I love baking on snowy days. There is nothing like that cozy feeling of something sweet radiating from the oven. Naturally, I try to keep my baking adventures practical and healthy. After reading an inspiring article about the cardiovascular benefits of snacking on nuts (Sound nerdy? I can also be found binge watching a decent amount of Bravo on days like these. Did I redeem myself?), I decided to reinvent the remaining bag of walnuts left over in my pantry from the holidays. I find it so cliché when nutritionist, myself included, recommends "a handful of nuts" as an afternoon snack. This go-to-snack can get a bit lame after awhile, so I like to spice things up with a little natural flavor. Like most the recipes I recommend, this will take you about 2 minutes to prepare.
You will need:
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 egg white (beat separate until it is foamy)
2 Tbsps. brown sugar
3 cups of walnuts
Cinnamon to taste
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Toss everything together and lay flat on parchment paper. Bake for about 30 minutes. You may want to toss the nuts half way through. No more boring pre-gym snack. Plus your house will smell amazing! Pre-portion servings to 1/4 cup to keep your snack under 200 calories. If you need a change, try replacing the brown sugar with honey or maple syrup for an anti-inflammatory boost.
P.S. For those of you ballin' on a budget, this makes a perfect hostess or co-worker gift. Toss in a hipster mason jar adorn with some yarn, and you have earned yourself enough brownie points to last until Memorial Day
