Three Points of the Compass is a great fan of nuts as trail food. If ever I am including a bag of snacks, invariably one sort of nut or another is a constituent. Of course this time of year, for some unfathomable reason,  the supermarkets are swamped with various nuts for the festive household. Time to take advantage of this.

I do not show an allegiance to one supermarket over another but Mr and Mrs Three Points of the Compass do pop in to Marks & Spencer on a not infrequent basis… A recent visit saw a seasonal addition to the food hall, and with a couple of quid knocked off too, I snapped up a couple of tubs to try them out.

A handful of the M&S winter spiced mixed nuts

The 300g tubs of M&S Winter Spiced Mixed Nuts comprise almonds, cashews and peanuts with cinnamon sugar and ‘a warming hint of cayenne pepper’. These really are quite a lovely mix, sweet with just a touch of heat. Many trail foods can get a little boring after a while, this tasty addition will make a change for a few months of day hikes. At 563 kcal per 100g, calorific content is high. Though I do note that the M&S plain roasted and salted mixed nut tubs, containing almonds, cashews, macadamias, hazelnuts & pecans, come in at a whopping 673 kcal per 100g. Not only have I returned and stocked up a little with a few extra tubs, but I’ll be keeping an eye out for any post Christmas dip in price too as the supermarket clears their shelves.

M&S Food Hall is a slippery slope for the lover of nuts