Organic Candies, Nuts, Snacks, and Trail Mixes from Sunridge Farms

I get a lot of pitches from companies who want me to promote their products, but I only bring you the best. Occasionally, this gal has a little chocolate craving, and almonds happen to be one of my favorite foods! And, did you know that February 25th was Chocolate Covered Nuts Day?

SunRidge Farms recently sent me their chocolate covered almonds to sample in honor of the occasion. My analysis? Chocolate + almonds = good! SunRidge Farms makes their products as healthy as possible without highly processed or refined ingredients. They are free of refined sugars, hydrogenated oils, artificial colorings, and preservatives.

Along with the chocolate covered almonds, they also produce other candies including chocolate rainbow drops, chocolate raisins, chocolate toffee peanuts, snacks such as peanut butter pretzels, Energy Nuggets™, Galaxy Mix™, dried fruit: apricots, banana chips, cranberries, ginger, mango slices, mango spears, pineapple rings, and more, nuts and seeds: almonds, cashews, mixed, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, soy nuts, sunflower seeds, walnuts, and trail mixes including: Cherry Pecan Vanilla Dream™, Chocolate Nut Crunch™, Cranberry Harvest Mix™, Cranberry Jubilee Mix, Deluxe Trail Mix™, Hit The Trail Trail Mix™, Japanese Rice Cracker, Mango Grove™, Mocha Marble Crunch™, NutCracker Crunch™, Sesame Sticks, Super Deluxe Mix™, Triple Chocolate Pecan Mix™, Tropical Trail Mix™, Wasabi Peas, Wasabi Samurai Mix™, Wild Ginger Harvest Mix™, Woman's Vitality Mix™, Yogurt Peanut Clusters, Zen Party Mix™, and Zesta Fiesta Party Mix™ Wow.

SunRidge Farms™ will be in booth 2789 at the Natural Products EXPO West. I'll be tracking them down to grab some more samples!

In the meantime, Andy I will be snacking on the chocolate covered almonds with some port we bought in Amador a few weeks ago. :) You can find Sunridge Farms on Facebook here.

Dukkah Spice Blend and Curried Cashews

During my journey with Paleo, nuts have been a staple in my diet. When eaten raw or dry roasted (dry-roasted at home, not purchased as roasted/salted), they are exceptionally nutritious. So, today I'd like to show you two recipes showcasing nuts as a sort of condiment, and nuts as a snack.

The first recipe is called dukkah. We use it to season our vegetable sautees. Cauliflower, kale, chard... it really takes the flavor of the vegetables to another level! :)

Dukkah

You can modify/change up these ingredients to your liking:

1/4 cup ground coriander
5 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons cumin
2 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 teaspoon dried mint leaves
2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

Nuts:
1/2 cup raw hazelnuts
1/2 cup raw pistachio nuts
1/2 cup raw almonds

3/4 cup cashews

It's easiest I think to roast all the nuts in the oven first, until they are golden brown. I do this on a sheet pan at 350° until they turn color. Be sure to watch closely, they will burn fast.

While the nuts are toasting in the oven, toast the herbs, spices, and seeds until they are brown/toasty/aromatic. Allow each of them to cool completely.

Place the nuts and seeds, along with the mint and salt, into a food processor and pulse into a coarse consistency.

This is the finished product...

Snack Two! 

Curried Cashews and Almonds

1 cup cashews
1 cup almonds

1 Tbsp curry powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 Tbs coconut oil (melted)

Toast the nuts in the oven or in a skillet until they are golden brown.

Place the spices in a mortar and pestle and grind to incorporate the curry and the red pepper flakes.

Drizzle 1 Tbs coconut oil over the toasted nuts and then sprinkle the curry powder mixture over it. Stir with a spoon to coat the nuts completely.

Bag them up and sneak them into any sort of function where the food options are limited/non-Paleo!!
This way, you won't starve--you eat clean--no matter what, you win--you might be/or eventually be the sexiest person in the room. #truth!

Almond, Rosemary and Date Crackers (Gluten Free!)

Last night was one of my favorite nights of the month, wine tasting night (with a local wine group to which I belong) at the Barton Gallery (next to Michaelangelo's Restaurant.

Typically, we each bring a bottle of wine (based on a theme we decide ahead of time for the month) and a dish (if we can) to share. This month was sort of a competition to choose the themes for the next three months, so we brought bottles to vote. The very best as decided by the group would win the themes for February, March, and April.

Some of varietals, regions, themes present last night were: Alsace, San Luis Obispo, Barbera, Barbaresco, Tour of Italy, Rare Italians, and the Middle East. We decided that next month's theme would be Alsatian Wines, and it was an easy decision after we tried an Alsatian Riesling (C and R brought, the Domaine Gresser Riesling, Alsace 2007 to be exact) that had all the great characteristics of a Riesling, such as clean, bright, and crisp, without being sticky and cloying.

I brought these Rosemary Date Crackers to the tasting because I wanted to make sure there was some sort of cracker/snack I could eat once I got there. I do sometimes get weak and miss bread/crackers at wine tastings, but these crackers were way more flavorful than store bought. The original inspiration came from Elena over at Elena's Pantry, but I have changed it up quite a bit. Enjoy!

Almond, Rosemary and Date Crackers (Gluten Free and Paleo!!)
2 cups blanched almond flour  
(Tip: Make your own with raw almonds and a food processor)
½ teaspoon salt
1 Tbs fresh or dried rosemary 
(Tip: If you use dried, you can grind up with a mortar and pestle to release the oils.)
4-5 Medjool Dates, chopped
1 egg
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 Tbs unsalted organic butter


1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Combine almond flour, salt, rosemary and dates.
3. Mix in egg, butter and oil until well combined. It's really best if you dig in and mix with your hands.
4. Roll out the mixture between parchment paper with a rolling pin.
5. Cut dough with pizza cutter, or for fun, you can use little cookie cutters. I left the rolled out pieces right on the paper and placed the paper on a cookie sheet to bake.
6. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.
7. Bring to wine tasting and people will love you for them. :)