5 Reasons to be Thankful for Pistachios

The other day I was playing with my daughter, Ella.  She’s 3.5.  Your typical 3.5 year old ... always “busy,” curious about everything and, while cute 99% of the time, she surely has her moments.

Fortunately those are more the exception than the rule.

So the other day we’re playing.  She looks at me and says “Daddy, my belly is hungry.  What do we have to eat? Do we have pistachios, they’re fun to crack.”

Lo and behold, we did ... and we spent the next 20 or so minutes cracking pistachios (sometimes eating the shell), but fueling our bodies and we were both rarin’ to go again.  I’d like to think she’ll always make such awesome snack choices ... but I have a hunch pistachios won’t always be her first option.  Hopefully I’m wrong because they have a lot of offer and are a favorite snack in the Mohr House.

Therefore, sticking with the “Thankful” theme this time of year brings, how about:

5 Reasons to Be Thankful for Pistachios

#1 – 100 Calories
A handful of pistachios, a reduced serving of about 30 kernels, is the perfect snack – with only 100 calories, they really fill you because of the fiber, fat and protein.
#2 – One of the Lowest Calorie Nuts

Research suggests that pistachios may contain 5% fewer calories per serving than originally thought. May not seem like much, but day after day, those calories can add up.

#3 – 49 Kernels Per Serving, More Than Any Other Nut1

Pistachios offer the most nuts per serving (49!) when compared to other popular snack nuts – comparatively, almonds have 23 in a serving, walnuts 14 halves and cashews, 18. More bang for your calorie buck!

#4 – Better than Pretzels

I admittedly fell for the ‘fat free = healthy’ mantra in the 90‘s with the rest of the world.  I’ve since learned I was completely wrong in my thinking -- in fact, a recent preliminary study conducted by nutrition researchers at UCLA suggested that choosing to snack on controlled portions of pistachios rather than pretzels as part of a healthy diet may better support your weight management.

#5 – A Good Source of Heart-Healthy Fats1
Piggy backing on #4, pistachios are a loaded with healthy fat.  And healthy unsaturated fat is great for your heart. I used to think quantity over quality -- I was a fool -- now I KNOW it’s quality over quantity and healthy fat falls right into that quality.

There you have it -- 5 reasons pistachios should be part of YOUR snacking repertoire!  Look at all that goodness we can learn from a 3.5 year old.

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