A Healthy cookout in chennai showcases the importance of Almonds in our daily lives

(L-R) Mrs.Sheela Krishnaswamy, Nutrition & Wellness Consultant, 3 Participants and Chef Sheetharaman Prasaad, Corporate Executive Chef, GRT Hotels & Resorts

3 Participants

A Healthy cookout in chennai showcases the importance of Almonds in our daily lives

Chennai, January 24, 2019: Often referred to as the king of nuts, almonds are versatile nuts that form a delicious  part of our  daily  lives  and offer  natural goodness  in every  bite. Owing to their  crunchy, scrumptious and nutritious nature, almonds can be made a part of our daily diet in various ways. A unique cookout session conducted in Chennai helped take this idea forward, where almonds were the main ingredient involving unique snacking and festive recipes demonstrated by homemakers of the city. The session was conducted by Chef Sheetharam Prasaad and Nutritionist Sheela Krishnaswamy as three homemakers from the city led the way in showcasing how almonds could be made a part of our daily diets through snacking and festival food preparations.

The interactive afternoon kickstarted with the three homemakers displaying their culinary skills by demonstrating a recipe each which featured almonds as the hero ingredient in snacking and festive recipes. While the homemakers prepared their dishes, nutritionist Sheela Krishnaswamy and chef Sheetharam Prasaad shared insights into why almonds make for a healthy snack. Nutritionist Sheela Krishnaswamy highlighted that “almonds are a powerhouse of 15 nutrients such as vitamin E, magnesium dietary fibre, protein, and more.”

Nutritionist Sheela Krishnaswamy said, “For Indian families, food comes first and we don’t usually plan our meals especially during midafternoon or early evening snacking time. Snacking smart with almonds is a great way to lead a healthy lifestyle. Almonds have been shown to lower total and LDL cholesterol when included in a healthy diet and might help in reducing levels of heart-damaging inflammation1. Not just this, a handful of almonds promotes the feeling of fullness, helping you keep hunger at bay2. They are

naturally high in dietary fibre and low in sugars3.”

 1 Berryman, C.E., A.G. Preston, W. Karmally, R.J. Deckelbaum, P.M. Kris-Etherton. Effects of almond consumption on the reduction of LDL- cholesterol: a discussion of potential mechanisms and future research directions. Nutrition Reviews 2011; 69(4): 171-185.

Berryman CE, West SG, Fleming JA, Bordi PL, Kris-Etherton PM. Effects of daily almond consumption on cardiometabolic risk and abdominal adiposity in healthy adults with elevated LDL cholesterol: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Heart Association 2015;

4:e000993 doi: 10.1161/JAHA.114.000993)

2 Hull S, Re R, Chambers L, Echaniz A, Wickham SJ. A mid-morning snack generates satiety and appropriate adjustment of subsequent food intake in healthy women. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2014; DOI 10.1007/s00394-014-0759-z.

Cassady, B.A., J.H. Hollis, A.D. Fulford, R.V. Considine, R.D. Mattes. 2009. Mastication of almonds: effects of lipid bioaccessibility, appetite, and hormone response. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 89:794-800.

Mori AM, Considine RV, Mattes, RD. 2011. Acute and second-meal effects of almond form in impaired glucose tolerant adults: a randomized crossover trial. Nutr Metab. 2011 Jan 28;8(1):6.

Tan YT, Mattes RD. Appetitive, dietary and health effects of almonds consumed with meals or as snacks: a randomised, controlled trial. Eur J Clin

Nutr 2013; 67:1205-14

3 Novotny JA, Gebauer SK, Baer DJ. 2012. Discrepancy between the Atwater factor predicted and empirically measured energy values of almonds in human diets. . American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2012; 96(2):296-301.

Chef Sheetharam Prasaad added, “With all of us becoming health conscious, we are always on the lookout for recipes with a healthy twist. Nuts like almonds are a healthy option, are also traditionally considered festive and hence can be used to prepare various snacks that you can serve during festivals. Almonds are easy and quick to flavour and go with just about any masala/spices. Whip up some flavoured almonds to give your family as a healthy and tasty snack, in addition to plain almonds.”

The cookout session was followed by the best snacking and festive recipes being awarded with an attractive gift hamper.

Eating almonds is great way to stay healthy. But a healthy lifestyle involves not only exercising and eating healthy balanced meals, but also smart snacking.

About the Almond Board of California:

Almonds from California are a natural, wholesome and quality food. The Almond Board of California promotes almonds through its research-based approach to all aspects of marketing, farming and production on behalf of the more than 6,800 almond growers and processors in  California, many of  which are multi-generational family operations. Established in 1950 and based in Modesto, California, the Almond Board of California is a non-profit organization that administers a grower-enacted Federal Marketing Order under the supervision of the United States Department  of  Agriculture.  For  more  information  on  the  Almond  Board  of  California  or  almonds,  visit: www.almonds.in.