When the temperature heats up, we usually turn to the grill instead of heating up the house with the oven. However, outdoor cooking can be more elegant than simple hot dogs and hamburgers. Stuffed dates are a summer classic in our house. They’re easy to prepare and the perfect combination of sweet and salty! The best part is that they fit in just as well at a fancy summertime soiree as they do on your family’s dinner table.

We started making these delicious appetizers because we love NutsOnline’s moist, plump dates. You can really use any type of date for this project, but we suggest our pitted dates.They eliminate the extra work required to pop out the pits before stuffing the dates.

Slice each date along one side so that you can pry it open just a bit. Stuff the date with a bit of your favorite kind of cheese (we love cream cheese, gorgonzola and feta). Pop a roasted, salted nut into the center of the date. Roasted almonds and roasted pecans have a smoky flavor that pairs nicely with the fruit’s sweetness.

Close the date and wrap it in a thin slice of prosciutto or bacon. Thread it onto a thin metal skewer to keep the meat in place. Repeat the process until the rest of the dates have been stuffed and wrapped. You should be able to fit five to six dates on each skewer.

Heat the grill until you have a glowing, low fire. Place the skewers over fairly indirect heat and grill them on each side for two to three minutes. Remove them when the meat is crisp and the fruit is fragrant.

Serve the stuffed dates with fresh fruit, cheese and bread. Yummy!

We adore finding new recipes for crispy, crunchy snacks that are also good for us. We recently discovered another winner! Homemade roasted chickpeas are so simple it’s almost silly, but their rich flavor is so amazing that you won’t be able to stop yourself from munching down the whole bowl. The best thing? Chickpeas are rich in protein and iron, and are an especially perfect snack for vegetarians and vegans.

Start with about ½ lb of our dried organic chickpeas. Pour them into the bottom of a large pot, then add just enough cold water to cover them. Sprinkle in a few pinches of salt, bring the water to a boil and let the beans simmer until they’re tender. This should take anywhere from one to three hours, so be patient!

Drain the cooked chickpeas and pat them dry with a clean dishtowel. Pour them into a bowl and coat them with 1 to 2 tbsp. of olive oil. Season the peas with some salt, fresh-ground black pepper and the spices of your choice. Not sure what to choose? Some of our favorites include bbq seasoning, wasabi seasoning, curry powder and garlic and herb seasoning.

Pour the chickpeas into a single layer on a cookie sheet and slide them into a 350- to 375-degree oven. Bake them for about 45 minutes, pulling them out every 15 minutes to stir them. The chickpeas are ready when they’re evenly crunchy, without a trace of mealiness. Be sure to keep an eye on them while they’re cooking! This snack tends to burn quickly, especially toward the end.

Serve them warm or allow them to cool and store them in an airtight container. Scrumptious!

We try to enjoy nutrition-packed chia seeds every day by adding them to beverages, sprinkling them on cereal or yogurt, or just chomping on them by the teaspoonful. But did you know that chia seeds are also completely sproutable? The process for sprouting chia seeds is just a bit different than sprouting other seeds and grains, but the result is tiny, tender greens that are great on salads and sandwiches.

Before you begin, you’ll need to pick up a few supplies. You’ll need two shallow clay dishes (the type you put beneath potted plants) as well as a spray bottle and a cloth growing medium.

Because a slippery gel forms around chia seeds when you soak them, you have to be careful not to get them too wet while you’re growing them. It’s best to place them on a damp growing surface made of cheesecloth or hemp as opposed to directly in water.

Place one of the dishes right-side up on a flat surface and cut the growing medium to fit flat in the bottom of the dish. Soak the cloth and wring it out so it’s moist and spread it out in the dish. Spread several teaspoons of chia seeds around on the cloth so that there’s a bit of space surrounding each seed. Place the pan in a warm spot that gets pretty regular direct sunlight, such as in front of a window.

After about 24 hours, you should notice that some of the seeds have burst open. Fill a spray bottle with cool water and spritz the seeds with a small amount of water to keep them moist. Do this once a day, preferably in the morning.

For a few hours each day, cover the seeds by inverting the second clay dish over the first. If the dish has a hole drilled in the center, cover it with duct tape. This creates a greenhouse effect in the container, which helps the chia seeds sprout more quickly.

After about a week, the chia seed sprouts will be nearly an inch tall, with bright green tips and willowy white stems. Snip them away from the roots with a sharp knife, rinse them off and consume them immediately. These slightly spicy greens are yet another delicious, nutritious way to reap the benefits of chia!

Want to see a step-by-step outline of the process with pictures? This blog post at The Happy Raw Kitchen offers an exceptional look at sprouting chia seeds (as well as some absolutely gorgeous photos). Give it a shot, and tell us how it turns out!

Though summer’s more than half over, your little ones may have a few weeks left at home before heading back to school. With temperatures soaring and boredom waxing, what’s a parent to do? If you’re up for a project, you can try passing the afternoon by mixing up one of our favorite kids’ recipes. All of these dishes are simple and customizable for individual tastes. Perfect!

1)      Mix up a batch of trail mix. Little ones love making and eating trail mix because they can add whatever they want! Allow them to choose from selections of dried fruit, nuts, baking chips and cereal to create their own custom mix. Portion out the mix into individual containers and store it in the refrigerator to keep it fresh. It makes a great on-the-go snack for day camp, play group or even errand-running.

2)      Give peanut butter play dough a go! You might remember this sticky-sweet mixture of peanut butter, honey and powdered milk from your childhood. It’s delicious as well as entertaining! To make a batch, mix 2 cups of peanut butter with 3 tbsp. of honey and about 1 cup of powdered milk. Use it to make sculptures on wax paper, but be sure to set some aside to snack on. If your child is allergic to peanut butter, you can substitute other types of nut butters such as soy, sunflower or almond butter.

3)      Try your hand at no-bake cookies. No-bake cookies, which are set in the refrigerator instead of baked in the oven, are a special sweet dessert that are easy enough for even little hands to mix up (with a bit of help if the stove is involved). We highly recommend this Food Network recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies. If you want, you can throw in a little something extra, such as a handful of salty roasted peanuts or some sweet dark raisins.

Testing out new recipes to find ways to incorporate our delicious, healthful ingredients into yummy treats is a passion of ours. And, hey, if it tastes good and it’s good for you, it’s a win-win situation!

These carrot-apple muffins were adapted from this fabulous recipe and are packed with fruit, veggie and fiber goodness! Plus, they include the incredibly nutritious boost that only chia seeds can offer. They’re also vegan, which is good news for our fans who don’t consume animal products. If you’re an omnivore, don’t fret! These muffins are so incredibly moist and flavorful that you’d never know they don’t include eggs or milk.

To make the muffins, combine 1 cup of whole-wheat flour, 3/4 cup of fine oat bran and 1/4 cup of chia seeds. Add 1 tbsp. of cornstarch, 1 tsp. of ground allspice, 1 tsp. of ground cinnamon, 1 tsp. of baking powder and 1 tsp. of baking soda. Stir the dry ingredients well and set them aside.

Peel one apple and one to two carrots. Finely grate the apple and carrots, so that you have approximately 1/3 cup of each. Stir the grated apple and carrots into the dry ingredients. Add 1/3 cup of real maple syrup (or 3 tbsp. to 1/3 of a cup of organic agave syrup, depending on how sweet you like it). Mix in 1 cup of water and 1/4 cup of neutral-tasting oil, such as vegetable or canola.

Line a muffin tin with paper muffin cups, then divide the batter among six to eight compartments. If you prefer, you can also coat a mini-muffin tin with oil or cooking spray and spoon about 1 tbsp. of the batter into each of the compartments. The mini muffins are a bit easier to eat, but the large muffins freeze better.

Bake the carrot-apple muffins at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 25 minutes for regular-sized muffins and 10 to 15 minutes for mini muffins (until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean). Let them cool in the pan for a few minutes before gently transferring them to a cooling rack or plate. These muffins are very moist and tender, so take care not to break them when removing them from the pan.

Allow the muffins to cool completely before serving them. They’ll develop a richer flavor and firmer texture as they cool down to room temperature. Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

Popcorn is the perfect crisp, crunchy treat for family movie nights, afternoon snacks and more. We’re just wild about it! So wild, in fact, that we offer quite a few varieties of wholesome popcorn kernels for your munching pleasure.

To start, we’ve just added organic popcorn kernels to our product line. These all-natural, organic, fresh unpopped popcorn kernels from the Midwest have a purity of flavor that’s sure to punch up your usual snack.

We also offer a wide range of non-organic kernels, such as regular popcorn kernels (perfect for movie theater-style treats) and fluffy white popcorn kernels. If you want something a bit more unusual, be sure to check out our blue popcorn kernels, red popcorn kernels and midnight blue popcorn kernels. Though these all-natural varieties of popcorn are vibrantly colored in their unpopped state, once popped they burst into bright white mounds of fluffy kernels.

Our specialty line of popcorn doesn’t stop there! Ladyfinger popcorn kernels pop up much smaller than most mainstream kernels. Mushroom popcorn kernels burst into huge, beautifully fluffy mushroom shapes.

Making popcorn is a breeze. All of our kernels are suited to use in an air popper or popcorn machine. However, all you really need to make a heaping bowl of crunchy, delicious popcorn is a large pot with a tight-fitting lid, some oil and some seasonings.

Coat the bottom of the pot with a layer of canola oil, vegetable oil or any other oil that has a high smoke point. Heat the oil over medium heat until it rolls around easily when you shift the pot. Pour a single layer of kernels into the pot, cover it with the lid and turn the heat up to medium-high. Gently shift the pot in a left-right motion on top of the burner to agitate the kernels. When the popping sounds slow to several seconds between pops, remove the popcorn from the stove, pour it into a large bowl and season it with salt and melted butter.

Of course, there are many ways to brighten up plain popcorn. You could try shaking on some curry powder, ranch seasoning, oregano, cheddar cheese powder or BBQ seasoning, or even mixing some M&Ms into the bowl for a salty, rich treat. And, of course, the plain popcorn makes stupendous popcorn balls!

What are some of your favorite ways to enjoy this crisp snack?

We’re always looking for ways to expand our line of gluten-free products. After some hunting (and quite a few requests from our customers), we’ve manages to add a high-quality product that we think you’ll just love: chestnut flour.

Our chestnut flour is imported from Italy, where it’s commonly used in cakes, breads and pastas. It has a sweet, nutty flavor that pairs particularly well with chocolate, nuts, honey and sweet winter squash.

Chestnut flour is a fantastic substitute for wheat-based flour in many different recipes. It will make dough a bit gummier and less flexible than it would be normally, so depending on the item you’re making it may be better to use 25 to 50 percent chestnut flour and round out the recipe with gluten-free all-purpose baking flour. Experiment with your favorite recipes until you find the flour combination that produces the tastiest result.

Chestnut flour does make marvelously fluffy gluten-free pancakes and crepes all on its own, and most recipes are quite simple. In fact, in Italy it’s fairly common to find these dishes made with chestnut flour instead of a wheat alternative. Mario Batali has a recipe for chestnut-flour crepes that we’re particularly fond of.

To make these easy crepes, start by measuring 1 cup of chestnut flour into a mixing bowl. Beat in two large eggs, one at a time, then add 1-1/4 cups of water. Whisk the batter until it’s free of lumps and let it stand and thicken for 15 minutes.

Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat and brush its surface with olive oil or melted butter. Ladle 2 tbsp. of crepe batter into the skillet, rolling the pan to distribute the batter in an even circle. Let the crepe cook for about one minute (until it curls up around the edges), then flip it over and cook it for an additional 30 seconds before removing it from the skillet.

Chef Batali suggests that you serve these scrumptious crepes with a mixture of honey and ricotta cheese, but we think there are hundreds of fantastic toppings for them! Try fresh berries, whipped cream, melted chocolate or even ham and cheese.

Have you ever cooked with chestnut flour? What are some of your favorite recipes? We’d love to hear all about them!

Today is National Praline Day, which is good news for us. This crumbly, sweet, pecan-packed treats are one of our favorite special-occasion foods. We just can’t get enough of their rich maple flavor and melt-in-your-mouth texture. However, we don’t always have time to make these candies from scratch and they can be tough to find in our part of the country. Luckily, we offer several items through NutsOnline that settle our cravings in a pinch.

Our praline almonds are lightly dusted with a sweet coating reminiscent of the popular Southern candies. Praline pecans are even more true to the original treat. If you’re watching calories, our gourmet praline cream coffee is a fantastic way to get a taste of the creamy, nutty sweet without the guilt.

Of course, if you’re so inclined it’s fairly simple to make your own pralines from scratch. We offer nearly all of the quality ingredients that you need to create a sinfully delicious batch of these candies in the comfort of your own home. Though your favorite recipe may vary, we really enjoy this simple, yet scrumptious recipe from FrenchQuarter.com.

Start by combining 1 cup of light brown sugar, 1 cup of granulated sugar and 1/2 cup of light cream in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring it occasionally with a wooden spoon to keep it from burning. When it forms a thick syrup, add 2 tbsp. of butter and 1-1/2 cups of halved pecans and continue to cook it, stirring frequently until the butter melts. Remove it from the heat and let the mixture cool in the saucepan for 10 minutes.

Spread a sheet of wax paper on the counter and use a tablespoon to scoop 12 balls of the praline mixture onto the paper, leaving about three inches between each candy so they have room to spread. Let them cool completely, then store the pralines in an airtight container.

Refreshing iced tea is a fantastic beverage to drink throughout the summer. It keeps you hydrated while providing you with so many flavor combinations that you’ll never be bored! We think that making iced tea can be elevated to an art form, and we really love to experiment with different types as the summer wears on!

To make a basic pitcher of iced tea, boil 2 quarts of water and measure out 5 tbsp., plus 1 tsp., of loose tea into a large pitcher. Pour the water over the loose tea and steep the beverage for five to 10 minutes before straining it and storing it in the refrigerator. Serve the tea over ice, sweetened with sugar, agave syrup or honey.

Of course, we offer a variety of fruity and minty teas that offer an extra punch of flavor. Lemon spice tea is particularly thirst-quenching, and black currant tea will remind well-rounded tea drinkers of the popular British brew. Raspberry tea and blackberry tea are both bursting with fresh berry flavor. Spearmint tea can be especially cooling on blazing afternoons.

Of course, you can also make your own delicious flavored teas infused with dried fruit. Try brewing up a pitcher of our Ceylon black tea or Japanese Sencha green tea. Right before you pour the water over the leaves, toss a handful of dried fruit in the pitcher. They’ll leave a delightfully subtle, but mildly sweet, flavor in the beverage. Some of our favorites to add to iced tea are sweet dried strawberries, slightly tart whole dried cranberries and summery bing cherries.

Another iced tea concoction that’s popular, particularly in the South, is Lebanese iced tea. This rose-scented beverage has pine nuts floating in it for a rich, unexpected treat. Simply pour out a cup of brewed, chilled black tea and add ½ tsp. of rose water and 1 tsp. of pine nuts to the brew. Sip it through a straw to get the nuts from the bottom of the glass.

We’ve got tons of quality loose teas to choose from on NutsOnline.com, so swing by and peruse the selection. Create your own refreshing beverages and sip your way through the heat of summer!

Sweet, smooth chocolate ice cream is the perfect way to cool off on a hot day. Well, since today is National Chocolate Ice Cream Day, we’d like to share a recipe for a special treat that we really enjoy!

Store-bought chocolate ice cream is delicious, but homemade chocolate ice cream is truly the way to celebrate this holiday. All you need is an electric ice cream maker and some basic ingredients to make a simple, yet decadent treat that’ll cool you off and satisfy any chocolate craving you may be harboring.

Start off by pouring 2 cups of half and half and 1 cup of cream into a medium saucepan. Heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring it occasionally, until it’s warm and steamy. Remove it from the heat.

Pour ½ cup of the cream mixture into a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat three egg yolks until they’re smooth. Stir in ¾ cup of sugar and pour the egg mixture into the ½ cup of cream mixture. Stir the two components until they’re well combined, then slowly whisk them into the remaining cream mixture in the saucepan.

Whisk ¼ cup of Dutch cocoa powder into the mixture in the saucepan. Then, slice open half of a vanilla bean, scrape the tiny black seeds out from the inside with the tip of your knife and drop the seeds, along with the half pod, into the cream mixture. Place the saucepan back over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until it is warmed through and the mixture coats the back of a metal spoon. Do not allow the cream mixture to come to a simmer, as that will curdle the eggs.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in 4 oz. of chopped chocolate. It’s best to go with a good-quality, semisweet or bittersweet chocolate for this. Our Dagoba Organic 59% Dark Chocolate Bar is a good choice. Leave the mixture on the stove to cool, uncovered, for about 45 minutes. Then, fish out the vanilla bean and transfer the liquid to a container with a lid. Refrigerate the cream mixture overnight to get it nice and cold.

When it’s time to make your ice cream, add it to your ice cream maker and process it according to the instructions. It should take 20 to 30 minutes to freeze into a soft dessert. Transfer the ice cream back to its container and freeze it until serving to firm it up even more.

This rich chocolate ice cream is amazing on its own, but can be even better with some mix-ins. Add chips, nuts and other goodies to the ice cream during the last five minutes or so of processing it to make a customized treat.

We love to serve this ice cream rocky road style, using quality sweets from NutsOnline. Add white chocolate mini marshmallows, semisweet chocolate chips and pecan pieces to make a truly unforgettable dessert.

Of course, we offer plenty of other options to make this delicious ice cream even more decadent. Try throwing in some Mini M&Ms, macaroon crunch, sliced almonds or organic chocolate covered cacao nibs to turn this basic sweet into your dream treat!