Since moving to Nicaragua, one of the U.S. treats I miss the most is my organic raw almond butter. In New York and in Florida, it was such a staple in my diet! A healthy fat, with benefits for my hair, skin, nails, and fat metabolism, a spoonful of almond butter helps curb my appetite for sugary carbs and chocolate. I love it on my protein pancake or in my oatmeal in the morning! But, in Nicaragua, nut butters are not accessible, and despite there being peanut farms, you cannot find peanut butter outside of the imported Jiffy brand which is highly processed and very expensive. So…
I MADE MY OWN!
This is my first attempt at making any nut butter, and it was so easy, I will never buy costly packaged nut butters again! Here’s how…
1. Soak raw almonds in water overnight (I left mine soaking in the fridge for two days because I was busy and no harm done!) I added just enough water to cover a large bowl of nuts (full raw almonds, skin intact). After a few hours the almonds greedily sucked up the water so I added a bit more and repeated that process once more.
2. Using a high powered blender (I love my Ninja blender, pictured), blend the almonds with all of the leftover liquid in the bowl.
This turned into a rather gritty almond mixture.
To smooth out the butter, I slowly added little bits of water to the blender until a creamy mouse-like texture was reached. And, voilà!
Today I used my homemade almond butter on my pancake with homemade strawberry-blackberry preserves! No berries in Nicaragua, I brought a large bag back from my Christmas trip to Costa Rica and made the jam as a way to preserve the fruit and enjoy it for longer! Another easy recipe which you can find, along with the BODYbybianca Pancake recipe on my blog (look for the jam recipe posted in April from Costa Rica).
Together in Health!
xob
BODY BY BIANCA 