Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Nuts and Seeds and Seeds and Seeds

It was observed the other day that I eat a LOT of nuts and seeds. In my defense, the nuts were almonds (that I had roasted with Adobo seasoning and some pink salt), and almonds - so I've heard - are the best nuts for something-or-other (walnuts being the other best nuts for something-else-or-other), so I didn't feel too bad about that.

The seeds, however. Well, I DO consume quite a lot of sunflower seeds. But I buy them whole (not hulled), so I figure the effort I go through to extract the seed must burn off some of the oils or whatever that are supposed to be not as great for you. Besides, I thought seeds ARE good for you. And I don't come close to eating an entire serving (at any one time) as listed on the package. I mostly eat them while I'm driving (unless my favorite Bob Dylan song comes on, in which case I pause the CD til I finish the seeds in my mouth so that I can sing along without choking to death), which I figure is better for me than munching on chips or Twizzlers, right?

8 comments:

  1. sunflower seeds are better than chips and twizzlers for sure. but lol I kind of doubt that going through the trouble of extracting them makes a huge difference.. I mean especially since they're IN Your MOUTH while you're extracting them, so you're still getting all the salts and whatnot from the shells. amIright.

    nuts and seeds are really good for you, but I think best if you eat them with something, like fruit. I know how you feel about fruit. do you like raisins?

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  2. LOL, yeah you're right. :P

    I don't *hate* raisins, esp if they're covered in chocolate. Jk. And I don't hate fruit, exactly, I just never buy it, except avocados, which are the MOST PERFECT FRUIT, imho. I guess I could cobble together some sort of trail mix of stuff that I don't hate, and if there are enough raisins or other chewy things to keep me busy, I *might* not overindulge. That's the other thing about eating the sunflower seeds in the hulls... it takes time. If they were already hulled, I could consume a LOT more of the lil buggers.

    I have noticed lately (and this may go back to the faster-metabolism thing) that even when I do eat stuff that's not great (i.e. jelly beans), I don't consume the entire package as I *cough* might have done in times past. I have a few then stop, which is a WHOLE new experience for me. :)

    How bad is watermelon for you? I know it's sweet, and mostly um, water, but does it have any redeeming qualities? Because I often CRAVE it... like really bad. Wonder what that means?

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  3. maybe because watermelon is awesome and immediately brings to mind summer and outdoor bbqs and all that. I mean that's why I usually crave watermelon.. I wouldn't worry about it being bad for you, if you get your hands on some, eat it! fruit = good. especially when eaten with nuts or something (sugar is used more efficiently when eaten with fat). but don't worry so much about all that, you're doing great, just keep it up.

    yay for newfound restraint! I'm noticing that in myself too, oddly enough. I used to be incapable of NOT eating a bajillion cadbury mini-eggs (not the creme eggs, gross, the little candy coated chocolate robins-egg lookin ones). Now I eat half a dozen and have no problem stopping. So. yay us!

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  4. Yay indeed! Speaking of the creme Cadbury eggs... I used to LOVE them. I had one this year and thought I was going to puke! NO desire to do that again. Haven't tried the little ones, and prolly shouldn't start. You are not the first person to comment on their awesomeness, so best not find trouble, if I can help it.

    Gotta run... gonna find me a watermelon!! ;) Oh, and I did NOT know that little tip about sugar and fat, so thank you for that! A clear instance of two wrongs actually making a right! LOL

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  5. haha well the most ideal is a combo of carb, protein and fat. something like 40-40-20 I think? can't remember. but nuts are protein and fat so that's why they're good, with fruit.

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  6. Cool. Information is power, baby.

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  7. This is so cool because I've been reading a lot about nutrition lately, and I find it all very fascinating. Apparently it's more important to have protein with fruit than fruit with protein. What I mean is that nuts/seeds are okay by themselves, but when eaten together with fruit they help slow down the bodies absorption of the sugar in the fruit - preventing the insulin spike.

    I've put myself on a regimen of nutritional supplements and daily food goals that I'm pretty excited about. I'll share more about that later, but I'm going to be late for class -eeek!

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  8. Wow, that's cool. I have such awesome smart kids. <3

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