MODESTO, Calif., Nov. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Whether it's over-spending or over-eating, it's easy to get carried away during this time of year, and Skinnygirl entrepreneur and reality television star Bethenny Frankel wants us to snack smart and stay healthy during the holidays.  Frankel has teamed up with California Almonds to launch a bi-coastal campaign to share her secrets to snacking success during this holiday season and beyond.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121108/LA08694)

Frankel, whose new nationally syndicated daytime talk show, "bethenny," will launch in 2013, is hitting the streets next week to launch the campaign at a consumer event in Los Angeles. She'll get up close and personal with her fans, revealing snacking tips as well as recipes that are easy to prepare and pack. She'll even share some new research about almonds as a smart snack.  As part of the campaign, her candid insights, tips, power pairings and an exclusive snack recipe are featured in the "Snack Talking with Bethenny Frankel" guide, available for free download at AlmondBoard.com/Bethenny.

"With a new talk show on the way and looking after my baby and business, I'm busier than ever," Frankel says. "But no matter how busy I am, I make sure I don't sacrifice healthy, satisfying food, especially when it comes to snacking.  Making smart choices is easy to do while on the go and can be delicious without being high in calories." 

Frankel's not the only one snacking. According to Food Technology magazine, Americans are snacking more than ever these days, and in a big way: Nearly half (48%) snack at least two times a day, nearly double the 25% who snacked in 2010. What's more, U.S. retail sales of packaged snacks increased to nearly $64 billion in 2010, and predictions show snack sales will approach $77 billion by 2015.

As a natural foods chef, author, business woman and busy mom on the go, Frankel notes the importance of  keeping her snacks nutritious and portable in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Whether it's a craving for a second breakfast or a simple chocolate fix, she encourages her fans to "snack out of it" when hitting a mid-morning or mid-afternoon energy slump — something that's common during the busy holiday season.

Frankel's favorite way to boost energy levels and fuel her busy day is to keep whole, natural snack combinations on hand, particularly those that contain protein, fiber and are otherwise rich in nutrients. Some of Frankel's favorites include:

• 100% whole wheat bread with almond butter or hummus
• A small handful of whole natural almonds with a small honeycrisp apple or pear, or with an ounce or two of dark chocolate
• Sliced turkey rolled up with mustard and dried cranberries

According to Frankel, the perfect snack should be satisfying, tasty, nourishing, and fewer than 200 calories—and almonds fit the bill. In fact, while the Nutrition Facts Panel states almonds have 160 calories per ounce, the results of a recent study using a new method to calculate calories shows that whole almonds have 129 calories per ounce. The study, which takes into account the digestibility of whole almonds, was conducted by scientists from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and released in the August 2012 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN). ^[i] Further research is needed to better understand the results of the study and how this technique for calculating calories could potentially affect the calorie count of other foods.

Snack Talkin' with Bethenny Frankel Events

With all this snacking going on, choosing nutritious, heart-healthy options is more important than ever. Frankel is scheduled to appear at the California Almonds Snack Talkin' Lounge on November 15, 2012 at The Grove in Los Angeles at noon and in early 2013 in New York where she will share her Snack Talkin' Guide and samples of her favorite granola recipe. For more information on these events and to download the free "Snack Talkin' with Bethenny Frankel" guide, visit www.AlmondBoard.com/Bethenny or visit www.Facebook.com/AlmondBoard.

About Bethenny Frankel

Bethenny Frankel is the New York Times bestselling author of "A Place of Yes" (Touchstone, March 2011), "Naturally Thin" (Touchstone, March 2009),  "The Skinnygirl Dish" (Touchstone, December 2009) and "Skinnydipping" (Touchstone, December 2012). She is most recently the star of the "Bethenny" talk show on FOX, which piloted successfully in 2012 and will launch nationally in 2013. Frankel is the creator of the Skinnygirl brand, which extends to cocktails, fitness, and health. In 2011 was named one of the Top 100 Women in Entertainment by The Hollywood Reporter. She is a graduate of The Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts. Bethenny lives in New York with husband Jason, daughter Bryn, and dog, Cookie. Visit Bethenny.com for health tips, recipes and all other things Bethenny.

About Almond Board of California

Consumers all over the world enjoy California Almonds as a natural, wholesome and quality food product, making almonds California's leading agricultural export in terms of value. The Almond Board of California promotes almonds through its research-based approach to all aspects of marketing, farming and production on behalf of the more than 6,000 California Almond growers and processors, many of whom are multi-generational family operations. Established in 1950 and based in Modesto, California, the Almond Board of California is a non-profit organization that administers a grower-enacted Federal Marketing Order under the supervision of the United States Department of Agriculture. For more information on the Almond Board of California or almonds, visit AlmondBoard.com.

[i] Novotny JA, Gebauer SK, Baer DJ. Discrepancy between the Atwater factor predicted and empirically measured energy values of almonds in human diets.  American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2012 ajcn.035782; First published online July 3, 2012.doi:10.3945/ajcn.112.035782

SOURCE Almond Board of California