We all love to snack; I know that I certainly do.  Unfortunately, many of us make snacking choices that are not has healthy or nutritious as they could be.  Instead of choosing snacks that might provide us with a number of nutritional benefits, we often choose to snack on chips or dessert-type snacks.

Soy nuts (also called soynuts) make much healthier options than many of the other snacks we typically choose, including typical peanuts.  While most nuts are a healthier option than many other types of snacks, not all nuts are the same.  For example if we were to compare Revival Lightly Salted soy nuts to typical lightly salted dry roasted peanuts based on similar serving sizes, the results might surprise you.  While soynuts and peanuts have similar calorie content, Revival Lightly Salted soy nuts have about half the amount of calories from fat and about half the amount of total fat.  Additionally, Revival Lightly Salted soynuts have slightly less sodium and slightly more protein than your typical lightly salted dry roasted peanuts.  This is because soynuts are made from soybeans, which are higher in protein than most other vegetables.
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When we think of protein foods, we typically think about meat products, protein bars, and protein shakes.  Not many of us think about pasta when we think about protein foods.  Instead, we think about carbohydrates when we think about pasta.  The amount of carbohydrates in pasta makes it one our favorite comfort foods.  But did you know that soy pasta is also one of the better protein foods we can all enjoy as well as being a delicious, feel-good comfort food.
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Soybeans are rich in macronutrients like protein, fat, and carbohydrates and contain a variety of micronutrients such as calcium, iron, zinc, riboflavin, and folate [1].  Some of these are discussed briefly below.

Protein. Soybeans are best known as a rich source of non-animal protein.  In fact, about 37% of the raw soybean consists of protein according to the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 22 [2]. The amino acid pattern of soy protein provides adequate levels of each indispensable amino acid for normal growth and development. The high digestibility of properly processed soy protein and the bioavailability of its amino acids and nitrogen content make soy protein a high quality protein.  The Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS) of soy protein is 1.0, the highest possible score and similar to other high quality proteins.   Therefore, the addition of soy to the diet is a great way to meet all of one’s protein nutritional requirements.

Fat. Soybeans typically contain more dietary fat than other legumes; however, the fats in soybeans are mainly of the healthier varieties.  According to the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 22, raw, mature soybeans contain approximately 20 grams of fat in a 100-gram portion [2].  Of the fat present in soybeans, ~15% is saturated, ~24% is monounsaturated, and ~60% is polyunsaturated; therefore, over 80% of the fat in soy is of the healthier, unsaturated kind.  The predominant unsaturated fats found in soy include linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid, two essential fatty acids. Alpha-linolenic acid is an essential omega-3 fatty acid that is metabolized in the body to form eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in small amounts.

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Protein, which is made of nitrogen-containing amino acids, is one of the major nutrients used by all the cells of our bodies (Medical Reference 1). Throughout our lives, the protein in our body is being broken down and reformed. The formation of new protein requires both essential (those that our body can’t make) and nonessential amino acids (those that the body can make). Proteins that provide all of the essential amino acids in high enough concentrations are called complete proteins, while those that are low or lacking in one or more of these amino acids are considered to be incomplete proteins. High quality complete proteins provide the best way to meet human nutritional needs.
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Human clinical research indicates that foods high in protein can provide weight loss help (Medical References 1, 2). There are several reasons that foods high in protein are able to help reduce weight gain. Foods high in protein are typically nutrient dense meaning that small amounts of a food provide high levels of nutrients. This helps one to obtain adequate amounts of nutrients with less caloric intake.

Also, foods high in protein have been reported to make one feel full (Medical References 1, 3, 4). It has been reported that eating foods high in protein in greater amounts may also be associated with reduced abdominal fat (i.e. “belly fat”) as part of total overall weight loss (Medical Reference 5). Eating foods high in protein in combination with exercise has been shown to help improve body composition (Medical Reference 6).
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Protein food (i.e. food rich in protein) is an important part of our every day diet. Protein is a critical nutrient used by all the cells of our bodies (Medical Reference 1). Everyday of our lives, the protein in our body is being broken down and remade. The formation of new protein requires both essential and nonessential amino acids. Complete proteins are those that provide all of the essential amino acids in high enough concentrations for growth and development. Protein food that contains high quality, complete proteins provides the best way to meet our nutritional needs.

Diets that include high protein food have been shown to be beneficial for weight loss and dieting (Medical Reference 2, 3) because protein food helps you feel full (Medical References 2, 4, 5). High protein food diets have also been reported to reduce body weight (Medical Reference 6) and improve body composition (Medical Reference 7). Also, protein foods often provide an abundance of nutrients with a small amount of calories, helping us to meet our nutritional needs without overeating.
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