While on a car trip the other day, we stopped at a gas station and my friend went into the adjacent convenience store and bought a small bag of nuts and yogurt-covered raisins.  It looked really good.  I wanted some too.

I was about to buy myself a pack, but I decided to look on the nutritional facts label first.  A couple of handfuls of the nutty mix was 720 calories!  That’s almost a full day’s worth of calories for someone who is on a weight loss program (if you’re on a 1,000 calorie-a-day program)

There was a high fat count, too, some 21 grams of fat in that little package.

I have always thought that nuts are a good snack; a healthy choice.  Nuts carry protein, have unsaturated fats, and are crunchy-chewy and delicious.  They are, however, high in calories.  Many little pre-packed bags of nuts don’t carry a nutritional facts label, I was glad this one did. (Interesting the word “nut” is buried in the word Nutrition, huh?)

So the lesson for me was to just have a taste of my friend’s nuts, not eat a whole bag.  It’s too easy to down a bag in a couple of gulps.  I would have been too easy to eat so many calories.

REVISED, Sunday, Nov. 15 — Thanks, commenters!  I do occasionally have some nuts, and agree they’re pretty healthy in small quantities.

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Please join me at my upcoming “Experiencing the Divine” weekend retreat in western Massachusetts, at Kripalu Yoga and Health Center.  Let’s give our problems to God, together, in Kripalu’s peaceful and lovely atmosphere of joy and happiness.?