The temptation of a sweet candy or snack is alluring; you cannot resist its taste. Whenever we fantasize about a sweet snack or candy, the impression of extra sugar with high-calorie food automatically pops up. But peanut chikki is one such traditional sweet snack that tastes impeccable and reflects numerous nutritional factors. Chikki benefits your health in many ways and checks your immunity. If you all grew up eating peanut chikki (Gajak), which is still popular among adults and older people. It’s time to know more about this scrumptious chikki and what wonders it can do to your overall well-being.
Nutritional Facts About Peanut Chikki (Per 20-30 Grams)
Peanut Chikki or Gajak is one of the favorite winter snacks, which not only surprises your taste buds with its satisfying taste but also showers you with its multiple nutritional benefits. It contains the following nutrients.
| Calories | 100-150 Grams |
| Total Fats | 6-8 Grams |
| Saturated Fat | 1-2 Grams |
| Trans Fat | 0 Grams |
| Cholesterol | 0 Milligrams |
| Sodium | 0 Milligrams |
| Total Carbohydrates | 0-15 Grams |
| Dietary Fibers | 1-2 Grams |
| Sugars | 7-10 Grams |
| Protein | 2-4 Grams |
| Vitamin | 0 IU |
| Calcium | 10-20 Milligrams |
| Iron | 0.3-0.5 Milligrams |
| Potassium | 60-80 Milligrams |
10 Nutty and Healthy Benefits of Peanut Chikki
Peanut Chikki is a trendy snack in India. It is all packed with nutrients like proteins and vitamins. It is not only a tempting treat but also comes with several advantages. Now, it’s time to dive deeper into the benefits it serves:
1. Maintains Cholesterol Level
People with high cholesterol levels are always tense about their diet, but you know that adding peanut chikki is not harmful. It is a good choice as it has zero cholesterol. Eating Peanut chikki will lower harmful cholesterol levels, prevent heart diseases, and regulate heart health. The monounsaturated fats help eliminate bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol levels. It manages cholesterol by binding to cholesterol in the digestive system and helping to inhibit it from the body. Monounsaturated fatty acids prevent coronary and artery diseases and stroke attacks.
2. Supports Skin Health
In this busy schedule, you often forget to care for your skin, resulting in skin damage. Peanut chikki can be a sweet choice to add to your skin-care routine. Skin-conscious people always think twice before eating sweet dishes or anything with refined sugar since it leads to acne, pimples, and a bloated face. But this does not happen with Gajak.
The anti-inflammatory properties of chikki benefits help you deal with skin issues like psoriasis and eczema. The goodness of vitamin E, zinc, and magnesium in peanuts is an excellent source to maintain glowing skin and ward off bacteria that cause acne. Additionally, chikki helps you fight the effects of skin aging, such as fending off wrinkles, reduced elasticity, skin bounciness, and decoloration.
3. Improves Blood Circulation
The blood purification properties of chikki will make you eat peanut chikki even more. Yes, you heard it right! Gajak detoxifies the blood, which results in better blood circulation. A healthy and smooth blood flow can become the reason for your flawless skin. The resveratrol in peanuts shows vasodilatory effects that eventually widen and relax blood vessels, allowing the blood to flow throughout your body. Peanut chikki contains healthy and monounsaturated fats that reduce inflammation, resulting in excellent and safe cardiovascular function and improved blood circulation.
4. Contributes to Weight Loss
When you talk about losing weight, the first step is managing your diet. Your healthcare expert might suggest you avoid sweets and candies. But, by eating peanut chikki, you may get a good amount of protein that is important for muscle growth, and it also helps you feel full, resulting in controlled hunger.
Chikki helps you maintain energy for longer by giving you 5% of your daily calorie intake. So, now you can add it as a pre-workout snack to get an energy boost right before exercising. Also, it is clear that chikki does not increase blood sugar levels and takes good care of your cravings. Moreover, apart from peanut chikki, you can add peanuts to your diet in winter, given that there are so many benefits of peanuts in winter for weight loss.
5. Helps Children in Growth and development
Nowadays, raising your children and fulfilling their potential growth is challenging. It is already a tough task for your kids as they are picky eaters, and it is not easy to make them understand the importance of fruits and vegetables in life, as everyone knows that children choose junk food over anything healthy.
But, Gajak is that one yummy snack that your children cannot resist. Peanut chikki can act as a safeguard you need for a long time. The crispy and sweet taste can replace a number of junk foods that your children crave. The amino acids in Gajak can help in the growth and development of hormones in a child. If your child shows tantrums while eating fruits, you can treat them with Gajak, which also contains anti-inflammatory properties.
6. Peanut Chikki Fights Nervous Diseases
One of the most essential benefits of peanut chikki is that you can make it a snack that is beneficial in fighting nervous diseases. Peanuts contain Vitamin E, which is considered an antioxidant property. The antioxidants protect the body’s cells, involving nerve cells, from damage caused by free radicals.
Furthermore, peanut chikki is rich in niacin, a B vitamin that significantly manages a healthy nervous system. Niacin regulates the production of neurotransmitters, which are essential for proper nerve function and communication. Incorporating peanut chikki into your balanced diet can give nutritional support to your nervous system, so enjoy each bite and keep yourself healthy.
7. Helps Diabetic Patients
After going through the nutritional section, peanut chikki has proved to be a great source of carbohydrates that helps diabetic patients defend against low blood sugar levels. The essential fat and carbohydrates metabolizing mineral- manganese in chikki maintain your blood sugar levels. A low glycemic index of 14 is present and will not increase your blood sugar level anytime soon. The fiber in chikki aids in better sugar levels as it slows down digestion and carbohydrate absorption. It is a great option to add peanut chikki to your diabetic diet plan, but also remember not to consume it in excessive amounts.
8. Good Snack During Pregnancy
Pregnant women crave different tastes, but they have to limit their snack options as what they eat during pregnancy may affect the unborn baby. But peanut chikki as a snack shows positive growth effects on the baby. Chikki during pregnancy can help your baby be less prone to allergies to peanuts and its products. Not only this, but it also helps reduce the chances of your children being prone to asthma.
The delicious peanut chikki is filled with calcium and protein, where protein is necessary for fetal growth, and calcium improves the mother’s dental health.
A pregnant woman always expects a healthy bowel movement. Chikki benefits in maintaining the smoothness of such a process with the help of high fiber content.
9. It Prevents Cancer Cells and Gallstones
Making this yummy chikki part of your healthy diet can show protective benefits. Polyphenolic antioxidants in peanut chikkis play a crucial role in preventing the growth of gastric cancer cells and reducing the production of carcinogenic nitrosamines responsible for cancer cell growth in many organs and tissues. Proper cholesterol level maintenance eliminates the risk factor for gallstone formation, and peanuts in your diet will reduce the risk of developing these gallstones.
10. Helps Brain Growth and Fight Depression
Depression has been the most common problem for today’s generation, but did you ever try to resolve it quickly? If not, you can now go for the heavenly taste of peanut chikki. Peanuts are a good source of nutrients essential for brain health and development. The antioxidant properties protect your brain from damage. Folate in peanut chikki, a B vitamin, is crucial in brain function and neurotransmitters. Tryptophan, an amino acid in chikki, benefits the production of serotonin, which directly helps promote mood and well-being. This nutrient-rich chikki contains magnesium, zinc, and vitamin B6, which leads to healthy and supportive brain health.
Possible Side-Effects Of Peanut Chikki
The numerous peanut chikki benefits are incredible and a tasty snack addition to your healthy diet. But, with these benefits, there are also some harmful disadvantages of peanut chikki.
- Sometimes, excessive consumption may cause constipation.
- You might suffer from certain allergies like swelling of the face and lips, red bumps, etc.
- Peanut produces toxins known as aflatoxin, which can cause cancer and liver cirrhosis.
- The sticky substance of peanut chikki can stick to your teeth and cause tooth decay.
- People suffering from digestive discomfort may find it challenging to digest peanut chikki.
| Note- Eat only 1 or 2 pieces of chikki daily, depending on your daily calorie intake. |
How to Prepare Peanut Chikki At Home?
Peanut chikki has always been kids’ favorite snack, but make sure you use premium quality products before preparing this mouth-watering snack. Here are the ingredients to use:
Ingredients of Peanut Chikki
- 150 gm roasted peanuts
- 5 green cardamom
- 3 tablespoons sesame oil
- 100 gm powdered jaggery
- Water according to your requirement
- Step 1: If you use unroasted peanuts, Add peanuts to the pan for roasting. Stir and roast them on low flame for 5 minutes till they become crunchy.
- Step 2: Now, you’re ready to remove the husk from peanuts. Put peanuts on a plate and leave them to cool down. Then, gently rub the peanuts to remove the husk. Transfer the peanuts to another plate.
- Step 3: Put a heavy-bottomed pan on medium flame and add water to it. Add jaggery to the pan and blend it well until the jaggery is entirely dissolved. Simmer the jaggery syrup on medium flame while stirring it constantly. Reduce the flame when you start observing bubbles in the pan.
- Step 4: It’s time to mix peanuts in the jaggery syrup, so add the peanuts and cardamoms into the pan and remove them from the flame. As the mixture cools down, grease the plate with oil afterward. Use sesame oil for a better taste, or you can use oil according to your preference.
- Step 5: Once the mixture is cool enough to handle, mold it into small slabs or balls and put them on the greased tray to cool down and harden up. You can now store them in an airtight jar.
The best part of this peanut chikki is that you can eat them for almost two weeks.
Final Thoughts!
Peanut chikki is a tasty and sweet candy everyone enjoys regardless of age. It is an excellent option for making a part of your snack when your children crave snacks. While there are many benefits to peanut chikki, remember its potential disadvantages as well. This traditional Indian snack is worth trying. Once you taste peanut chikki, you’ll be enchanted! So, enjoy it in moderation since it is a true treat for your senses.
Frequently Asked Questions
As a nutritious and tasty snack, peanut chikki provides protein, healthy fats, and important nutrients.
It is not beneficial to eat it on a daily basis. Due to the presence of calories and sugar content, it can negatively impact your health.
It contains 4 grams of protein, depending on the size of the bar. It is a good source to manage protein intake.
No, it is not a junk food as it gives nutritional benefits such as protein and healthy fats.
Winter is the most suitable season for freshly made chikki in the market. Also, peanut chikki is a solution to your winter cravings.
With the multiple benefits of peanut chikki, you should also know its potential risks like constipation, tooth decay, and weight gain.
