{Guest Post} Mocha Almonds w/ All Day I Dream About Food!

Hello my lovlies!

Boy do I have a treat for you!

Carolyn from All Day I Dream About Food is here!

She has been one of my favorite bloggers since, I can’t even remember how long.

I am truly honored for her to be here.

You can find her on the following:

Who hasn’t stood in the snack aisles, eye-balling those ready made convenience items, dying to purchase them to fill the voids in our bellies? Even while knowing that we will regret our decision later, when we have eaten the junk that is calling our names? All those things that in saner, less hungry moments, we’d pass by without so much as a blink of the eye.

We’ve all done it, those hunger-impulse purchases. One of my weakness is nuts. The plain, salted nuts are just fine and fit in well enough with my dietary restrictions (low carb for diabetes), but these days, there are so many other delicious cans of nuts calling to me. The flavoured ones have great appeal, from the savoury BBQ to the sweet cocoa-dusted varieties.

I have stood in front of them for ages, arguing with myself as to why I should or shouldn’t get them. But there are two undeniable reasons why I shouldn’t: a) they contain lots of junky additives and sugar and b) because they are ridiculously easy to make at home.

So I took it upon myself to make some of the Mocha Almonds at home and not only are they ridiculously easy to make, but they are ridiculously delicious too. Salty, just a touch sweet, and with a lovely mocha flavour. I made mine with a low carb sweetener but you can make yours with a bit of honey instead.

For more healthy snack ideas, follow me on Facebook and Pinterest.

• 2 cups raw almonds
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 packet Starbucks VIA coffee or 1 tsp instant espresso powder
• 2 tbsp Swerve Sweetener (or honey)
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 350F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Roast almonds 8 to 10 minutes, until golden brown, stirring once or twice during baking. Remove and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, instant coffee and sea salt. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook sweetener with water until bubbling. Add butter and stir until melted.

Stir in almonds and toss to coat and then transfer to a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with cocoa/coffee mixture and toss to coat.

Spread out onto the same parchment-lined baking sheet to cool.