4 Reasons Why Dietitians Love Daily Crunch Snacks

Today is a special day in the nutrition world -- it’s National Registered Dietitian Day! To celebrate, we are highlighting some of the many reasons that RD’s love Daily Crunch Snacks.

          It’s safe to say that Daily Crunch Snacks is a dietitian-approved brand. In 2020, registered dietitian Stefani Sassos picked our Plain Sprouted Almonds to win a Good Housekeeping Healthy Snack Award in the ‘Crispy + Crunchy’ category. Calling sprouted almonds “the next big thing”, Sassos selected our sprouted snack out of hundreds of products because of their unique crunch and taste. In January of 2021, registered dietitian Maya Feller featured our Cherry Berry Sprouted Nut Medley in Martha Stewart Living, describing the product as a fantastic healthy snack that her kids love. And I, Deneen Schaundies, our in-house dietitian, decided to join Daily Crunch Snacks because I know the health benefits of sprouted snacks to be true! Across the board, dietitians love our snacks for more than their amazing crunch and texture. It’s the health and digestive benefits that separate Daily Crunch Snacks sprouted nuts from raw or roasted varieties currently on the market. 

          While raw nuts are naturally a heart-healthy nutrient-dense powerhouse, the Daily Crunch Snacks three-step-sprouting process works to enhance the natural benefits of nuts. First, our nuts are soaked in purified water, allowing the nuts to shed their phytic acid. Phytic acid blocks human digestive enzymes such as pepsin, trypsin, and amylase from doing their job. Next, after shedding their phytic acid, the nuts enter the germination or “sprouting” phase which activates the nutrients in the nuts  … making it easier for our bodies to absorb said nutrients. And finally, we dehydrate our sprouted nuts at low temperatures to preserve said nutrients. The result is a light, crunchy, nutrient-dense nut! 

From a dietitians perspective, there are 4 main benefits to our snacks:

1: Increased Bioavailability 
          The Daily Crunch Snacks process enhances the bioavailability of calcium, iron, and zinc in almonds, which allows our bodies to take in more of these essential minerals. Wondering what bioavailability means? You’re not alone -- it’s a term dietitians are always explaining to clients. Bioavailability refers to the proportion or fraction of a nutrient that is absorbed and utilized by the body. Basically, just because a food is “high” in something doesn’t mean our bodies can absorb it. For example, spinach is very high in calcium … but our bodies can’t absorb much calcium from raw spinach. The sprouting process directly increases the bioavailability of key nutrients in almonds. 

2: Easier to Digest
          Raw nuts are often hard for our bodies to digest, leading to bloating, cramping, and even nausea for many. This is especially true for anyone with pre-existing digestive issues such as irritable and inflammatory bowel disease. But once a nut goes through the sprouting process, this is no longer the case! The sprouting process makes nuts easier to digest, as it breaks down the oh-so-problematic phytic acid you’re familiar with by now. So if you’re looking for a snack that will leave you feeling satiated without feeling bloated, know that a dietitian would recommend Daily Crunch Snacks!

3: Dehydrated, Never Roasted
          Dietitians also love that we dehydrate our sprouted nuts to crisp them up, instead of roasting them, at Daily Crunch Snacks. This means that we don’t have to add oil or put the nuts in high temperature environments, which would ultimately diminish the nutritional value of sprouted nuts. One of the oldest methods of preserving food, dehydration is the healthiest way to achieve the (daily) crunch you can’t miss. 

4: No Fake Stuff
          And one last thing … we only use real, healthy ingredients in our snacks. Dietitians know this is hard to come by in the packaged snacks space. At Daily Crunch Snacks, we don’t add anything that diminishes the natural healthiness of the sprouted nuts and stick to real ingredients (you can pronounce all of them). All of our snacks are non-GMO, low sodium, and vegan + paleo + keto friendly. Our team carefully curates the ingredients we flavor the snacks with, most recently creating our turmeric-infused Golden Goodness and our slightly sweet Cacao + Sea Salt. When in need of a touch of sweetness in our recipes, we opt for Monk Fruit sweetener, a natural sweetener made from extract derived from fruit that has little to no sugar and will not raise blood sugar levels. Check out the back of any of our packaging to see the short list of healthy ingredients used to make each variety!