and the salt makes them taste so much better and we have almost nothing processed on this diet so I'm not overly concerned with my sodium intake. They are great! So much easier to eat and much tastier. I also did some with cinnamon for a sweet treat. They are okay...they're good, but I do miss the sugar. I'm thinking I might just add a teaspoon of sugar next time and count it as an "unfavorable" carb. I've been consistently under my calorie allotment for the day so I think it's not a big deal and feeling like I'm getting a treat is worth it.

You can read more about almonds at the Almond Board of California's site.

Until next time.