The food items that I choose for my presentation is apples and peanut butter.  The reasons why I choose these items are because they have been my favorite snack since I was a little girl and it brings back childhood memories of my mother.  My mother was a vegetarian, so therefore we always ate healthy. We did not eat out and my mother never brought junk food such as cookies, ice cream, chips, cake, candy and soda. If we wanted sweets, she would make us homemade cakes, cookies and ice cream. We always had fresh fruit in the house, so when I came home from school wanting a crunchy snack, my mother would give us apples. As a child, I only liked the green apples. I started eating my apples with peanut butter because I saw my mother doing it so I tried it and I have been in love with this combination ever since. My siblings thought apples and peanut butter was gross, so they had celery with their peanut butter instead. When we did not have apples, I would have my peanut butter alone with a big spoon. We never had what I feel now is tasty peanut butter such as Skippy and Jiff because my mother always brought the healthy peanut butter from the health food store which contained only ground peanuts with no salt or sugar. Since the peanut butter was fresh, it was thick and the oil sat at the top of the container, so it had to be stirred before each use, which created many spills! As an adult, peanut butter and apples are my go to snack, but I do not eat the peanut butter from the health food store! This snack not only brings back childhood memories of my mother, it is satisfying and healthy.

There are over 7,500 varieties of apples and they come in many colors such as red, yellow and green (organicfacts.net). Although there are a variety of apples, they all have different tastes and textures, and only a few are used best in baked goods. Apples are a nutritional fruit that bring many health benefits to the body. Apples have a lot of fiber, which promotes a healthy digestive system, and they are high in antioxidants that fight illness and diseases such as cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes (organicfacts.net).  In addition to fighting illnesses and diseases, apples are beneficial for aiding in weight loss, lowering cholesterol levels, treating anemia, promoting healthy dental hygiene, improving skin and respiratory illness such as asthma (organicfacts.net).

Peanut butter is a healthy fat that comes in two varieties, creamy and crunchy. Peanut butter provides many nutritional benefits such as protein, antioxidants, healthy carbohydrates, vitamin e, vitamin c, iron, zinc and potassium to name a few (organicfacts.net). Consuming peanut butter can also prevent diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer (organicfacts.net). Other benefits from consuming peanut butter are lowering cholesterol levels, blood sugars and weight (organicfacts.net). Peanut butter is a great snack to eat with crackers, bread, pancakes, celery, and alone prior to a work out to give you energy.

References

11 Best Benefits of Peanut Butter. (2017, November 05). Retrieved February 16, 2018, from https://www.organicfacts.net/

13 Amazing Benefits of Apple. (2018, January 17). Retrieved February 16, 2018, from https://www.organicfacts.net/