I love snacks. I love all things salty, sweet, things you dip and things you fry. But, not all snacks are a great choice when you’re trying to eat healthier. One of the things I’ve learned when trying to make better choices is that nuts are a great choice for making you feel fuller, adding protein and fiber. One nut that I like in particular is pistachios!
Pistachios are one of the lowest calorie snack nuts. In fact, for every one-ounce serving, pistachios offer about 49 nuts per serving; peanuts offer just 28, cashews offer just 18, and walnuts, 14 halves and 23 almonds in the same 30g serving.1 Pistachios are known as the “Skinny Nut™” for a reason! Eat This (pistachios), Not That (potato chips) for a smart snack. Unlike potato chips, pistachios offer a good source of protein and fiber, with over three times as many pieces per serving. Pistachios give you 49 nuts per serving; compare that to just 15 potato chips per serving (and who eats just 15 potato chips?) You can enjoy about 30 pistachio kernels for 100 calories! That’s my kind of snack!
Add pistachios into a “trail mix” for a healthy snack on the go! I love pistachios, raisins, and chocolate coated candies together for a quick and flavorful snack. I actually “fool myself full” by eating a handful of pistachios vs a handful of potato chips! When you have to slow down, break open a pistachio from its shell and enjoy it one by one, you’re able to get a sense of being full and actually see how much you’re eating from the empty shells you see in front of you!
Here’s some other great tips or eating healthier and feeling full faster!
- REDUCE THE SIZE OF PLATES, BOWLS AND GLASSES
- Eat from smaller bowls, which may help you eat less and still feel satisfied. Additionally, drink from tall, slender glasses rather than short, wide glasses which may make you feel fuller on fewer calories.
- BUY SMALLER PORTIONS
- Purchase single-serving chips and small-size candy bars in place of family-size bags. A study suggests that the large package size increases caloric consumption by an average of 22 percent.
- CONSIDER ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
- According to Dr. Painter, who came up with the”Pistachio Principle”, lighting and fast music may encourage you to eat faster and consume more calories. One study suggests that when participants were instructed to eat at a fast or slow rate, consuming food at the slow rate helped participants achieve satiation quicker with less food. This suggests that slow eating may prevent excessive food consumption.
- According to Dr. Painter, who came up with the”Pistachio Principle”, lighting and fast music may encourage you to eat faster and consume more calories. One study suggests that when participants were instructed to eat at a fast or slow rate, consuming food at the slow rate helped participants achieve satiation quicker with less food. This suggests that slow eating may prevent excessive food consumption.
Try picking up a bag of pistachios the next time you’re at the store, pair it with your favorite trail mix ingredients for a satisfying snack to fool yourself full!
You can WIN a year’s supply of Pistachios by heading to the Pistachio Institute’s Facebook page and entering to win!
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
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