October is usually the month when nature deploys its most beautiful colours as autumn settles in. Who doesn’t appreciate those colours? Do you like me actually stop to look at them and appreciate the gradience that can be reflected on one single tree leaf? 

I love colours, my whole life is dictated by colours my food and obviously the range of snacks on this website is full of colours. 

Nuts are notorious for being boring in colours. With Miss Nang Treats, I have made it my mission to beautify nuts and seeds while dressing them with the best flavours that can be added onto them without them losing their Super Food statuses. 

How I come up with the choice of colours and flavours? Day dreaming and observing nature and ingredients.  

The first decision is about what colour is missing from the collection of existing treats.

 Then comes the choice of the main ingredient that will produce the colour aimed at. 

The rest of ingredients and the choice of nuts is based on the leading colour. 

The choice of nut or seed will often depend on their behaviour in contact with liquid. Some nuts are less permeable than others and getting the colour to stay on them is a whole process.  

Whether we end up with a savoury or sweet snack will depend on the behaviour of the nut vis a vis the process. 

One of the snack that challenged me most was the Purple Lime. It took me almost a year and a half to get it right. During the process, I created a savoury snack that I wasn’t looking for before finally make it to the Purple Lime. Each batch still makes me nervous. 

I wasted so many packs of blueberries; I tried them whole, then, just worked with the skin of blueberries (had to wash clean the blueberries skins). Still didn’t work. They were tasty, actually really good, but didn’t look like what I wanted. Blanched almonds are expensive and my colleagues at the time where very happy with anything I turned up with. 

I finally decided to experiment with red cabbage. The problem with that, red cabbage changes colour when overcooked. Arrrrrggghh what a nightmare that was.  

I wanted to stop when I got the Mustard & All, but I was determined to create something purple… it must me sweet. When I kind of got there, stinky sweet red cabbage isn’t the most appealing I was close. All I needed to find now was another flavour the would compliment, but almost dominate the cabbage flavour. That was the lime.
I was in heaven when I found the right formula; purple lime is my proudest creation of the lot. And one of the most expensive of the collection too. Well worth tasting.

 

The other best discovery is the Nang Safprika, a cashew savoury snack that came about because I was searching for an orange coloured snack. Ingredients include paprika and Saffron. 

Miss Nang Treats is all about healthy and inclusive snacking, colour dictates the process and am glad to say that all the snacks receive fantastic review.

Do look out for the savoury trio special offer coming up this week end.

You are also invite to Instagram live chat this Sunday 4th October at 6pm for more conversation on food colouring and flavours.

Got questions, email Hortense at miss-nang@outlook.com, follow on twitter and Instagram @Missynang. Facebook @MissNang.

See you next month. �

Hi! Am Hortense, founder of Miss Nang Treats. Few years ago, I suffered from Desmoid tumours. It was then recognised as a form of cancer a rare one that affected 2 people in a million. Today W.H.O. is still debating while researches continue on this ‘unicorn’.

My first surgery was in 1999, left me with a reconstructed left shoulder. After radiations, the tumour came back more aggressively, and I lost my 1 top rib along with about 40% use of my left arm. I had radiotherapy and chemotherapy and have been clear for a number of years now.

Desmoid is a rare disease and still fairly unknown. Today, it affects up to 4 people in a million. September happens to be Desmoid Awareness month. Info can be found at DTRF. please support the research if you can.

Since my ordeal, my body has never fully recovered I suffer from chronic pains, have a bone density problem, fragile teeth and am heavily anaemic. Am often on medication and do not always absorb nutrients in my food.

My health situation was not caused by my diet, but it has helped me to study and understand food a bit more. I was already a lover of nuts, but looking at them closely, I realised how undervalued these little kernels were.

Looking at what was on offer in supermarkets snacks’ aisles, I realised that many of them had unnecessary additives that could negate their nutritional values. The use of salt was exaggerated and most of them were deep fried.

I wondered why nuts weren’t paraded on golden pedestals for their amazing nutritional values.

Why weren’t they advertised as the superfood that they are? The answer is this:

*In their pursuit of high profits margins, the food industry does not take the time to slow roast nuts, it takes too long.

*Deep frying is easier, the nuts are uniform and oil provides a grip for salt to stick on the nut.

*The manufacturer add more salt because the more you eat, more you want.

This just to name a few reasons. So, there is are aspects of unhealthy-ness in the production of commercial nuts snacks and that is a bit of a dirty secret.

In creating Miss Nang Treats, I wanted the customer to discover the beauty and generosity in nutrients of nuts and seeds in general. I want to help people see how much snacking on none-mass-produced nuts or seeds snacks can be beneficial for their health. I want to encourage people the pay it forward and start including nuts in their snacking routine. A handful of nuts a day keep the doctor away and all that…

Now. I know how boring some nuts can be. They can at times taste like nothing. So, instead of just presenting customers with plain nuts, I apply the principle that parents use to make their children eat vegetables.

I make the nuts beautiful and enhance their taste as well as their already lengthy nutrients list. All done artisanally with a gentler manipulation, so the nuts don’t break or lose their Testa (nut coat) which are often packed full of nutrients. In our fast gain industry, you will often notice that peanuts do not have their Testa, because their manipulation can be an inconvenience.

The flavours from Miss Nang Treats nuts tell a story. They are often unusual and surprising. They make people curious and I am really delighted at every opportunity to tell people about the inspiration to create this or that flavour, the choice of nut, the colour and the ribbon, etc…

The beauty after tasting sessions on markets is to see the surprise on clients faces followed by ‘I never knew this could work with nuts.’ Or ‘I’ve never tasted anything like this.’

Eating nuts and seeds helped me build up on multiple vitamins and nutrients, the colouring and spices I use to transform them are more nutrients added to them and by the time they reach the clients, the snacks are doubly superfoods packed with nutrients a real palate adventure.

My health history resulted in me creating this beautiful range of snacks. Today, I want my customers to benefit from this range and fully enjoy collection while building up their immune system with invaluable nutrients.

There’s an opportunity to taste Miss Nang’s multi-packs at a reduced price on the website.

All are now £10 instead of £15 and all are postage free until 7^th September.

Got any questions? Email miss-nang@outlook.com.

Thank you for your support.

Good bye for now.