As we know, the holidays are a gift-giving season. What better way to show someone that you care than by giving them a homemade gift for the holidays? But making homemade gifts can be time consuming… especially when baking individual batches. This recipe is a great way to create a bulk gift that can easily be packaged in smaller quantities.
A dear friend of mine modified this recipe for me. It is very forgiving as you can substitute individual ingredients easily. The original recipe called for peanuts. Unfortunately, in addition to many people suffering from anaphylactic allergies to peanuts in our country, they can also be inflammatory. This means that eating peanuts causes more inflammation in our body, which is at the root of most illnesses today. Due to the over-farming and processing that has occurred in peanut farming over the past several decades, peanuts are not the healthiest snack to eat. But fortunately, there are so many fantastic, healthy nuts to choose from.
Once the final batch is cooled, you can package it up in individual small bags and tie them off with a ribbon. Also, check out www.Pinterest.com for fun ideas on how to package homemade holiday gifts.
Holiday Gift Roasted Nut Mix
Ingredients:
- 2 cups raw cashews
- 2 Tbs honey
- 2 Tbs water
- 2 Tsp grape seed oil or olive oil (note: when increasing the recipe, do not increase oil to more than 4 Tsp)
- ¼ cup maple sugar or palm/coconut sugar
- ½ Tsp sea salt
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
- Mix sugar and salt together and set aside
- Line cookie sheet with parchment paper
- Spread cashews on cookie sheet in single layer
- Roast cashews at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes
- In a skillet, heat honey, water, and oil to a boil
- Add nuts and cook, stirring until syrup is gone and nuts are well coated
- Pour sugar and salt mixture over nuts, stirring until completely coated
- Return nuts to cookie sheet, let cool and dry
- Break nuts apart
- Enjoy!!! (Note: You can store nuts in covered container for up to one month)
Ayelet Connell-Giammatteo, PhD, PT, IMT, C is the President and Owner of Integrative Wellness and Physical Therapy in Bloomfield, CT. This wellness center specializes in holistic physical therapy, integrative manual therapy (IMT), and nutritional wellness. Dr. Connell-Giammatteo is a physical therapist and certified integrative manual therapist. She has been practicing in the field of IMT for over 15 years and has taught courses both nationally and abroad. Dr. Connell-Giammatteo received her bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from The University of Hartford, in Connecticut. She received her doctoral degree from Union Institute & University in Cincinnati, Ohio, focusing in neuropediatrics, with a concentration in autism. Some of her doctoral research involved a unique charter elementary school called Soaring Heights, located in Jersey City, New Jersey. During this research, she investigated the efficacy of integrative manual therapy on young children that presented challenges in learning, socialization, and behavior. In addition to her IMT expertise, she is a graduate of the Institute of Functional Medicine’s program “Applying Functional Medicine into Clinical Practice,” which focuses on nutritional wellness. She has written many articles about IMT, healthy living, natural parenting, and nutritional wellness. Dr. Connell-Giammatteo was Dean of the Connecticut School of Integrative Manual Therapy (CSIMT) for several years. She is also a local of this community and has been living in the Greater Hartford area for many years, where she integrates a healthy lifestyle at home with her wonderful family.