For Indian families, food comes first and we do not usually plan our meals especially during mid afternoon or early evening snacking time. Snacking smart with almonds is a great way to lead a healthy lifestyle, said Nutritionist Amita Singh during event organized by California Almonds on Tuesday.

She said that 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 inflammation.

Not just this, a handful of almonds promotes the feeling of fullness, helping you keep hunger at bay. They are naturally high in dietary fibre and low in sugar.

A unique cookout session conducted in Bhopal 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 Israr Ahmed and Nutritionist Amita Singh as three homemakers Savita Gupta, Renu Maheswari and Surabhi Israni 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 kick started 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 Amita Singh and Chef Israr Ahmed shared insights into why almonds make for a healthy snack. Nutritionist Amita Singh highlighted that “almonds are a powerhouse of 15 nutrients such as vitamin E, magnesium dietary fibre, protein, and more.”