How many baseball fans do we have out there?  Kids in little league?  T-ball?  I’ve got a few fun ideas for you today inspired by one of our favorite game-day snacks: Beer Nuts!

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I was so excited when Beer Nuts offered to send us some of their nuts to see what cute snacks we could come up with.  I asked for their classic peanuts, and a bag of almonds because they are one of the more nutritious choices out there.

(Yay for yummy Beer Nuts!)

About Beer Nuts

Beer Nuts, by the way, are specialty nuts with a unique glaze on them that has a sweet and salty flavor.  The original skin-on peanuts were an accidental hit when their creator, Edward G. Shirk, who owned a small confectionary store called the Caramel Crisp back in 1937, occasionally made them available for free as an incentive to purchase one of his other products.  These tasty redskin nuts became so popular that Shirk decided to go from selling them over the counter by the scoop to package them up and making them available for widespread distribution.  That distribution started in local taverns, and the glazed peanuts were named Beer Nuts, as they became known as the perfect accompaniment to a glass of beer.  Nowadays they are a popular snack at baseball stadiums, circus, and other sporting events.

Now, let’s get on to what fun we had with these guys!

“Skin-on Peanut and Almond Butter”

I was excited to find out that research has shown substantial amount of extra health benefits in peanut skins!  These benefits include things like antioxidants (equal amounts, if not more that fruits and vegetables), anti-inflamatory properties, anti-aging compounds, even lowering blood sugar levels.  Read all about it in this article.

Most peanut butter is made with blanched, or skinless, peanuts.  This article explains why.  One of the reasons listed is “if not handled properly, the natural oil in the peanut skins could may become prematurely stale and cause off flavors when the peanut butter is being made”. Fair enough, but when we have a full pound of skin-on peanuts at our disposal, let’s go for a great-tasting peanut butter!

“Skin-on Peanut and Almond Butter”

2 cups Beer Nuts original peanuts

1 cup Beer Nuts brand Almonds

Combine ingredients in a Vitamix machine or food processor.  Continue mixing until a smooth, warm peanut butter consistency is reached. Mmmm.

This peanut butter is perfect because the Beer Nuts have that special “slightly sweet. slightly salty” coating on them already, so no additional ingredients (including oils, sugars, etc.) are required to make a great-tasting, delicious snack.

The girls and I ate this all up in a couple days by dipping apple slices into it or spreading it onto celery sticks.

Baseball Mitt Snack

The next fun thing we did with our Beer Nuts is make a baseball mitt.  To make it, simply spread your Beer Nuts brand peanuts onto a plate and arrange to look like a mitt as shown.  Leave a small round circle in the center of the mitt.  Next, spoon 5-6 tablespoons of yogurt into the round opening.  Use a butter knife to smooth out the dome of yogurt you have created.  (We used plain Greek yogurt.  I’m telling you, it’s absolutely astounding what kids will eat if it’s presented in a creative way)!  Complete your look by adding thinly sliced bits of strawberry to look like the red stitches on a baseball.

Add more fresh strawberries and yogurt and serve in individual cups for a little fruit/yogurt/nut parfait!

“Hitting a Home Run” Snack

A third fun idea we had was to make a baseball bat and ball.  This size snack is a better serving size for just one.  When your child mixes the yogurt, strawberries, and peanuts together, they get a little parfait perfect for them!

Simply arrange your Beer Nuts brand peanuts on your plate to look like a bat as shown.  Follow the same directions as above for the baseball.  You can finish the look with a couple yogurt motion lines on either side of the ball to look like you are seeing the impact of the bat and ball.  We made those lines by scooping a tablespoon or so of yogurt into a plastic baggie, snipping off a corner of the bag, and piping it onto the plate where we wanted it.

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out our other sports-themed snacks!

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