Top Pick Of The Week

July 10, 2007

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Sheffa Snacks

Top, Tasty Mix; bottom, Sweet Mix. Be sure to meet their brethren, Salad Mix, Spicy Mix and Zesty Mix, below. We promise they will enrich your diet and make for better snacking. Photos by Naheed Choudhry.

WHAT IT IS: Snack mixes in five flavor varieties.
WHY IT’S DIFFERENT: The “snacks” are much more than snack food. They can be salad mix-ins and garnish a multitude of other fare, both savory and sweet.
WHY WE LOVE IT: Great taste, healthier snack and an easy way to add flavor and glamour to almost every dish you put on the table—from breakfast eggs to dinner desserts.
WHERE TO BUY IT: SheffaFoods.com.
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Sheffa Nibbles:
Multitasking Snacks

Sheffa Nibbles are simply great. We don’t just say that because we share a name—we have nothing but integrity and high criteria in our search for the best specialty foods. It was easy to flip for this line of deliciously different snack mixes, so conveniently portion controlled in sleek, 1.5-ounce packets. These minimally processed nuts, grains, legumes and fruits form a ménage à trois among tasty, healthy and chic.

The five snack mixes range from nutty to spicy to salty/sweet to softly sweet. Each flavor delivers lots of flavor, and some are loaded with crunch. Like many good specialty foods, all have a “second life” beyond snacking—in this case, as ingredients and garnishes for salads, omelets, cocktails and more. When you read all of the ways we’ve used them (in the full review below), you’ll know why we’re stuck on Sheffa.

Sheffa Nibbles are all-natural, wheat-free, gluten-free, preservative-free, trans fat-free, cholesterol-free, vegan, kosher and non-GMO*. Sheffa means “abundance” in Hebrew: Our cup runneth over.

*No genetically-modified organisms.

  • Click here to read the full review below. (If your e-mail client does not support anchor links, scroll down.)
  • Read reviews of more of our favorite gourmet snack foods in THE NIBBLE online magazine.
  • See the Table of Contents of the July issue of THE NIBBLE, plus the prior issues archive and our most popular articles.
  • All of the Top Pick Of The Week newsletters are permanently archived on TheNibble.com, in chronological order and by product category.
THE NIBBLE does not sell the foods we review
or receive fees from manufacturers for recommending them.

Our recommendations are based purely on our opinion, after tasting thousands of products each year, that they represent the best in their respective categories.

 

Sheffa Nibbles: Multitasking Snacks

INDEX OF REVIEW

MORE TO DISCOVER

Sheffa is the Hebrew word for abundance, and the folks at Sheffa Foods have given us an abundance of exciting products. This snack line of nuts, seeds, dried fruits and legumes (chickpeas—which are made into delicious crunchy noodles), hits the spot. Minimally processed and skillfully blended, the tasty and healthy snacks make us happy because they come in portion-controlled, 1.5-ounce packages. While the contents may not look like a whole lot to children of supersize-me America, one package is surprisingly satisfying. That’s because the ingredients themselves are so flavorful and filling. No “empty calories” here!

But wait—Sheffa Nibbles are much more than snacks. While one of the mixes is called “Salad,” all of the flavors work to complement other foods, be they salads, eggs, vegetables, mains, desserts—even cocktails! Climb aboard the Abundance Express for a trip to Sheffaville.

Sheffa Mixes

There’s a flavor for everyone here, but we have an inkling that most people will like every flavor. You can see from the photos what an attractive collection of seeds, nuts, legumes and fruits these are. They taste even better!

Salad Mix: “Nut & Seed Salad Sprinkle”

Here’s a secret to get people to eat  more salad: Sprinkle a handful of Sheffa “Salad” onto their greens. The soynut flavor is prominent in the mix, which is a sprightly combination of sunflower seeds, chickpeas, pumpkin seeds, cashews, almonds, sesame seeds, sea salt and other spices. In addition to salad:

  • Toss into a baked potato or a sweet
    potato—or onto mashed
  • Scatter on top of plain rice
  • Use to garnish soup
  • Add to plain yogurt
  • Eat as a snack

 

Sheffa Foods - Salad
Salad enhancer or snack mix? Why make choices?

Sheffa Nibbles - Spicy
Spicy Mix: Our favorite
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Spicy Mix: “Hot Crunchy Nibbles”

While it’s hard to choose a favorite among Sheffa mixes—because all are delicious and each is occasion-specific—this may just be our favorite (lots of crunch and a little bit of spice is a recipe for success with us!). Here, ground chickpeas are made into thin, crispy Chinese-type noodles, and mixed with roasted corn nuts and pumpkin seeds. Cayenne produces a mild, tingly heat. As a garnish, it can take on heavier foods. In fact, you can add it on any where you’d like a kick of spice as well as some crunch.

  • Top scrambled and fried eggs and omelets
  • Toss on salads, vegetables, potatoes and rice
  • Sprinkle on any meats, poultry and fish
  • Garnish tomato juice or Bloody Marys
  • Enjoy with a beer
  • Mixed with popcorn

If you don’t want the spiciness, Zesty is the same mix of ingredients, minus the cayenne.

Sweet Mix: Soynut, Almond & Fruit Nibbles

This will be the most popular variety with the sweet of tooth. The mix delivers big dried cranberries, diced dried papaya and dried pineapple, dried coconut, sugared almonds and sweetened soynuts. It’s not candy-sweet—just sweet enough to make you feel as if you’ve had a sweet snack.

Beyond snacking, we had fun with these:

  • On top of ice cream
  • With yogurt of all flavors
  • As a garnish for fruit salad
  • As a garnish/decor on frosted carrot cake
  • Served alongside hot chocolate (we served
    them in a shot glass)
  • Mixed with popcorn

If you’d rather have some salt with your sweetness, the next mix, Tasty, is right up your alley.

Back to Index

Sheffa Nibbles - Sweet
Sweet Mix: a snack, a dessert topping, a garnish
for carrot cake
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Sheffa Nibbles - Tasty
Tasty Mix: Indeed, it is!

Tasty Mix: “Salty/Sweet Nibbles”

Savory and sweet combine in this mixture of nuts, seeds, legumes and dried fruit. There’s nuttiness here from peanuts, hazelnuts, soybeans and corn nuts; sweetness from raisins, dried papaya, dried pineapple, date syrup, dried coconut; saltiness from sea salt.

The sweet and salty profile lends itself to garnishing foods in either camp.

  • Sprinkle this on ice cream
  • Add to tuna, chicken or seafood salad
  • Garnish fruit salad
  • Mix with popcorn
  • Add it to breakfast cereal

If you’re not in the mood for any sweetness but are in a crunchy kind of mood, Zesty is waiting for you.

Zesty: “Savory Crunch Nibbles”

Zesty is the same mix as Spicy, without the cayenne heat. The crunchy chickpea noodles still delight, along with the roasted corn nuts, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. As with Spicy, you can:

  • Top scrambled and fried eggs and omelets
  • Toss on vegetables, potatoes and rice
  • Sprinkle on any meats, poultry and fish
  • Garnish tomato juice or Bloody Marys

Plus:

  • Add to your own Asian-style dishes
    and toss in a few peanuts

Enjoy the abundance...and if you develop your own favorite uses or recipes, please share them with us.

Sheffa Nibbles - Zesty
It’s not only Zesty Mix, it’s crunchy!

—Karen Hochman

FORWARD THIS NIBBLE to anyone who likes quality snacks and versatile ingredients.

SHEFFA FOODS

Salad, Spicy, Sweet, Tasty and Zesty

Certified kosher (pareve) by Orthodox Union

  • 1.5 Ounce Snack Package
    $1.75
  • 6- or 7-Ounce Bag†
    $4.35

†Some mixes are heavier than others due to the particular components, but the volume is the same.

Purchase online at SheffaFoods.com.

Prices and product availability are verified at publication but are subject to change.

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Sheffa Foods


Read more about our favorite
snacks and related products in
THE NIBBLE online magazine.


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