Roundup: healthy snacks, and more!

Do you have a New Year’s resolution? I don’t, but healthy eating is an ideal I try to put in practice in my cooking all year-round. Since we are in January now, a month well-known for resolutions, I thought I should write this post to highlight some of the products I tried and thoroughly enjoyed recently, which fall into the “healthy eating” category.

Have you tried any of these? Let me know in the comments 🙂

• Season sardines

To me, sardines are a very nostalgic food. Growing up, they were considered a delicacy, and since we didn’t have a lot to eat to begin with, every time my dad managed to come across canned sardines, it was party time!

I understand that sardines may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I adore them! Not only are they delicious in my opinion, but they also pack an amazing variety of nutritional benefits, as evidenced in a recent WebMD article: “Sardines are rich in essential nutrients, low in calories, and recommended as part of a healthy diet. Adding sardines to a balanced diet can help improve blood vessel function, ease inflammation, and more (…) A Harvard study found that consuming just one to two servings of sardines every week provides enough omega-3 fatty acids to reduce your chances of heart disease by more than one-third.”

For over 100 years, Season has been committed to producing certified sustainable, gluten-free and non-GMO, wild-caught, heart-healthy tinned fish including sardines, mackerel, anchovies, and more. They are the #1 sardine seller in the U.S., and their products can be found in-store at Costco, and online on Amazon.

Season sardines are delicious and versatile, perfect for pastas, avocado toast, or in dips. I loved eating them straight from the can and in salads such as the one below, featuring Iceberg lettuce, feta, homemade pickled hot peppers, and everything bagel seasoning. When using the sardines in oil, I did not even make a special salad dressing because the luscious aromatic oil was just enough to coat the entire salad in flavors of the sea.

A super easy and straightforward preparation for a quick lunch and a delicious trip down memory lane 🙂

• LOVE CORN
  

I first came across LOVE CORN at the latest edition of the Sweets & Snacks Expo, held in Indianapolis (you can check out my comprehensive review of the Expo here) I was very impressed with the healthfulness of this snack, and excited when the LOVE CORN reps offered to send me a package of their products to try 🙂

• Qali Kay & Natierra
  

Qali Kay (meaning “healthy” in Quechua) is a new online marketplace committed to discovering and offering the finest and healthiest snacks available. Focused on promoting vitality and well-being, Qali Kay provides an extensive selection of snacks and smoothies designed to nourish the body and to delight the taste buds. Recently, Qali Kay partnered with Natierra to become its exclusive online retailer.

Focusing on organic and fair-trade products, Natierra provides a variety of healthy snacks and supplements that benefit both consumers and the environment. Natierra’s main product lines include organic freeze-dried snacks and smoothies. While their freeze-dried snacks made from a variety of fruits and vegetables offer a crunchy, nutrient-rich alternative to traditional snacks, their smoothies provide a convenient way to enjoy healthy beverages on-the-go.

As you know by now, I am a big fan of freeze-dried fruits and veggies, and I use them extensively in my cooking and baking (you are welcome to check out some examples of my uses here, here, here, here and here). Freeze-dried fruits and veggies are very trendy at the moment, and so is freeze-dried candy, a phenomenon which is expected to continue.

I have been eating Natierra’s scrumptious freeze-dried fruits on their own as a snack, and I have been adding them to breakfasts such as the one pictured below, a mouthwatering combination of sourdough granola and a smoothie:

• Jewels under the Kilt

Jewels Under the Kilt is another company I first came across at last year’s Sweets & Snacks Expo, held in Indianapolis. Founder Elisabeth Burrow was handing out samples, and we chatted for a little while. She recently sent me a package of her products to try.

Jewels Under the Kilt’s Canadian-made and sourced artisan roasted nuts provide unique flavors and a patented maple process that creates nutritious and seriously delicious nuts in an enticing range of options, including the most unexpected tastes, as well as the classic salted or plain varieties. Whether you are looking for chipotle or moonshine pecans, orange vanilla cream almonds, pear ginger walnuts or chocolate hazelnuts, Jewels Under the Kilt has a nut for you!

Moreover, the Party of 6 Sample Boxes are the perfect gifts and an excellent way to sample some of their best sellers.

There is something for everyone in these deliciously addictive boxes!

As Elisabeth states on her website, “Everything that goes into each unique artisan nut flavour is sourced from local suppliers whom I’ve developed relationships with over the years. Nothing artificial and totally a unique, Canadian experience.  I take my nut-making very seriously so that each and every customer falls in love with my recipes as much as I do in the making process.” Elizabeth’s commitment to purity and authenticity of local flavors is an amazing source of inspiration and a model for other companies to follow, in my opinion.

Jewels under the Kilt is currently running a limited-time promotion where shipping is free if you buy a minimum of 3 boxes (use code JEWELSSHIPPINGFREE). I invite you to check them out –  these roasted nuts are irresistibly delicious 🙂

• Cambio Roasters

Cambio Roasters is redefining the single-serve coffee market with its aluminum pods for Keurig coffee brewers. Led by CEO Kevin Hartley, formerly of Keurig Green Mountain, the company focuses on delivering the finest organic coffees in the world’s most recyclable pods. Cambio Roasters’ mission is to transform the iconic coffee pod for the next 25 years, blending third-wave coffee culture with a positive environmental and social impact, while also elevating the entire coffee consuming experience.

Plastic coffee pods are notoriously problematic for the environment, with only 3% of them being successfully recycled into new products. In contrast, aluminum is infinitely recyclable and retains over 60% of the aluminum ever produced in circulation. This makes aluminum a superior choice for both sustainability and recycling efficiency.

Moreover, traditional plastic pods are inadequate at preserving coffee freshness due to their porous nature. Aluminum pods, however, provide a nearly perfect oxygen barrier, ensuring the coffee maintains its intended freshness and flavor from roast to brew. Cambio features 100% organic coffees carefully selected from small farms around the world, and donates 20% of its profits to Food 4 Farmers, who work closely with coffee-farming families struggling with food insecurity often for more than 6 months per year. Cambio has also just announced its partnership with 4Ocean, founded by two surfers with a mission to eradicate plastic from the world’s oceans.

I am very familiar with the excellent recycling potential of aluminum, and as such I applaud Cambio Roasters for its delicious and sustainable products, which in my opinion will make a significant contribution to addressing the environmental impact of coffee consumption. Cambio Roasters aluminum pods are available at over 1,000 retailers nationwide, as well as through their website and on Amazon.

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