Sometimes I read things too interesting not to share. I came across this interesting read about calories in Scientific American. It involves nuts. And backs up much of what my body has been telling me for years. To illustrate today’s read – and to celebrate what you’ll learn below – I’m sharing another recipe from my I Quit Sugar Cookbook, for those of you who don’t have all 108 in a nice easy format. Activated nuts!
Here’s why you should activate your nuts. (Yes, I laugh every time, too.)
Want the recipe? Scroll below.
Inspired to buy the rest of the cookbook? Click this button below.
But for now…some interesting stuff to chew on…
I’m anti-calorie counting. It’s just not the way to eat.
For one, it’s miserable. When I’m miserable, I eat more.
For two, the “calories in calories out” formula just doesn’t make any sense. Surely our bodies are more complex than that?
For three, I eat close to double the amount of calories an adult woman is meant to. I can tell you, I need every one of them. I don’t fit the maths. Ergo, I abort the maths.
But now I read this: the way calories are calculated is completely unreliable. This explains why I can eat a lot of high-calorie food and it really doesn’t seem to have an affect on my weight. While sugary, carby foods do.
Some factoids from the article:
* The calorie counting formula was developed over a 100 years ago. Surely things have been updated since then? No?
* Some veggies contain a lot less calories than listed on the label. Cell walls in some plants are tougher to break down than those in others. If the veggie has more of it’s cell walls broken down we take more of the calories from the guff inside. Cooking ruptures most cell walls (so cooked veggies have more calories, generally); but in very fibrous vegetables, such as cassava, cell walls hold strong and hoard their precious calories in such a way that many of them pass through our bodies intact. Ergo, are less calories.
* Plus nuts are less “fattening” than listed on the label. Peanuts, pistachios and almonds all seem to be less completely digested than their levels of protein, fat, carbohydrates and fibre would suggest.
A new study found when you eat almonds you get just 128 calories per serving rather than the 170 calories “on the label.”
* Plus protein is less fattening than what’s listed on the label. Proteins can require ten to twenty times as much heat-energy to digest as fats.
* Some foods require our immune system to get involved during digestion. For example, raw meats. This burns more calories, not accounted for on the label.
* And what do you know, processed foods contain more calories. A recent study found if you ate a 600 calorie serving of wholewheat bread with REAL cheese, you expend TWICE as much energy digesting it than if you ate 600 calories of white bread with processed cheese.
Food for thought and a good reminder to forget about calorie counting (for lots of reasons). But, as promised…
How to make activated nuts
- 3 cups nuts or seeds
- water
- 2 tablespoons salt
Soak the nuts or seeds overnight (except macadamias and cashews) in a pot of water with the salt. Drain. Lay out on a baking tray and “heat” in the oven at the lowest temperature possible (less than 65 C; for gas ovens, on the pilot light) for 12-24 hours.
Store and eat straight from the freezer. (makes 3 cups)
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