Boundless Activated Nuts & Seeds Review

I'm snacker and always have a stash of healthy snacks close by.  This includes my favourite garbanzo chickpea snacks and Gourmet sodabread toasts.

Nuts and seeds are also a healthy snack but they are high in calories and very easy to overeat. So if you're watching your weight, it really pays to keep an eye on portion sizes.

If you're looking for ready portioned nuts and seeds, here is a fairly new arrival by Boundless, who have 4 varieties of nuts & seeds snacks. Their snacks won a Great Taste award in 2017 and they may offer greater health benefits because their nuts and seeds are activated. But why is activated better?
Nuts and seeds, along with other plant based products, contain phytic acid, whose purpose is to protect the plant. Unfortunately, this phytic acid can impair our absorption of important nutrients such as iron, zinc and calcium and may also make it difficult to absorb other nutrients.

You can get around this problem by soaking them until they start to sprout. This is what has happened to these snacks by Boundless. They have been soaked long enough to remove the bitter phytic acid and then gently baked.

What Boundless say:

‘When you soak nuts and seeds you activate germination – the sprouting of a seed to a plant – which releases all the natural enzymes and amazing nutrients Mother Nature had locked away for the growing process. And you wash away the natural Phytic Acid layer which hinders digestion. That’s why our soaked, activated nuts and seeds are super nutritious, lighter on your tummy and more in tune with nature.’

These tasty activated nuts and seeds are vegan-friendly, nutrient-dense, high-fibre, and a perfectly portioned treat that tastes great on the tongue and gentle on the stomach. They're perfect for snacking on their own, or adding to your porridge or yoghurt.

Varieties include: Turmeric & Smoked Paprika, Cayenne & Rosemary, Tamari & Aleppo, and Orange, Ginger & Maple.

The first time I sampled them, I could hardly tell them apart and wasn’t overwhelmed with love for them. They’re quite different from other snacks I’ve tried in the past. I think most nut & seed snacks I’ve tried have tended to be sweet and these are definitely not. Even the orange, ginger and maple is not what I’d call a sweet flavour.

However, I tried them all again and this time I could more easily differentiate between them.

The Turmeric and Smoked Paprika has a background spicy kick with the earthiness of the turmeric for contrast.

Boundless Turmeric & Smoked Paprika activated nuts & seeds

The Cayenne & Rosemary is dominated by the rosemary with a spicy kick from the cayenne.

Boundless Cayenne & Rosemary Activated nuts & seeds

The orange, ginger and maple is the only one with a slight sweetness and no spicy kick. I do like this one best.

Boundless Orange, Ginger & Maple activated nuts & seeds

 And finally the Tamari & Aleppo (ok I had to look up Aleppo – it’s a type of pepper) is the nuttiest snack and another spicy one with a savoury earthy taste.

Boundless Tamari & Aleppo activated nuts & seeds

All packs have nice clumpy, crunchy pieces mixed with small bits so they take a while to munch through. None of the snacks has over 180 calories, and, because I don’t like having more than 100 cals per snack, I usually have just half a pack when I feel a snack attack coming on.

Looking at the traffic lights, they do have a high fat and saturated fat content. However, this mainly from healthier fats such as poly and mono unsaturated. Although this makes them high in calories, the individual portion size helps keep control of mindless eating and the fat content should help keep hunger away.

At the time of writing you can find Boundless snacks at the following stores/venues:

• Albion
• Barrecore
• Borough Box
• Ethos
• Fenwick Newcastle
• Ocado
• Office Pantry
• Revital
• Rola Wala
• Sourced Market
• The Battersea General Store
• The Watershed
• Whole Foods Market

Ingredients Cayenne & Rosemary:
Almonds, Cashew Nuts, Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Maple Syrup, Salt, Rosemary (1.6%), Cayenne Pepper (0.4%). High in protein, High in fibre, Vegan friendly, Gluten and soya free.

Ingredients Tamari & Aleppo:
Almonds, Cashew Nuts, Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Tamari (8.3%) Cider vinegar, Aleppo Flakes (2.2%), Sesame Oil. High in protein, High in fibre, Vegan friendly, Gluten and soya free.

Ingredients Orange, Ginger & Maple:
Pecan nuts, Almonds, Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Maple Syrup (11.2%), Ginger (1.2%), Salt, Orange Peel Powder (0.7%). High in protein, High in fibre, Vegan friendly, Gluten and soya free.

Ingredients Turmeric & Smoked Paprika:
Walnuts, Pumpkin seeds, Sunflower seeds, Maple Syrup, Turmeric (0.6%), Salt, Smoked Paprika (0.4%), Aleppo Flakes.

Nutrition information Cayenne & Rosemary:
Nutrition per 30g: 180 Calories, 18.6g fat, 2g saturated fat, 6.0g carbs, 1.2g sugars, 8.4g protein, 1.5g fibre, 0.18g salt.

Nutrition information Tamari & Aleppo:
Nutrition per 30g: 172 Calories, 12.1g fat, 1.8g saturated fat, 8.1g carbs, 2.9g sugars, 7.8g protein, 1.5g fibre, 0.26g salt.

Nutrition information Orange, Ginger & Maple:
Nutrition per 30g: 169 Calories, 14.2g fat, 1.7g saturated fat, 5.2g carbs, 2.8g sugars, 4.8g protein, 1.9g fibre, 0.21g salt.

Nutrition information Turmeric & Smoked Paprika:
Nutrition per 30g: 176 Calories, 15.2g fat, 1.8g saturated fat, 4.3g carbs, 2.8g sugars, 5.5g protein, 1.8g fibre, 0.08g salt.

© Diets and Calories