Nuts are my go-to for a healthy snack. A small handful of nuts in the afternoon usually beats my late-day hunger urges, plus nuts are healthy for my heart. Recently I tried a new brand of roasted nuts that taste so good I want to tell all of you about them.
Let me backtrack a little and tell you more about this company, Santé Nuts. The founder, Sara Tidar, tells her story in these words:
“It all started in the kitchen. Sara has always loved to cook. She learned a secret roasting technique from her grandmother, who roasted nuts in her tiny kitchen as a special treat. Sara continued the tradition, hand roasting nuts for her family. She felt good about giving them a healthy snack, and the kids were crazy about them. Six years ago, Sara became a single mom and realized that to make ends meet, her stay-at-home status had to change. Her son suggested: “Mom, you should sell those nuts you make for us!”
I love Sara’s story of turning a talent into a business to provide for her family. The nuts are hand-roasted using their secret roasting technique that minimizes absorption of oil, creating lighter nuts with the same great crunch. I was sent candied walnuts, candied pecans, roasted salted pecans, and garlic almonds. Nutty-licious goodness! My favorites were of course the candied flavors. (Who doesn’t love a sweet caramel taste on their walnuts or pecans?!?) I ate these by the handful as did my children (yes, my picky toddler was begging for more walnuts). I also served them sprinkled on a fresh spinach salad coupled with cranberries, feta and raspberry vinaigrette dressing and for breakfast we ate the candied pecans on my favorite banana muffin recipe included below.
I really enjoyed the flavor of Santé Nuts. The nuts were a good quality and roasted well leaving them not bitter. Living in Hawaii it seems I’m always eating food that is affected by the intense humidity but these nuts still had a crisp crunch which I loved. Plus, with the added benefits of less oil from roasting I can eat a few more nuts a day.
Enjoy this yummy banana muffin recipe and follow the link below to purchase some Santé Nuts to try. Mmm!
Banana Nut Muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 over-ripe bananas
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and lightly butter one muffin tin.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture. With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, whip the remaining bananas and sugar together like you mean it, for a good 3 minutes. Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat well, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Fold in the nuts and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins to fill them about halfway. Give them a rap on the counter to get any air bubbles out.
Bake until a toothpick stuck in the muffins comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before turning the muffins out. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Yield: 12 muffins
Source: Tyler Florence’s Banana Nut Muffins recipe
BUY: Purchase Sante Nuts at SanteNuts.com and for a 25% discount use coupon code: 2011-Blog-032.
I was not compensated for this post. Any and all opinions here are mine.
