Sahale Snacks - Sing Buri Cashews

Sahale Snacks is a brand of nut blends that's been around since January 2004. They offer unique blends of seasonings and spices unlike what you see in other brands.

I found this bag of "Sing Buri Cashews" at my local BevMo! store.

I was quite sold on the package photo, depicting what looked like cashews with a sticky sweet glaze, chunks of red chiles, and sesame seeds. It totally screamed out "asian zing".

So I picked up a bag of this stuff along with a six pack of Deschutes Inversion IPA.

I sat myself down in the backyard patio, tore open the bag of cashews, and popped the cap on the IPA.

My first disappointment with the cashews came when I found there was no such sticky sweet glaze as depicted on the bag. My second disappointment came when I sniffed the bag and found it to smell exactly like plain old cashews.

I mean, the back of the bag actually says, "...aromatic blend reminiscent of a great Thai dish". Well, I found no such Thai aroma.

And very little such Thai taste. I did actually taste some seasoning to this, but it's very light. I kinda wondered if maybe I picked up a bad bag or something. For the most part, all I'm tasting here are just cashews. The only burst of additional flavor came when I bit into the chunks of pineapple.

I thought the Deschutes Inversion IPA was good, however.




Sahale Snacks makes six different nut blends in all...

• Dauphine - Inspired by French Provincial cuisine, this blend features walnuts, blueberries, bananas and coconut flakes, lightly sweetened, and seasoned with lavender and white pepper



• Ksar - An exotic, piquant combination of pistachios and pepitas, sweetened by figs and honey, finished with a peppery kick of Moroccan harissa.



• Sing Buri - Lemongrass, soy glazed cashews, pineapple, peanuts, and sesame seeds lightly dusted with mild chinese chili make up this exceptional, aromatic blend reminiscent of a great Thai dish.



• Socorro - Flavors forged in the southwestern sun... chipotle, cumin, and cilantro accent this unusual fusion of macadamia, hazelnuts, mango and papaya.



• Soledad - A delectable snacking experience, influenced by the Mediterranean, featuring almonds, flax seeds, and tender dates, tickled with balsamic vinegar and cayenne.



• Valdosta - A sumptuous departure from everyday snack food, made with black peppered pecans and sweet cranberries, evoking a unique taste of the American south.

I could have totally misunderstood the point of these nut blends, perhaps they're not supposed to have a strong flavor. But I think the photo on the package misrepresents the actual product inside. Perhaps it would be better to have a windowed package so that the product can sell itself.

Visit Sahale Snacks online at: http://www.sahalesnacks.com

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Yow - Sports Almonds

Yow is a new brand of foods that takes natural snacks, like blueberries and nuts, and packages them in drink bottles.

I kinda like the image of a runner "drinking" this bottle of roasted salted almonds.

The product labels actually touts almonds as a "health food", claiming that it's a great source of monounsaturated fats, which lowers bad cholesterol, and raises good cholesterol. It also lists out several vitamins.

The combination of the sports style drink bottle and the claim to be heart-healthy, is a way to position salted nuts as some kind of muscle-building product.

Visit Yow Snacks online at...
http://www.yowsnacks.com/

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Pistachios May Lower Blood Pressure

The Western Pistachio Association released the results of a study (that it paid for), showing that eating pistachio nuts may help lower blood pressure, and increase the body's ability to react to stress...

According to groundbreaking results of a study conducted by nutrition researchers at Penn State University and released earlier this year, eating pistachios may reduce your body's response to the stresses of everyday life.

Pistachios, when eaten in both 3 ounce and 1.5 ounce servings, resulted in study participants experiencing a significant reduction of the biological effects of acute stress. During the diets supplemented with pistachios, subjects had lower blood pressure during stress.

Read the full announcement here...
http://sev.prnewswire.com/food-beverages/20071119/AQM06819112007-1.html

Of course, eating pistachios can also increase your stress and blood pressure when trying to crack open a nut that doesn't want to open up.

That's one reason why I like sunflower seeds.

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Real Buffalo Peanuts

Just as the name implies, "Real Buffalo Peanuts" are peanuts made from real Buffaloes.

Ok, no, they're peanuts seasoned with "Buffalo Wing" spices. But, when I saw the name "Real Buffalo Peanuts" the first thing that entered my mind were Rocky Mountain Oysters, or some kind of new derivative from another part of the country.

The spicy snack food is the creation of Nuts Are Good! Inc. of Warren, Michigan.

They've been around for over a year now.

The company actually specializes in a wide assortment of odd peanuts seasonings, including...

• Vanilla Rum Peanuts


• Margarita Peanuts


• Pina Colada Peanuts


• Apple Cinnamon Peanuts


• Raspberry Peanuts


• Coconut Peanuts

But according to the company, Real Buffalo Peanuts is their all time best seller.

You can buy them online from company at...
http://www.nutsaregood.com/

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Sabritas Peanuts - New Varieties

Sabritas now offers its seasoned peanuts in two new varieties, "Chile and Lime" and "Japanese".

Sabritas is a brand name of Frito-Lay, marketed towards the hispanic community, with products available in the USA in hispanic food stores.

It's not clear to me what the "Japanese" variety is all about, I don't have access to its ingredients list. Perhaps it's wasabi.

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Sconza Dark Chocolate Toffee Almonds

Sconza has long been known for its wonderful panned confections like jawbreakers, Jordan almonds and chocolate covered nuts.

They've gone upscale with their new varieties of premium nut and fruit confections, debuting 70% Cacao International Blend Dark Chocolate Toffee Almonds.

They've combined a toffee coated almond with deep dark chocolate. They're sold in a 5 ounce bag for a retail price of $4.99.

In addition, they other new product in the line is called 70% Cacao International Blend Dark Chocolate Espresso Beans combines freshly roasted coffee beans and especially dark chocolate.

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Chili Nutter'z

The company B-More Nutz has introduced mild flavored Chili Nutter'z. (Awwww, isn't that cute, a chili pepper is the apostrophe!)

The snack features a core of a Spanish peanut with a crispy crunchy coating flavored with a light touch of mild chili.

They available 3 oz. (85g) bags with a retail price of $1.99.

According to the B-More Nutz website they're currently available in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and the District of Columbia as well as directly from the company via their webstore.

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Planters Cinnamon Roasted Peanuts

In celebration of its 100th Anniversary, the Planters brand of peanuts is offering "Cinnamon Roasted Peanuts".

Available as a limited edition run, they come in a 6.5oz can selling for $1.50 each.

Planters also has other varieties slated for 100th Anniversary limited edition runs, "Honey Roasted Peanuts", "Cajun Peanuts", and "Honey Mustard Peanuts".

Visit Planters online: http://www.planters.com

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Hooters Peanuts

Hooters brand of snack foods now include roasted peanuts. Varieties include Hot Wing Flavored and Salted.

Hooters branded snack foods, which also include potato chips, are manufactured by Vistar Corp., and have traditionally been sold only through vending machines.

Contact Vistar Corp for distribution info: http://www.vistarvsa.com/

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GoLower Nut Bars

GoLower is a brand of low-carbohydrate snack bars popular in the UK and just now becoming available in the USA.

They're claimed to be made from only the finest nuts and seeds and held together using a fiber-based sweetener called oligofructose. They contain no artificial sweeteners like Splenda, Aspartame, Ace-K, or sugar alcohols.

Available in three varieties, Raspberry, Chocolate, and Coconut, each GoLower bar contains about 3.3 to 3.7g net carbs, about 6g protein, over 9g fiber, and is fortified with zinc, antioxidants, and omega-3 as well as omega-6 essential fatty acids.

You can buy them online from:
http://carbsmart.stores.yahoo.net/golowerbars.html

Visit GoLower at: http://www.golower.com

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Poppycock Belgian Dark Chocolate Covered Nuts

Lincoln Snacks Co. is now offering their popular mixed glazed nuts covered in Belgian dark chocolate.

You get a mixture of almonds, cashews, and pecans, glazed with their brown sugar, cream, and butter covering, then covered again in dark chocolate.

You can buy it online here.

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Garfield's ChocoBites

Garfield is making his appearance on a new variety of candy-coated chocolate peanuts from Argentina-based Arcor S.A.I.C.

The candy, which is dubbed, "Garfield Approved, Limited Edition", is essentially an M&M's peanut knock-off, and is being distributed to the USA by the company's USA affiliate, Arcor USA.

Since the market for candy-coated chocolate peanuts is pretty well saturated, the presence of Garfield ought to help get some eyeballs.

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Dave's Smokin' Nuts

Dave's Gourmet, Inc., famous for its "Insanity Hot Sauce", announced the launch of new "Dave's Smokin' Nuts".

They're described as delicious chipotle barbecue peanuts with a smokey flavor and just a little bit of heat.

Priced at $6.99 per 10oz can.

Buy it online from Dave's Gourmet.

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Najlas Gone Nuts!

Najla's Catering Inc., of Louisville, KY, announced the release of their newest offering, "Gone Nuts!".

It's described as an outrageous mix of macadamias, pecans, walnuts, and almonds, tossed together in a zesty blend of spices. In addition to everyday snacking, the company says they're great in salads, or coarsely chopped and layered between softened gorgonzola cheese.

Visit the company's store locator.

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Mauna Loa - Macadamias and Almonds

If you happen to like both Macadamia nuts and Almond nuts, you're in luck.

Mauna Loa has introduced its latest nut mix, Macadamias and Almonds. No longer will you have to pluck out the pecans and cashews from their mixed nut variety.

It's packaged in an 8.5 oz. canister with a resealable plastic lid and priced at $6.95.

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Hershey's Really Nuts! - Milk Chocolate Cocoa Almonds

Hershey's "Really Nuts!" line has been extended to include the new "Milk Chocolate Cocoa Almonds".

It's said to be almonds covered with real milk chocolate and Hershey's Cocoa.

The new chocolatey nuts are packaged in a 2.25 oz. plastic bag priced at $1.50.

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Cocoa Nuts Bar Epices

Cocoa Designs of Burlingame, CA is now offering "Cocoa Nuts Bar Epices".

It combines praline almonds with pepper, cloves, all spice and nutmeg in 61 percent Venezuelan chocolate.

The bar has a suggested retail price of $6.00.

Buy them online, or visit the company's store locator.

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Glico Cratz Pretzels & Almonds

Japanese-food maker Glico has introduced a new snack called, "Cratz - Pretzel & Almond".

It's a mixture of pretzel chunks and whole almonds. It's marketed as an accompaniment with beer.

Varieties include Cheddar Cheese, Pepper Bacon (pictured), and Arabiki Mustard. The mustard variety happens to be flavored with chicken and vegetables.

There's a funny television commercial that shows a young guy and girl eating some Cratz, with their heads turning into an older beer drinker.

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Tiger Soy Soynuts Crunch

Chinese-based Hongteng Peanut Co., Ltd. introduced new "Soynuts Crunch" in the USA.

They're marketed under the Tiger Soy brand name and are available in a Lime & Chile variety. The Soy Nuts are baked, all natural and free of GMO.

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