Making your own almond butter couldn’t be easier. Those store-bought jars can be super expensive, so this can save some money too! And maybe the best part about making your own nut butters is that (at least with this recipe) you won’t be adding in trans fats like MANY commerical nut butters have to give the product a longer shelf life. Even the ones without partially hydrogenated oils (trans fats), most have palm oil – a saturated fat that is also bad for your heart. We actually won’t be adding in any oil at all.

Ever since I tried almond butter, I haven’t been able to go back to peanut butter – which I used to love. My now ‘AB’  (as I call it) obsession is going strong, I literally eat 1-2 tablespoons per day! Almonds contain heart healthy monounsaturated fats which, when used in place of saturated and trans fats, help lower cholesterol. While fat does contain more calories per gram than protein or carbohydrates (9 calories per gram compared with 4 calories per gram in protein and carbs), that doesn’t mean that eating fat makes you fat. Eating excess of anything will cause weight gain. That being said, incorporating healthy fats like almond butter into a balanced diet will keep you full between meals which may actually help you lose weight. Good stuff, I know.

Almond Butter

• 2 cups whole, unsalted almonds
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon agave nectar/honey (optional: most of the time I don’t add it)

1. This step is optional – roasting the almonds. I will say, this does help speed up the blending process! Preheat oven to 350*F and spread almonds out onto a baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes until slightly browned.
2. Put almonds (not honey or salt!) into food processor. It will take a while, but these are the stages it will go through if you do not roast your almonds.

  3.   It’s done once the oils have released from the nuts, the butter will look shiny.

  4.   Stir in the honey and salt by hand. Experiment with other flavors to add in!

Some of my favorite ways to use almond butter: 

• Stir in a spoonful into oatmeal or other hot cereal, UH-mazing!
• 1/2 tablespoon on brown rice cake with apple slices
• Tasty spread on pumpkin or banana bread or the Carrot Cake Protein Bars
• Spread over a frozen whole grain waffle (watch out for the sodium) with half a banana on top
• Plop into a protein shake for a filling meal replacement when you’re on the go

Thought :: Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm – – Winston Churchill

Question // What did you add into your almond butter??

Tags: almond butter recipe, gluten-free, healthy recipe, monounsaturated fats, nutrition