NUTS! I FOUND THE PERFECT SNACK FOOD

gourmet nut blend: macadamias, hazelnuts, papaya, mango, cilantro, cumin and chipotle

Hey, you know I like to snack. It isn't often that you'd find me without one on my person...in my purse, in the top left drawer of my desk in the classroom amidst the bags and cans of green tea (I keep it locked so don't bother!), in my pantry and in my car.

This isn't even counting the myriad snacks I keep around for my kiddies (rice crackers and pretzels etc.)!

It's like I've got to eat, ya know?

I find roasted, unsalted almonds to be a great energy lifter so they're always around in a little fist-sized tin in my purse. I try not to keep processed junk around because if it's there, I'll overindulge. So for me, that crucial choice not to purchase the junk at the grocery store is key.

pecans, cranberries, orange zest and black pepper blend

One place I feel kind of safe buying snacks, is at a whole foods store. Today I went to Capers, though I'm looking forward to the new Whole Foods opening soon on Broadway and Cambie. I can't wait! I found these delicious nuts at Capers today. They come in a variety of "gourmet" flavours. Looking at the ingredient list, I'm cogitating: how the heck am I gonna make these? They're so expensive! ( but they're so good! Tell me if you have a good knock-off recipe!)

Sahale (sa-HA-lee) has 6 different "blends" of nuts:

• Dauphine: walnuts with blueberries, banana, coconut, ginger & lavender--lightly sweetened and seasoned with white pepper
• Ksar: pistachios with sesame seeds, pepitas, fig & moroccan harissa sweetened by honey & kicked up with pepper
• Sing Buri: cashews with pineapple, peanuts, lemongrass, mild chinese chili
• Socorro: macadamia nuts with hazelnuts, mangos, papaya & seasoned with cumin, cilantro, southwestern chipotle
• Soledad: almonds with apple, flax seed, dates, balsamic vinegar & cayenne
• Valdosta: pecans with cranberries, black pepper & orange zest

I purchased the "Socorro" macadamia blend and the "Valdosta" pecan blend. There is a definite sweetness to both blends. I much prefer the flavours in the macadamia blend (not so crazy about the inclusion of hazelnuts though) but the pecan blend has a nice kick to it too. I think all the blends have the sweet, salty, spicy thing going on and it appeals to me on so many levels! I'm rationalizing eating these because they're considered "whole foods".

The Sahale website is here if you want to check out the products and ingredients. From the names of the blends, I thought that this company would be more ethnic, but they're not. Looks like a couple of white guys trying to make it big like Starbucks. They're based in the Pacific Northwest, in Seattle Washington. Check out this link if you want to find out the story behind the names of their snack blends, and how to pronounce them!

I've seen the pecan blend for sale in a huge bag at Costco and was very intrigued; but afraid to buy such a huge quantity without having sampled it. I'm glad I didn't buy it because I prefer the macadamia blend. That being said, Costco's price for the huge bag is so much cheaper than the little itty bitty 142g bag I bought for around $5! Oh well, that's a good reason for moderation.

taste-rating: two thumbs up!

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update: August 4, 2008

psssst! I've created my own knockoff recipe over here!