I’ve been reading a lot more lately about nutrition and trying to find ways to incorporate healthier foods and recipes into my family’s diet. A cleaner lifestyle where there’s less processed foods entering our home and body and more whole foods.
Because her body’s so little and diet can have such a profound effect on her more readily than on an adult, I decided to start with the foods that Cakes eats first. I wrote out a list of the foods she eats everyday or nearly everyday so I could comb over the labels of the processed foods and see what changes could be made. Like most kids her age, one of her favorite foods on sandwiches or to dip apples into is peanut butter so that’s where I started.
Upon doing some research, it turns out the peanut butter brand I’ve been buying since getting married (my husband’s childhood favorite) is not very healthy. It contains cottonseed oil which is one of the worst oils available. Since cotton is not a crop grown for food, the FDA doesn’t regulate cottonseed oil. Not only that it’s high in saturated fat, may contain natural toxins, and is one of the four biggest genetically modified crops in the world.
After reading that, I resolved to come up with a solution. I’ve ground my own peanut butter in my local grocery store but also know that peanuts aren’t the healthiest nuts out there either. If I was going to do this, I wanted to do it right. I often make homemade trail mix and usually have various nuts on hand so I decided to start with the almond. But I plan on giving homemade cashew butter a try as well.
I tried just almonds, nothing else in my new Magimix food processor.
And it turned out great. It was so rich and flavorful with just one ingredient.
Recipe for Almond Butter
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw almonds
Instructions
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Roast 2 cups raw almonds on a baking sheet in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
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Place almonds in food processor, scraping periodically for uniform consistency. Takes approximately 15 minutes until creamy.
Rochelle
Thursday 24th of January 2013
Thanks for the recipe! I would have never thought to roast them but that makes so much sense :).
Kelly Stilwell
Saturday 15th of December 2012
I love almond butter and banana sandwiches!! YUM!
s riches
Monday 3rd of December 2012
This seems to easy to be true. I like almonds but have never heard of almond butter . Thanks for the tip!
Donna Marie
Tuesday 27th of November 2012
This looks delicious!! on my list to try
Crystal @ Simply Being Mommy
Monday 24th of September 2012
That looks delicious. I made apple butter not to long ago.