My roasted almonds snack recipe is so simple, but it has people raving. I carry a small bag of these in my purse for times when I am out and about, and hunger strikes. When I go to Library Board meetings and others might be bringing rich goodies, I always take along a jar of these almonds to share! Almonds are admittedly not a low-calorie food, but they are packed with nutrition. I find that just a few of them can tide me over till a meal. I think a dozen are permitted a day on the South Beach Diet, and you don’t need that many at once. Five or six with a small cup of yogurt, with a dusting of cinnamon on top, make a great snack. These are great holiday gifts too.
For this recipe, I use almonds I buy at our local food coop. They aren’t processed with anything, no salt for sure, and they still have their skins on. I don’t get organic almonds because only about 4% of the U.S. crop is organic and thus they are quite a lot more expensive and hard to find.
Ingredients:
1 cup almonds
2 cups boiling water
The Steps:
1. Put the almonds in a metal bowl or a canning jar, something that can take boiling water.
2. Pour the water over the almonds and let them sit for about half an hour or until the skins easily come off with your fingers.
3. Pour the water off the almonds, draining them in a sieve or colander. Put the almonds on a large plate or cookie sheet.
4. I sit at a table for this step: Squeeze the skin off each almond, one at a time. If they are hard to do, soak them longer next time. Put each almond on a baking sheet; I use the one for my toaster oven. Spread the almonds out when all are skinned. Discard skins; they make good compost.
5. Roast the almonds. I use my countertop toaster oven for this, but you could use a regular oven or a food dehydrator. I usually do it at 225 degrees but lower or slightly higher will work too.
6. Check the almonds every now and then, stirring them if they have stuck to the pan a little.
7. Remove, cool, and store in a jar.
8. Enjoy a few at a time!
