Olives: The Acceptable Face of Snacking
Never snack. Except when you have to.
Humans are not ruminants. We don’t need to have our noses to the trough every waking moment. But perhaps lunch was inadequate, and dinner a far-off dream. There’s a gnawing sensation in both mind and body. What to do?
When the need arises, that jar of olives that’s been idling at the back of the store cupboard for longer than you can remember offers the ideal solution to those pre-dinner rumblings. You could even call it a starter.
A plump green or wrinkly black olive is the perfect amuse-bouche for pre-dinner loafing, especially when entertaining. Olives also make an ideal emergency snack food, not just because of their suggestion of sophistication but because of their high fat, fibre, and vitamin E content. Furthermore, despite being a fruit, the olive contains virtually no carbohydrate. Perfect for all you low-carb weight-watchers.
The edible, that is, pitted, portion of olives contains around 11g of fat per 100g. That’s the monounsaturated fat that makes olive oil so beneficial to heart health.
But their nutritional goodness doesn’t stop there. What elevates them to class A snack status is their remarkable polyphenol content.
