There I said it. I am addicted to almond butter. I can't get enough of the stuff. It's creamy but not too creamy. There is a nice level of natural sweetness but it's not sugary. And even the 'nuttiness' is in check. I put it on toast, bananas, rice cakes, ice cream and eat it by the spoonful. It is delicious.
Beyond the taste, it's damn good for you.
Almond butter has a ton of protein, calcium, fiber, potassium, vitmin E and lots more! Sure there is a good amount of fat...but it's mostly monounsaturated fats which are good for your heart and a long-term switch to a diet with almonds can lower cholesterol.
All these things are great, but another reason I love it is it keeps me full. A piece of whole grain bread covered in almond butter, or even better a banana, is sufficient to fit off hunger cravings and provide enough energy for even the toughest workouts.
My recommendation is about an hour before a workout have a banana with 1-2 Tbsp of almond butter to get you through your workout. Follow up with a protein shake with a good amount of carbs to promote muscle recovery and you're all set!
Another great place in the diet for a piece of fiber-rich bread and almond butter is before heading out to dinner in a restaurant. Just before you leave the house enjoy the combo to help keep you from ordering that extra fried appetizer or snacking on bread or chips on the table.
So while I know I'm addicted to almond butter I can rest assured it's quite the healthy addiciton!
NOTE: Be sure to buy almond butter that only contains 100% roasted almonds...nothing else. Your local organic market should have a few options to choose from- I keep both smooth and crunchy around to add a little diversity to my almond butter life.
Almond image from wikipedia commons: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Almondtrees.jpg
No comments:
Post a Comment