I bought this “value size” mixed nuts at CVS for well under $10 with a 40% off coupon. The price is the only thing good about it.
Dr. Ludwig wants you to eat a handful of nuts as part of his Always Hungry diet. Which is why I often feel virtuous for buying a tub of mixed nuts when they’re on sale. Unfortunately, what’s inside those containers almost always disappoints.
The first problem is the peanuts. I happen to love peanuts; Trader Joe’s creamy salted peanut butter from unblanched peanuts is one of my all-time favorite foods. But peanuts in an assortment overpower the flavor of the other elements. An especially egregious example is shown above. It contains “up to 60% peanuts” so should properly be called “peanuts mixed with some other nuts”. And I’m quite happy to pay extra for mixed nuts with no peanuts except for the second problem:
Salt.
Snackable nuts should provide an appealing salty rush, yet the makers have determined we should be eating less salt so we get abominations like “light sea salt” which is an attempt to offset the lack of good honest salt with an artisanal buzzword. The only alternative offered by most vendors is salt free (shudder). Oddly enough, peanuts on their own are adequately salted. The nut industry has evidently decided people who don’t like peanuts, or want to avoid tasting them in every bite, have a medical condition that makes them need to cut down on salt.
I do know where I can find mixed nuts that satisfy: my local upscale supermarket, Healthy Living, aka Wealthy Living in the vernacular of many of my neighbors. They have a salty, flavorful assortment of dry roasted nuts with no peanuts that checks all the boxes and costs $18 a pound. By comparison, it’s not hard to find a couple of pounds of mixed nuts for the same price, even less if you will accept a few scoops of (tragically under salted) peanuts.
I guess this is one of those times when you have to grit your teeth and pay up for quality. So I’m off to Healthy Living as soon as I can work my way through the current tub of 60% peanuts/mixed nuts. Maybe I’ll douse them in a saline bath and roast a bit, then separate the peanuts from the other nuts.
Anybody else struggling with mixed nuts on a Monday?
I tend to buy unsalted mixed nuts from Sam’s Club…hubs then can mix in his salted peanuts to make the blend he wants, and I can pick and choose what I want.
Well, that’s an idea. I think I would prefer unsalted to “lightly salted” because at least I know what I am getting. Though my experiment in brining and roasting my mixed nuts from CVS actually came out quite well.
I was inspired by the Wine Bar nuts nearly 20 years ago. The herbs are key. I prefer to mix individual nut varieties and control the salt myself.
@llcwine: funny you mention hubs and peanuts in the same sentence. Have you tried Hubs peanuts? They’re fried. Last I knew, Fresh Market carries them. Amazing.
will try them. Don’t know that I’ve had the Wine Bar’s nuts, have not been since Dominic left.
@John: will look for them next time I’m in Fresh Market….thanks for the tip!