Healthy Nut and Seed Brittle [vegan + paleo]

A sweet and irresistibly crunchy treat packed with healthy fats and prepared in less than 20 minutes this Nut and Seed Brittle is the perfect snack or topping any time of the day. Paleo, gluten- and refined sugar-free plus with a vegan option it’s a treat [almost] everybody can enjoy.

A sweet, sweet reward. That’s what today’s recipe was for me several times over. Not only a sweet reward after my camera ate the pictures of my first photoshoot here and I had to reshoot in a hurry on Monday. But also a reward to calm down my anxious mind. While emotional eating is a serious and not so funny issue sometimes it’s nice to grab certain foods knowing they”ll make you feel better. Chocolate and peanut butter are go-tos for me and I was pleasantly surprised to see this Nut and Seed Brittle could rank right up there with them. Watch out, chocolate.

A little story behind the making of this recipe: Like I mentioned a while ago my new job comes right along with a bunch of willing – unknowingly in some cases, I should say – test eaters for my creations. Or at least I was hoping so. After the huge success of these healthy Snickers Truffles at the office I wanted to let them in on their “luck” of being taste testers. One of my colleagues’ response? “Sure – if all of them are as good as these.” Awesome. Not at all setting me under pressure or being high maintenance, no? As much as I wish I could have just brushed this off and thrown together the wildest creations in my kitchen this did slow me down for a while.  This is in line with blogging for myself as it’s me putting myself under almost unbearable pressure to create only the best recipes and content – which is a recipe for desaster. I’ll never only write the most amazing posts or have no more kitchen fails but the constant stress has been persistent. Which actually is part of the anxiety I mentioned recently but that’s a topic for another post. You came here for good food after all ,right? And good food I can deliver. Over the top delicious food if I may say so myself.

Sweet.
Crunchy.
Addictive.
Nutty.
Vegan and refined sugar-free options.
Paleo.
Addictive. Oh, did I mention this before?

This is your new favourite snack, oatmeal/smoothie/yogurt topping or actually just favourite food. If I declare something in one league with chocolate it has to be over the moon good. No, awesome. It also disappeared in seconds at the office where there’s no shortage of candy at any time so that’s to say something if you don’t believe my judgement  [not blaming you; I occasionally create some strange but good combinations. Mostly good I’d like to think, though 😉 ].

The fun fact is that my mind was spinning with ideas for more elaborate treats but in the end I remembered what I eat every day in anyway – flaxseeds, nuts – and took it up a notch. Honestly, I have to stop talking now because I’m getting hungry just thinking about it and you’re sitting at the edge of your seat to get the recipe, too, right?  At least you will after trying this. Mmmh.  End of story.

Healthy Caramel Nut and Seed Brittle

• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds [30 g]
• 1/4 cup unsalted cashews [30 g]
• 1/4 cup whole almonds [30 g]
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
• 1-2 tbsps dried cranberries, chopped*
• 1 tbsp honey or brown rice syrup for a vegan version  [26 g]
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• Pinch of ground vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 320 °F/160 °C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Chop both the almonds and cashews.
   In a wide bowl, stir together honey and maple. Mix in vanilla.
3. Add in the nuts, seeds and cranberries. Stir to coat everything in syrup.
4. Spread the nut mixture evenly on your prepared baking sheet.
5. Bake for about 15 minutes, watching closely to avoid burning it. Baking times might vary depending on your oven.
6. Once done – the syrup should have bubbled up and set around the nuts in an only golden brown colour – remove the sheet from the oven and transfer the parchment paper to a plate to cool down. This step is important as the brittle would cook further on the still hot baking sheet.

*the cranberries I used where sweetened but you can sub them for any dried fruit you like.

Additional step: repeat above process over and over again. Because a) you won’t be able to stop munching on the brittle and b) everybody else will ask for more, too.

I’m linking up with Allergy Free Wednesdays, #RecipeOfTheWeek,#StrangeButGood,  Gluten-Free Fridays,Tasty Tuesdays,Healthy Vegan Fridays, Meatless Mondays.

 

Happiness-inducing today: One of my German students working very well in today’s lesson and even getting excited about learning [we did “Umlaute” today]. It’s almost crazy how happy this made me after he was very inattentive the past weeks.

 

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