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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The term ‘gluten’ generally refers to a specific complex of proteins that form when wheat flour is mixed with a liquid and physically manipulated (e.g. kneading dough).  This complex of proteins consists of gliadins and glutenins.  These proteins occur naturally in several grains and function as storage proteins designed to nourish the plant during germination. In foods made from these grains, these proteins give dough its elasticity and contribute to the chewy textures of many baked products.

The grains that have been reported to contain gluten and cause a sensitivity include wheat, rye, barley, and crossbred hybrids of these grains.  There is some uncertainty in regards to the effect of oats on an individual’s gluten sensitivity with one of the major concerns being that oats are sometimes commingled with gluten-containing grains during storage and processing.

Unfortunately, many people are sensitive to gluten.  According to the National Institute of Health, more than 2 million Americans are sensitive to gluten.  However, it has been suggested that the prevalence of this gluten sensitivity is underestimated because many individuals do not realize that they are sensitive or have not yet developed the sensitivity even though they are genetically predisposed to it. Unrecognized gluten sensitivity can result in malnutrition and a variety of serious health issues over time.

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With September upon us and the first day of Autumn rapidly approaching, many of our thoughts turn to Fall-type activities.  As the weather begins to cool, many of us will venture outside to hike, camp, or bike local trails.  In doing so, we’ll often find ourselves out all day in areas where food and snacks are not readily available unless we pack it ourselves.  A quick and simple snack that we can stop and eat along the trail is a great way to keep our energy level high.  Try the trail mix recipe below next time you are hiking or biking along your favorite trails.

Revival Snack Mix

Ingredients:

• 3 bags Revival Oh My! Apple Pie soy chips
• 1/2 cup Revival Yogurt Covered soy nuts
• 1/2 cup Revival Chocolate Covered soy nuts
• 1/2 cup Revival Lightly Salted soy nuts
• 1/2 cup dried cherries

Directions:  Place ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.  For even more flavors and textures add additional dried fruit, marshmallows, pretzels, or any of your personal favorite snacks.

Once you’ve mixed everything up, you can simply put as much as you want into small bags or plastic containers so that they fit easily into your belt pouch or back pack and you are ready to enjoy your day outdoors without having to worry about getting over-hungry.

Enjoy!

Dr. Tabor’s Revival® soy protein shakes, bars, snacks, and other delicious products are a great way obtain the nutritional benefits of soy.*

Each year since 1994, the United Soybean Board has published the results of an annual survey conducted to assess consumers beliefs and behaviors regarding nutrition.  This survey, Consumer Attitudes about Nutrition, also includes information on consumer attitudes about soy.  I wanted to take this opportunity to share some of these survey results.

Perceptions on Soyfoods and Health: According to the 2010 survey, 84% of consumers rate soy products as healthy.  This is similar to survey results collected since 2007 with 84-85% of consumers rating soy products as healthy each year.  While this is a substantial increase compared to 10 years ago, the current steady level over the last few years suggests that more can be done to increase the awareness of soy’s benefits.  According to the 2010 survey, consumers link soy to being good for the reduction of heart disease risk (FDA heart health claim for soy) (25% of consumers), being low in fat (17%), being a good source of protein (16%), and being ‘good for you’ (14%).

Learning About Soy: Another part of this survey asked consumers how they learned about the benefits of soy.  Not unexpectedly, the most common source of soy information cited was television news (47% of consumers).  Internet news was the second most common source of news on soy (44%) followed closely be magazines, family & friends, and newspapers.  The number of consumers getting information from these sources increased in every instance compared to 8 years ago with the exception of magazines, which decreased.  This nearly across-the-board increase suggests that information about soy is more widely available.  Interestingly, one of the lowest sources of information about soy is the health professional.  Only 17% of consumers learn about soy from their doctors, which is only 5% higher than in 1994.

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