This week it’s almond health benefits from Kat’s Kitchen – a great snack! Add to plain yoghurt for a crunch, great in a stir fry, almond butter and banana is a tasty snack or add to a salad.
Almonds are off white and covered by a thin, brownish skin and encased in a hard shell. There are 2 categories – bitter and sweet.
Sweet almonds are the ones we eat. They are oval and tend to have a buttery flavour. You can get almonds whole, sliced or slivered either in their natural form (ie with their skin on) or blanched with their skin removed.
Bitter almonds are used to make almond oil which is used as a flavouring for foods and drinks.
In Egyptian times almonds were a prized ingredient and served in bread. The Romans gave newlyweds almonds as a fertility charm and these days guests at weddings are often given a bag of sugared almonds to represent children. happiness, romance, good health and fortune.
Apart from the above here are some other reasons to include almonds in your diet:
Almond Health Benefits
- Protect against heart disease
- Help lower bad cholesterol levels (LDL) to help prevent blocked blood vessels
- Helps fight cancers such as colon cancer