Never, never, never quit. ~Winston Churchill
I gave up the little fat bombs known as macadamia nuts for Lent. Though I'm not in the habit of giving things up for Lent, I felt like it was time for a challenge. And besides, I was getting obsessive about macadamia nuts, which is never good. So now, I'm firmly on the dried mango bandwagon.Dried mango slices are a fairly new addition to my snack pantheon. They are awesome. I'd been scared off them before, but I realize now that it was because they had added sugar, which makes them way too sweet. I recently tried pure unsweetened mango slices, and they are delicious! Naturally sweet, chewy and tart all at the same time, they're also portable. And they actually fill you up. Almost perfect. The only reason they're not perfect is because they're still processed since they've been sliced and dried. But they're more "naturally" processed - they haven't been destroyed into an unrecognizable food form.
Like all dried fruit, dried mangos have lower nutritional value than the fresh version. They don't have the water soluble vitamins, and the calories and carbohydrates are much more concentrated (but they are easier to eat in the office). Buy them unsulfered and unsweetened (a 6 oz bag at Trader Joe's is $3.99). There should only be one ingredient on the ingredients list: dried mangos.
Nutrition wise, 1 serving equals 4 pieces.
- Calories: 120
- Total fat: 0
- Cholesterol: 0
- Sodium: 0
- Total Carbohydrate: 28g (10% daily value)
- Dietary Fiber: 2g (8% daily value)
- Sugars: 20g
- Protein: 2g
- Vitamin A: 80% daily value
- Vitamin C: 10% daily value
- Calcium: 2% daily value
- Iron: 10% daily value
Not bad. If you're watching calories, be careful about the number of servings.
What I ate: 1 pear, 1 cafe au lait, 1 grapefruit, 1 yogurt + Sarabeth's strawberry jam + ground flaxseeds, dried mango slices, 3/4 cup brown rice, roasted brussel sprouts + cauliflower, 3 squares chocolate, 3 oz. Chex mix, quinoa + seaweed, 1 hot chocolates, 40 oz. water
Exercise: none
