I am a huge fan of BIGS. My brother and his friend rave about SPITZ. My husband “never really cared about seeds” and the another friend is a die-hard DAVID’S addict.
None of us eat any of those brands anymore.
I recently found out I have cancer. After a ton of tests and whatnot, it turns out, besides the cancer, I have a couple other issues I need to address :) one of them being my sodium intake. After the cancer diagnosis, I had to quit drinking alcohol. Fine. Non-alcoholic Budweiser Zero isn’t terrible after about three weeks of getting used to it. I was also informed I needed to quit smoking. :( so now what am I supposed to do? I realized I had started swapping out smoking for candy and other terrible snacks. By “realized” I mean I gained a few pounds in under two weeks…. That’s not good. I try to keep weight at 130… now I’m 136…. So I switched to sunflower seeds. But I was eating BIGS and now my sodium level is off the chain and my tongue developed those tender, sore tastebuds that I know many of you are familiar with. SO NOW WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO???
The cancer diagnosis was upsetting enough, but it felt like all my life’s little pleasures (good or bad) were being taken away. So I started a massive GOOGLE AI search. A search that led me to Chinook. I bought the 8 flavor sample pack. I do not like the Hatch Green Chile, the Lemon Pepper or the Parmasean Pepper. Not because they are not good, but because I do not like burning sensations of Hatch Chile, and unless it’s in cottage cheese or Alfredo sauce, I do not generally like black pepper. So I gave those to my husband and my brother and the other friends. They LOVED them.
I started with the Smokehouse BBQ - love it and my brother eventually stole to rest of that pack from me when I set it down (yep. I’m a victim of seed theft). Next up was the Dill - love it and my brother eventually stole that one too!!! Then I tried the Jalopeno Ranch - I was worried it would be burny on my palate like the Hatch, but NOPE! This one is my absolute favorite and I never put it down so my brother never got the chance to steal it! Next was the cinnamon toast - liked it and yes, my brother stole it eventually. I had surgery today to remove the cancer (double mastectomy) and am eating the Original one which I really like - the buttery nutty flavor is awesome.
The point of all this is, while my doctors cannot “officially” endorse this product, the following is true
1. My sodium levels returned to normal. So thank you for that!
2. It helped me quit smoking (I went cold turkey and candy bars and potato chips are not doctor recommended hahaha) so thank you for that. My healing after surgery will be greatly improved without the nicotine addiction.
3. I lost 4 of the 6 pounds I gained. So thank you for creating a delicious product I can swap out for the candy bars and potato chips!
I ordered the Build your own sample pack with 10 each of Dill, BBQ, and Ranch. The rest are French toast and original. They should be arriving tomorrow or the next day which is perfect timing as they will comfort me and see me through my recovery. It will also allow me to share them with my husband and brother (who can finally stop stealing my seeds!!) and other friends. I also ordered the sample pack again so they can have the hatch chile and the pepper ones, but I wasn’t interested in using any space in my “create your own” box on those flavors hahaha. They can buy their own Create you box” :)
In conclusion, I just wanted you to know you impacted my life at a very emotional, terrifying and critical time. I can’t thank you enough. In return, I’d love to offer you a couple of choices for expanding flavors and I think you could rock it with less sodium recipe you’ve created!
1. Sweet Chile flavor. Mildly spicy like Jalapeño Ranch and sweet-ish would be fantastic!
2. Nacho Cheese- or a cheese blend. No black pepper needed ;)
3. Kettle Corn flavor. The buttery of original paired with kettle corn would probably be out of this world.
4. A savory herb/garlic blend. A hint of garlic would be interesting.
5. Salt and vinegar - with the low sodium, I think you could pull this off. A light vinegar note paired with original flavor…. I’d love that.
Thank you so much for creating these seeds, with this low sodium recipe. You’ve helped save and change my life.