Monday, March 30, 2009

The generous people at Dr. Lankin’s Awesome Almonds were kind enough to send me a few packages of their Awesome Almonds to sample and review for the blog. As a big fan of candied almonds I jumped at the chance to test out the healthier version of the typically bad for you mall kiosk sweet treat.

According to an Awesome Almonds press release:

Awesome Almonds come in three flavors: Cinnamon-Vanilla, Orange-Vanilla, and Cocoa-Java, using only all-natural ingredients and no added cooking oils. Awesome Almonds are kosher, gluten free, and vegan-certified (no animal-derived ingredients). Awesome Almonds are packaged in 2 oz pouch bags and are sold at specialty and natural food stores and included in upscale gift baskets, especially those with a wellness or health theme.

I was also happy to read that these treats contain:

• All natural ingredients: almonds, pure beet sugar, real vanilla extract, cinnamon, cocoa, coffee and orange juice.
• No Salt
• No added fats or artificial preservatives.
• No partially hydrogenated oils.
• No trans fat.
• No artificial colors.
• No Cholesterol

Sounds good to me!

I taste tested all three flavors during my snack today.

First up with the Orange-Vanilla Awesome Almonds.

 

I love how on the ingredient list it actually says Orange Juice and Orange Extract instead of simply stating ‘Orange Flavorings’

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The Orange-Vanilla was awesome! Very sweet, but with a nice crunch and you could really taste the orange and vanilla flavors shine through. This one was also a favorite of my supervisor as well. This nut would make a great addition to a Mandarin Salad or even a great breading for Chicken, crushed up with some added orange zest to infuse the flavors even further.

Second was the Java-Chocolate.

Again a pure ingredient list that contains Cocoa and Coffee.

Oddly enough, this one was not as sweet as the Orange-Vanilla and had a much more subtle flavor to it. Out of all them, this was my Supervisor’s least favorite, but another co-worker found it to be her favorite. The light cocoa flavor was present, but I did not get too much coffee or java flavor. This would make a great dessert addition, maybe crushed up on top of some Ice Cream.

Last was the Cinnamon-Vanilla.

Again, very sweet as the Orange-Vanilla, but not too much of a cinnamon flavor to it. This one could have just been called vanilla. Still a very good nut, just not a cinnamon nut. This one seemed to be a middle ground nut for everyone, nothing too spectacular, but nothing wrong with it. I think I am going to experiment with this nut as an addition to my morning breakfast. It would compliment my vanilla yogurt perfectly. In fact I wish I had some yogurt right now to test it out on. These would even make a great addition of a Chicken Salad Sandwich, providing it with a nice sweet crunch to gad to the sweet & savory combo I enjoy so much.

Overall I enjoyed all of the nuts, and look at them as a great alternative for satisfying your sweet tooth while gaining all the heart healthy benefits of the almond. I wonder what would happen if I tried to make a homemade almond butter out of these nuts? Hmmm…. The idea wheels are definitely turning.

If I had any complaint at all, I would say the sugar content is a tad high, but I guess when you basically replicating candied almonds, that’s too be expected. I am also sad that they have 2 servings in one bag at 170 calories a serving. Do you know how hard it is to stop yourself from eating the whole bag? After I finished my samples I had to seal the bags and hide them from myself otherwise I could have easily finished off every nut left in front of me.

In the end the Awesome Almonds, were plain Awesome.. it’s really as simple as that.

Please check out the Awesome Almonds website to order some sweet treats of your own or you can find a store near you.

Lunch today involved some left overs I stole from my parent’s place yesterday.

I had an open faced Sandwich on a Whole Wheat English Muffin with the Black Bean & Chickpea dip, Spinach, Mushrooms, Sprouts and Tomato as the inside out filling.

I really liked the dip as a sandwich spread. The flavors are so great, you will be seeing this dip incorporated into a lot of meals this week.

On the side I had some fresh Watermelon and left over Black Bean & Corn Salad.

I really love my Dad’s Black Bean salad. I always forget it exist, I am sure I can easily get away with making a single serving portion on my own some time.

Baker’s Spotlight…

Today I present to you another baker with a personal connection to Team in Training and the Leukemia & Lyphoma Society. Meaghen, a newbie blogger of Live. Love. Laugh. Eat. Learn, had this to say when she e-mailed me, volunteering to bake for the Blogging Bake Sale.

I think it’s so wonderful that you’re doing this TNT marathon. My mom has non-hodgkins lymphona. She was diagnosed almost 10 years ago now and was told she was going die, but she’s still here as strong as ever. She has now gone back to university to get a degree in Pyschology and plans on starting her Masters next year and become a therapist. TNT is a gerat cause that really does help saves lives, like my mom’s! I would love to help any way I can.

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