Cacao Nibs- the perfect crunch
Behind the scenes... take a look at my breakfast this morning...
My secret to staying healthy, having lots of energy and living at a healthy weight all my life (even after 3 kids) is to chase nutrients and not fat or calories in foods.
You see, when we really peel it back and keep it simple... your body needs to be fed to fuel your daily activity. Your body does not just need calories for energy, it also needs a variety of vitamins, minerals and nutrients for its daily functions of all of it's 11 systems!
So by increasing the nutrient density of your foods, it means that you can be satisfied with less food... let me give you an example...
If you eat some rice crackers as a snack, you have fed your body lots of carbohydrate, salt and maybe a little bit of fat. But not much else. And quite frankly you could eat a whole packet and still feel hungry 30mins later!
On the other hand, if you swapped that for a handful of sunflower seeds and goji berries, though a lot less food, you get so much more nutrition. Sunflower seeds are each like multivitamins jam packed with everything from Vitamin E, magnesium to good fats and protein. So too are the goji berries.
So you get a stack of nutrients that are actually feeding your bodily systems and giving them everything they need to function optimally which translates to you as:
- better health
- more energy
- lower weight because you are not hungry all the time and you are not stocking up on carbohydrates and therefore excessive amounts of energy!
SO what does this have to do with my breakfast and especially cacao nibs?
Well I enjoyed this delicious protein berry shake on my deck in the sunshine this morning and I wanted to introduce you to cacao nibs! Because they are another great way of increasing your nutrient intake
You may or may have not have heard of them or tried them. But they are a great way to add lots of nutrients to your breakfast or snacks; give the perfect crunch and when combined with dried fruit actually taste like chocolate!
Here is an intro to all things cacao nibs!
What are cacao nibs and why should you eat them?
Cacao is the source of original, natural chocolate. It comes from the seeds of the fruit of the cacao tree. It is a superfood that contains a variety of unique phytonutrients and cacao nibs have more antioxidant activity than tea, wine, blueberries! Cacao nibs are bits of fermented, dried, roasted and crushed cacao bean.
How to include cacao nibs?
You can use them in so many different ways ... here are a couple of ways that I use them...
- Sprinkle on top of shakes and smoothies
- Sprinkle over vanilla yoghurt with pumkmin seeds and raspberries
- add to muffins/ cakes etc instead of chocolate pieces
- mix with raisins or goji berries and pumpkin seeds for a chocolatey snack!
Where to get them from?
You can purchases cacao nibs online, from health food shops and some supermarkets. I get mine from Aldi's... easy to get and a good price!
Think nutrients when making food choices and you will immediately notice a huge difference to your hunger, health, energy levels and weight loss!
Enjoy!
Walk Tall, Snez đŸ™‚
PS- Need help with increasing the nutritional value f your food? Get started with our 21 Day Kickstart and let us teach you how... CLICK HERE