Monday, June 29, 2009

Oh! Nuts Review and Giveaway

Dried papaya, raw almonds and light raw walnuts

I am so excited to have my first giveaway! You may remember my 25th anniversary post - well, in it I mentioned Jordan almonds, and somehow the folks at Oh! Nuts read it and contacted me...long story short, they very kindly let me choose some items to taste-test AND have offered a giveaway for one lucky reader!

Oh! Nuts is a New York-based business that was started in 1992 by the husband and wife team of Yehuda and Ity Klein. They have four locations, carry everything from bulk nuts, dried fruits, chocolate, candy and coffee to gift baskets, are all Kosher and best of all, have a great website for those of us who do not live in the NYC area!

After a lot of deliberating - truly, there was so much that looked great - I chose raw almonds, light raw walnuts and, to mix things up a bit, dried papaya. Now I'll be honest here - I love raw almonds. But sometimes, in buying them in the bulk section at my local grocery store, I've gotten some that were almost rancid. So I was really pleased by the fresh taste of the Oh! Nuts raw almonds - they were crisp, crunchy and oh so good! I parceled them out into snack-sized Ziploc bags for some handy grab-and-go snacks - great protein and a healthy fat.

As you may have heard, walnuts are the new "super food" - so I have been trying to incorporate them into my meals more often. The light raw walnuts are great! I toasted them in a non-stick pan on my stove top and have made some yummy meals with them - the first was a gorgeous strawberry/walnut salad...and the next was Patti's Quinoa Walnut Cranberry Salad! Both were great, and it was so handy to have a pound of walnuts shelled and ready to use!

Lastly, the dried papaya - oh man, is it ever good! I got it intending to chop it up and toss it into salads, but so far all I've done is nibble on a spear (or two). Yum times eleventy-billion!

And now, it's your turn! One lucky reader will win the bulk item of their choice, courtesy of Oh! Nuts - all you have to do is go drool over peruse their website, pick one item that you would like to win, and tell me which item in my comments. Contest ends Thursday - I'll choose a winner and post it on Friday. Good luck and go nuts!

26 comments:

  1. ooohhh how exciting!!! I've never tried Oh! Nuts before but would LOVE LOVE LOVE the unsalted soybeans! YUM!

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  2. There are so many things on their web site that I'd love to try. Those patriotic Jordan almonds are so cute.
    But I think I would pick the Israeli pistachios. :)

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  3. How fun! Your first giveaway! I would have to get some pistachios too. I'm allergic to walnuts and pecans but thankfully all other nuts are fine because I love them. I even keep some in my car. :)

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  4. Oh lucky you! (And lucky us!) Pistachios and walntus are my favorites. And I know just what you mean about the bulk nuts and getting the ones that must've fallen on the floor - or worse.

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  5. I'd love the raw almonds, so I could try out a salad like the one you made.
    By the way, please, please, please post what all you put in that strawberry walnut salad (including dressing). It looks divine!

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  6. I've never tried raw nuts. I know....crazy! So I would love to try raw almonds. I see them everywhere on fitness blogs!

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  7. I love nuts! Cashews are my favorite, and the Sweet and Salty sound really interesting. Yum!

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  8. I LOVE LOVE LOVE pecans....and cashews....but I would adore the pecans. Naturally drowned in butter and brown sugar is best, but for flavor and crunch I like them raw.

    (thanks for dropping by my blog and not giving up on me.)

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  9. oh fun...a giveaway!

    There was so much to choose from, but I'd go for the Turkish Antep Pistachios. Yum.

    Pick me =)

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  10. Everything on their website lookds great . . . I'd love to try the pignolias! Thanks for running the giveaway :)

    And that quinoa salad looks beautiful . . . I'm going to have to try that recipe.

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  11. I love almonds so I think I'd just go for those. Great giveaway.

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  12. Yay, glad you tried the quinoa recipe, but it pales compared to that strawberry salad!

    It is past my bedtime, so I might be missing something, but what makes the walnuts light?

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  13. My friend got married in March and ended up with approximately 4,000 extra Jordan Almonds and I have been snacking on them daily since!

    I would like to try dried blueberries...I love raisins on salads, I think they would be tastey...and also the light walnuts.

    AND, yes, please post what you put into your salad!

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  14. I love nuts and seeds, but the dried cantaloupe looks intruiging.

    And how cool is it to shop by color!

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  15. RAW WALNUTS.
    **waves hands in air**
    pick me because the Toddler is eating me out of NUTS house and home lately :)

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  16. The dried bananas have always been my favorite!! I have to pace myself with those:)

    Dee
    http://www.deesdroppingtheweight.blogspot.com

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  17. The cinnamon pecans really look delicious.


    espressogurl at hotmail dot com

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  18. Out of all the dried fruits I've ever tried, dried pears are my absolute favorite! The texture is so unique, and concentrated pear flavor? Yes please! I'd totally dig trying out some of their California Jumbo Dried Pears. :)

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  19. I love the raw almonds. I'm not much of a meat eater, so it's a great source of protien for me and it's a convenient snack!

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  20. I love raw almonds too! Great give a way!!

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  21. The Non Dairy Chocolate Peanuts!
    Yum!
    Carla
    cpullum(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  22. If Canadians may enter, I'd love a chance to try their Roasted Unsalted Macadamia Nuts.

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  23. Mmm there are so many cool things on their website. I think I'm definitely going to be getting some stuff from there whether I win this or not :)

    I would love to try the Roasted Salted Pistachios

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  24. I super-pink-puffy-heart peanuts, but they're definitely not on the healthy side of nuts!LOL

    I would get some raw cashews for Hubs...he loves them. :o)

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  25. It was a difficult to choose just 1, but I think I'd like to try the ground walnuts!

    What a great website.

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