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Homemade Almond Butter!

Published May 22, 2011 by Kevin and Amy Jo

Almond & Peanut Butter are almost a daily staple in our family diet.  A couple of years ago, when I was learning about the health benefits of Almond Butter over Peanut Butter, I began playing with making homemade Almond Butter.  I used different types of oils and techniques to get the right consistency and taste.  I thought I’d share our tried and true Almond Butter Recipe with you today!

Homemade Almond Butter

Ingredients: 4 cups raw Almonds & 1 cup of melted Coconut Oil

How To:

Pour 4 cups of raw Almonds into a food processor.  Using the processor blade, chop the almonds into tiny bits. Pour 1 cup of melted coconut oil over the chopped up almonds in a small stream.  Blend until smooth.  I will usually stop the processor, take off the lid and test the texture with a hard spatula.  It should stick together and be spreadable.  If not, add more coconut oil.  Once you like the texture, scoop it out and put it in a glass jar with a lid.  We store our jar of homemade Almond Butter at room temperature because it’s usually gone within a week.  Consider refrigerating it if you won’t eat it that quickly.

Tip #1 –  Coconut Oil will harden when it’s cold.  When the weather is cold or if you keep it in the fridge, place a small amount in a glass dish and warm it up in a convection oven for a couple of minutes.  This will melt the coconut oil so it is spreadable!

Tip #2 – We use a “dull” blade in our food processor for chopping up Almonds or other hard nuts.  If you use a brand new blade, it may cause it to become dull over time.  We ended up getting 2 blades…1 for chopping up hard nuts and 1 for everything else.

Tip #3 - (Optional)  We will soak our raw Almonds in pure water with 2 Tbsps of Lemon Juice or Kombucha for 24 hours.  Drain and place in a dehydrator for another 24 hours.  This creates what are called “crispy nuts” out of Sally Fallon’s book, Nourishing Traditions.  In short, it removes most of the phytic acid from the nuts, thus creating them to be more digestible.  You can read more about this at Kelly the Kitchen Kop’s blog.

Here are some photos:


Ways To Eat Homemade Almond Butter:

  1. Almond Butter and Jam/Honey sandwiches – a favorite lunch at our house!
  2. Putting on pancakes or waffles with maple syrup on top!
  3. Putting on homemade English Muffins!
  4. Eating with sliced apples!

HOW do you eat your Almond Butter?  Let us know if the comment section below >>

From Our Family To Yours,

Kevin and Amy Jo

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Almond Butter vs. Peanut Butter?

Published May 10, 2011 by Kevin and Amy Jo

We love Almonds and Almond Butter…but ya, know ~ there’s nothing like breaking out the Adam’s Peanut Butter and spreading it out on a freshly toasted english muffin or using it as an apple slice or celery dip!

This makes us wonder about the rest of the world.  Which do you prefer – Peanut Butter, Almond Butter or Both?  Which is healthier?

Let’s dig into the facts:

Peanut butter and Almond butter are both healthy protein sources and have similar calorie counts per serving.  They both provide great minerals such as tryptophan, manganese, copper and Vitamin E.  From the standpoint of nutrient content ~ peanut butter provides about 20% of your daily niacin needs, while almond butter give 40% of vitamin E and 20% of magnesium.

This information come from Best Natural Foods regarding Almonds:

“Almonds and almond butter are nutritional powerhouses that contain significant amounts of protein, calcium, fiber, magnesium, folic acid, potassium, and vitamin E. Almond butter has extremely low saturated fat content and is rich in monounsaturated fats making it a heart-healthy choice. Of course, almonds have notrans fat. Studies consistently have shown that the addition of almonds into the diet effectively lowers cholesterol. Unlike low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets, adding almonds does not adversely alter insulin sensitivity in healthy adults or blood sugar levels in patients with diabetes.”

“Almonds are a good source of plant sterols, such as beta-sitosterol, which have been shown to alleviate symptoms of BPH (enlarged prostate), a condition afflicting the majority of men over age 50. Two tablespoons of almond butter contain roughly 35 milligrams of beta-sitosterol.”

This chart compares creamy unsalted versions of each nutty spread, and the percentages are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

2 tbsp. peanut butter 2 tbsp. almond butter
Calories 190 190
Total Fat (g) 16 16
Saturated Fat (g) 2 1.5
Carbs (g) 7 6
Fiber (g) 3 4
Protein (g) 8 7
Calcium 1% 8%
Iron 3% 6%
Vitamin E 14% 40%
Folate 6% 6%

It’s interesting to note that when buying Almond butter or Peanut butter that is already processed and in the jar, the Vitamin E is lost due to high-heat processing.  Dr. Elson M. Hass of the Global Healing Center of Natural Health and Organic Living says that the manufacturers also add oils and sweeteners to the nut butters, which can make them unhealthy. Commercial peanut butters often contain cottonseed, soybean or rapeseed oil, molasses and mono or diglycerides.

Both butters are at their most nutritious when made at home, using only fresh, roasted or raw nuts. They can both be mixed with honey, sorghum or molasses for added flavor and nutrition.

The Biggest Difference

Almonds grow on trees, which makes them a true nut.  Peanuts are actually legumes and grow underground. Keeping this in mind, peanuts can often contain molds or fungus.  Peanut proteins can also act as powerful allergens, even in tiny amounts.  Peanut allergies are the most common cause of death by food in the U.S.  Just inhaling the scent of a peanut can cause some children or adults to have a ruthless reaction.

Here is a brief history on Peanuts and Peanut Butter:  Click Here

I think we can conclude that Almonds are much healthier for us than Peanuts.

We eat both in our family and when we buy Peanut Butter, we usually will get the freshly ground Peanut Butter (from the grinder machine) or get Adam’s!  (We love Adam’s!)  Any other brand, you’ve gotta watch for a few things:  Sugar Content, High Fructose Corn Syrup and Corn, Soy, Canola and Vegetable Oils…

We will also buy the freshly ground Almond Butter (from the grinder machine) or we make our own!

Raw Almonds have got to be one of the best foods we can eat!   What do you think?

From Our Family To Yours,

Kevin and Amy Jo

 



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