To me, free stuff is too good to pass up. I’ve always been the first to grab the goodie bag at an event, head straight for the free samples at Costco, and check out any free yoga class I can find. But the older and wiser I get, the more I’m realizing there is always a catch, and the catch is not always worth it. The free goodie bags usually only have one thing you want, then crap you have to get rid of. The Costco samples come with a sales pitch and the free yoga class is so crowded you spend all your energy making sure you don’t kick your next-door neighbor.
Most recently, I signed up to be a product reviewer for a high-end skincare line. Do you want new products every three months in return for a simple review on the company Facebook page? Yes! Where do I sign up? I was on the hunt for a new skincare line anyways! Switzerland doesn’t carry my usual brand and I didn’t want to fork out the big francs, so it seemed like a no-brainer. I got the first cream in the mail and quickly started my new daily regimen. It worked well enough, moisturized my skin, and after a month of use, I wrote my in-depth review on their Facebook page. Shortly after posting it, I got a “like” from my friend, and shortly after that, another “like” from someone I haven’t been in contact with for years. What?? My review was going on all my friends’ timelines?? All my facebook friends are reading about my sensitive skin and how I got pimples for the first two weeks of using the product?! This review was supposed to live on a skincare page that no one I know ever goes to, not show up in all my friend’s newsfeeds.
I guess I forgot that Facebook tells all. All I wanted was to secretly get some free product in return for a simple review, but no. It is never that easy and I should have known better. Now everyone I know gets to read about my skincare trials and tribulations and that I’m too cheap to buy myself some nice products with my own money. I learned my lesson, but now I’m a product reviewer for the rest of the year. Let’s hope my skin is glowing by the end of this to make it worth it.
I did have one win recently when it came to freebies: curried cashews with raisins. We were are a fancy hotel in the mountains for après-ski and this nice little mixture was served alongside our cocktails. The catch? Expensive cocktails. But, they were tasty expensive cocktails, so it was a worthy freebie in my book.
I’ve been looking to spruce up my afternoon snacks, so I recreated these guys. They are super easy to make, and will tide your taste buds and your hunger over until dinnertime. If you love a sweet, savory, and spicy combo, these are for you.
Just mix a little lemon juice, curry powder, salt, and cashews.
Bake ’em until they’re dry.
Throw in some raisins.
And snack your little heart out.
Despite everything, I’m still grabbing the freebies when I can. You never know when you’re gonna hit it big one day.
- 2 cups raw cashews
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons ground curry powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup raisins
- Whisk together the lemon juice, curry powder, and salt. Add in the cashews and stir until all the cashews are covered in spices.
- Spread the cashews evenly on a baking skeet. Bake at 250 F, 120C for 45 minutes. Stir at each 15-minute interval. Take them out of the oven and stir in the raisins. Let the mixture cool down on the pan. Once cool, pour them in a bowl, or store in an airtight container for up to three weeks. Double, triple, quadruple the recipe as needed.
- Eat as a snack, serve with cocktails, or package them up and give to a friend!
10 Responses
Oh no! I hate when stuff like that happens. Once, I had started playing that game Candy Crush, and made the mistake of logging in thru Facebook. Every time I passed a level, it was posting it to my Facebook page. So embarrassing! Just know you’re not alone, and awful Facebook reveals happen to all of us : )
I love these curried cashews with raisins! One of my favorite chicken salads is a curried version with raisins, So I know I’ll love these. Healthy too!
I do get requests to play Candy crush with people sometimes and I usually think to myself, I bet they did not mean to ask me this. Makes sense now! curry chicken salad sounds delish! i’ll add that to the list of things to make.
I’m one of those people that always passes up anything free because all I hear in my head is “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is!” I’m not a risk-taker at all, so I lead a boring life 😉 The whole free skincare would have definitely intrigued me though – that stuff is way too expensive not to try a freebie!
I love curried anything – I once had a curried chicken and cashew salad and loved it. So, I know I’ll love this recipe! What a great snack!
haha too funny…just like my husband! But I was born into a gambling family and just can’t help it 🙂 that salad sounds delicious! I think I will have to try to make something like it.
Caitlin you had me laughing about your skin care reviews and it popping up all over Facebook! Isn’t that always how it happens?! This little snack looks so tasty, I can just imagine how amazing the spice from the curry and the sweetness from the raisins will compliment each other – yum!
yes, that tricky facebook I tell ya! It is a good mixture, and helped me stay clear of the chocolate in the afternoon the past few days!
I hope they send you the good stuff then! The lemon on these cashews is an unexpected little twist I’d be happy to devour…even sans fancy little cocktails in a European ski lodge;)
so far so good 🙂 Thanks, Christine!
This looks like the perfect mix of salty and sweet! Yum.
It definitely satisfies that sweet/salty craving. Thanks Annie!