Nut spreads and pastes can be used as-is or combined with a range of ingredients to create different sweet and savory spreads. “One example is nut center-filled cookies where nut pastes such as cashew or almond can be used as a healthy but indulgent filler. Hazelnut or cashew pastes can also be combined with cocoa powder to create hazelnut chocolate or cashew chocolate filled cookies,” explains Goyal.
Nuts have always been a popular component of trail mixes. To elevate the flavor experience Goyal recommends utilizing spices such as chili, cinnamon, turmeric, and pepper to reimagine traditional flavor and create new recipes for adventurous tastes. For example coating raw cashews in a sweet and spicy glaze such as honey and chili can “tickle the taste buds” with sweet heat when added to a trail mix.
Blue Diamond offers a wide variety of almond-based products including whole, diced, sliced, slivered, almond butter, almond flour, and almond protein powder. While not only delivering in taste and texture versatile almonds are clean-label, all-natural, plant-based, gluten-free, and a nutrient dense ingredient. Two of the more recent additions are almond flour and almond protein powder.
“Almond flour is finely ground to be used in traditional recipes without altering the taste or texture. Almond flour is a great gluten-free and keto alternative that offers a smooth mouthfeel and rich, buttery flavor to applications. It adds all of the great health benefits from whole almonds, and is high in protein, fiber, antioxidants, and healthy fats. It is predominantly used in baking applications such as brownies, dough, and cookies. Almond Protein (made from partially defatted almond flour) is an ideal inclusion in health and wellness supplements and protein bars due to its simple taste, smooth mouthfeel, and abundant health benefits,” explains Gerhard.