Taste test + Blue Diamond Almonds giveaway
[This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds. Read on for my top three flavor picks and an awesome giveaway opportunity]
Blue Diamond kindly sent a box of their flavored almonds for the Pilot and I to try in our own taste test. It was almond Christmas at our house!
I was already familiar with many of the flavors, but I was excited to enjoy them again along with new-to-me flavors. As much as I love the fruit and coffee-flavored almonds, I tend to roll with the bold and spicy. I’ve been known to destroy entire cans of the Salt & Vinegar flavor; especially while I was pregnant 😉 Lately, I’ve really fallen in love with the Honey Dijon, which is slightly sweet and gloriously savory. I gave all of the flavors another try, and it took a while (and multiple trips to re-test, haha) to come up with my favorites.
My top three picks:
(salt n’ vinegar, honey dijon and wasabi soy sauce)
and the Pilot’s faves:
(It wasn’t skewed at all… especially when I said, “Honey, come try these almonds” while eating directly out of the Honey Dijon can.)
True love.
Almonds are one of my healthy snack staples. I add them to my salads, homemade trail mix, and also use almond meal in many of my baked goodies (If you haven’t tried almond meal, it’s a fun to experiment with the gluten-free option! The baked goodies end up more dense, but are wonderfully filling). Not only are almonds extremely portable and healthy, but they also make ideal fuel for an active lifestyle.
This year, Blue Diamond Almonds are the official snack nut of the USSA (which includes the U.S. Ski Team, U.S. Snowboarding and U.S. Freeskiing) in the Winter Games. Leading up to the Games, winter athletes have been enjoying these almond snacks as part of their fuel. They have nutrient-dense meal plans and dishes created for them by Allen Tran, MS, RD and USSA High Performance Chef.
“Nutrition is a key component of our athletes’ high performance training program. Our snowboarders and skiers must sustain their energy for long, exhilarating workouts and competition,” said Tran. “Blue Diamond Snack Almonds are ideal snacks for our athletes because they are high in protein and rich in fiber which helps them maintain their energy levels.”
As a healthy snack, Blue Diamond Snack Almonds are being offered at the USSA Center of Excellence training facility and kitchen in Park City, UT, where hundreds of U.S. winter athletes are preparing for the upcoming Games.
“The USSA’s athletes are driven to be the very best skiers and snowboarders in the world,” said John O’Shaughnessy , General Manager of Consumer Foods Division, Blue Diamond Growers. “We are proud to support these U.S. athletes with foods that help them to maintain a performance-enhancing diet as they prepare for global competition.”
Recently, they had a taste test featuring the Blue Diamond flavors. You can check out the video below:
Their top three picks:
Salt n’ vinegar, wasabi soy sauce and habanero BBQ!
Now, it’s giveaway time 🙂
One lucky reader will get the chance to have their very own snack supply of Blue Diamond almonds. The winner will receive twelve (12) 6oz cans, six (6) 8oz jars or six (6) 4oz bags) in their flavor of choice. (Size depends on flavor that is chosen)
Here’s how to enter:
This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds. Our nation’s best athletes can be even better with your support. Send your words of inspiration to the U.S. Ski Team and U.S. Snowboarding via the “Inspire Team USA” sweepstakes and you could win a $2000 winter gear gift card and a Blue Diamond Almonds Viewing Kit.
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We don’t have all of the flavours up here in Canada yet, I would LOVE to try them!!
I have no self control with the Wasabi Almonds!
Honey Dijon sounds amazing right now!
I just actually ate an individual package of nuts for a quick breakfast- and those salt and vinegar ones sound awesome!!!
My house goes through almonds like nobody’s business! We even sometimes use roasted almonds as a special treat for doggy training. I predict this amount of almonds would last mayyyybe two months with us. The coffee ones are especially great for an afternoon snack at the office.
I love the wasabi soy! I just discovered the GIANT bag you can buy, which of course I did. I think my boyfriend cried tears of delight!
I have been obsessed with the Wasabi and Soy for years! YUM!
I’d love to try the lime n chilli!
I would like any of them as long as they aren’t too spicy…but the sea salt and vinegar ones sound like a great alternative to chips!
Yum! I love the Habanero BBQ and Wasabi and Soy flavors! They make great study snacks 🙂
I’m sure I’d inhale the coffee flavored almonds, yum!
I’m torn between the salt ‘n vinegar and the honey dijon! They all sound really good though!
I’m with you guys – the honey dijon sound great!
I have a can of the lime n’ chili almonds on my desk right now! Almonds are such a great snack on the go or at your desk.
I love the coffee flavored almonds!
I loooooove the coffee ones.
I’ve tried the bbq one and had to ration it out so I wouldn’t eat the entire thing 🙂
The Salt n Vinegar almonds are my favorite ! That being said, I haven’t given the others a chance yet. 😉
I guess my almond habit is pretty boring considering I always stick to plain roasted almonds. It would a blessing to try these almonds!
Love love love the Lime and Chili!
I love the wasabi/soy flavor!
Honey Dijon! I also love their coconut flavor.
would love to try the dijon and salt and vinegar! already obsessed with the wasabi ones!
Love the salt & vinegar flavor!
The Jalapeno Smokehouse are my current favorite. Can’t find the Habanero BBQ in stores but received for Christmas and NEED MORE!!! 🙂
So many choices – what a problem to have !! I would love to try the salt n vinegar. I have a feeling that my taste buds would be in heaven!
I have tried the honey dijon. Love them!
I would devour the wasabi soy almonds!
My Fiance and I are obsessed with the Blue Diamond almonds! They would be the prefect snack for my night classes.
Caught a glimpse of the coffee almonds. Those sound delicious!
Yum! I think I would be a super huge fan of all the spicy ones too 🙂
Yum!!! I’m always on the look out for healthy snack options, especially after having my daughter 7 weeks ago… trying to lose all the baby weight!
I love almonds and haven’t seen a bunch of these flavors yet!
Honey Dijon or Salt n Vinegar
I think I’d most enjoy the wasabi flavor! I love wasabi peas so I imagine the almonds must be amazing!
The salt and vinegar sound amazing and a much better alternative to chips.
Honey Dijon are pretty incredible. Yum!
I’m obsessed with all the flavors I’ve tried. Somehow I’ve never picked up the salt and vinegar flavor though, so I need to try it asap!
I love salted dry roasted almonds as a treat, but also LOVE chocolate covered almonds. Not sure what flavours are present here in Canada, but I would love to venture outside of the box a little more. haha. 🙂
I love Blue Diamond products! I have not seen many of the flavors you mentioned and would love to try them! Honey dijon!?! yum!!
I’m obsessed with all of these flavors, but my fave depends on my mood 🙂 Usually habanero bbq or wasabi soy sauce! YUM
I’d love to try the wasabi soy sauce!
The coffee flavors sound great.
I also tend to go for the spicy almonds so I would be interested in trying the sweet varieties. But my favorites would probably end up similar to yours!
I love almonds, and I love all of Blue Diamond’s unique flavors!
I love Almonds, though I roll with the plan raw almonds, the seasonings in these usually have an ingredient that doesn’t agree with me, whether it is MSG, a Sodium derivative, or some soy derivative that causes me to swell up 🙂
I would love salt and vinegar!
I love the wasabi soy sauce ones, but I think I would like to try the salt and vinegar ones. I love vinegar!
Yum, I always have almonds at my desk for afternoon hangry time 😀 The chocolate ones are amazing 🙂
wasabi soy sauce is my favorite flavor! Yummy!
Aww, you guys are too cute!