I’m slightly addicted to these Vanilla Roasted Walnuts and so is my husband.  They have a hint of sweetness and a nice burst of vanilla goodness.  On top of that, Walnuts are a great source of Omega-3′s, have a high antioxidant count and are also beneficial for cardiovascular health.  So I’m on the walnut bandwagon.

Here’s the recipe for another gluten free, tasty, higher protein holiday snack with nuts.

Vanilla Roasted Walnuts
2 cups walnuts, raw
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons agave nectar or honey
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
1-2 vanilla beans
dash cinnamon, ground

1. Place walnuts and oil in a cast iron skillet (that’s what I used, you can experiment) and turn heat to high
2. As soon as you hear the slightest sizzle, turn heat down to medium or low
3. Toast walnuts a few minutes until they smell nice and nutty
4. Add agave and distribute around pan stirring, cook for a minute or two, then add salt
5. Scrape the beans out of the vanilla pod and stir into walnuts
6. Remove walnuts from pan and add just a dash of cinnamon if you like
7. Serve

These nuts are the perfect (last minute) homemade present when packaged in a lovely (reusable) holiday gift jar; that’s what I’m giving to friends and family this year along with my gluten free cookbook, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook (which sells for a reasonable $11.55 on amazon.com).  For more healthy, delicious Christmas fun and ideas, take a look at my Gluten Free Christmas Recipe Roundup.

I love the blog Apartment Therapy and was thrilled to be nominated for the best Home Cooking blog over at their Homies awards.  If you like, head on over and cast a vote for elanaspantry.com.

In book tour news, I’ll be doing a live radio interview Tuesday, December 29th at 10am MT (12pm ET) with Dr. Derrick DeSilva, Jr. of Ask Dr. DeSilva on HealthRadio.net.

And remember, I have a super duper giveaway which includes a copy of my gluten-free cookbook and a 5 lb bag of blanched almond flour from Honeyville. To be entered into this Holiday Giveaway follow these 3 steps:

If you don’t have a blog and still want to enter you can always post on Facebook to be included in the big giveaway!