A bulk order of nuts, seeds and dried fruit can sit in the cupboard getting used the same way every time — a handful as a snack — when there’s a lot more it can do. Here are five easy ways to get more use out of it.
1. Build your own trail mix or granola
Pre-made trail mixes are one of the most marked-up products in a supermarket for what’s essentially nuts, seeds and dried fruit stirred together. Mix your own from whatever you have — almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds, raisins, dried apricots chopped small — in whatever ratio you actually like. For granola, toss rolled oats with chopped nuts, a little oil and honey, and bake at a low temperature until golden, stirring occasionally.
2. Make your own nut butter
A food processor and roughly 15–20 minutes turns roasted nuts into a smooth, additive-free nut butter — no palm oil, added sugar or preservatives, just the nuts and a pinch of salt if you want it. Almonds, cashews and peanuts all work well; the process is the same for each: blend until the nuts break down into a paste, scraping down the sides occasionally as the oils release.
3. Add texture to savoury grain bowls
Toasted nuts and seeds are an easy way to add crunch and protein to a bowl of rice, quinoa or another grain — toast them dry in a pan for a couple of minutes until fragrant, then scatter over the top with some vegetables and a dressing. Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and chopped walnuts all work particularly well this way.
4. Swap them into baking
Ground nuts can replace a portion of the flour in many baking recipes for a denser, more flavourful result — almond meal is the most common example. Dried fruit like raisins, chopped dates or dried cranberries can go into bread, muffins or flapjacks in place of (or alongside) chocolate chips.
5. Portion snacks properly instead of eating from the bag
It’s easy to eat far more than a serving size when snacking straight from a large bag. Portion nuts, seeds or dried fruit into small containers or bags when you bring a bulk order home — it keeps things fresher for longer (see our storage guide) and makes it much easier to actually stick to a sensible portion.