These cocktail nuts are the perfect low carb salty sweet snack! Just a little sweetness goes a long way and the maple and rosemary are amazing together.

I love traveling for many reasons, not least of which is the opportunity to explore new foods. And I am not even talking about foreign countries with fascinatingly different cuisines, although that’s wonderful too. But I’ve always gotten a real kick out of being in a new city on North American soil and checking out their restaurants and snack bars and stores for interesting brands of goodies I can’t get at home. Even new grocery store chains hold an appeal for me as I wander the aisles, picking up this and that, wondering how I can fit any of it into my suitcase to take home with me. And I often come home inspired to whip up my own version of something I tasted on my travels. I am a food dork, through and through. I guess I’ve picked the right profession!

On my recent trip to Miami for a conference, I picked up some packaged nuts in the airport to have as a snack. Yes, even airport food can inspire me! They were maple rosemary and although they were made with real maple syrup, the carb-count was reasonable enough for a diabetic low carb snack. They were delicious and the ingredient list wasn’t full of unpronounceable words, so I was impressed. They were just lightly sweetened, nice and salty, and the maple rosemary combination was wonderful. So of course I had to try my own version when I came home.

And even though the packaged version was wonderful, I think I like mine better. I kept the sweetener to a minimum and I tossed them with butter, fresh chopped rosemary and salt. They are divine and a little addictive, actually. The perfect low carb salty snack.

Please see my Maple Rosemary Cocktail Nuts Recipe on A Sweet Life Diabetes Magazine.