Recipe Corner

Mixed Nut Butter

There is nothing more bursting with nutrients and goodness than nuts. Of course, there are lots of commercially available nut butters out there, some of better quality than other, some very raw and basic, some containing all sorts of unwanted additions. The best way to get your fill of nuttyness is with home made mixed nut butter. It is very simple, easy  and relatively inexpensive to make. You only need the most basic of ingredients, an oven and a food processor.

Ingredients:

Nuts of your choise. Check the amount you can fit into your food processor to avoid wastage. You can use literally any nuts. I personally put 5 or 6 different nuts into the mixture, depending on what I've got in the cupboard at the time. The staples tend to be almods, hazelnuts, cashews, walnuts, pecans, brazil nuts, and macadamia nuts. You can also use any quantity of each as you see fit and what you find palatable. You can of course also make a single nuts butter. Don't be afraid to try out a few different combinations until you find your own favorite.

Method:

- Place assortment of nuts into a roasting tray and roast in the oven for about 10 minutes at 180 degrees celcius.

- Let the nuts cool for 10 minutes

- Place the nuts into your food processor and blend until smooth and creamy texture is reached. The time depends on your food processor.

- Scoop the nut butter into a glass jar for keeping.

Nut butter is a good way of accessing high quality nutrition. The roasting and blizing of the nuts 'activates' the nuts and breaks down the cell membranes, resulting in high bioavailability of the nutritient and reducing the effort required in the digestion process.

The mixed nut butter keeps for a relatively long time in an air tight container. I tend to go through a jar in a week or so, so haven't actually tested how long it keeps. The consistency varies in accrodance to the quatities of nuts used. If you have a higher proportion of almods, that butter will be drier, and higher proportion of hazelnuts can give a more runny consistency.

It is a good idea to invest in a powerful food processor. It does make life easier in many ways. I personally use a Vitamix Total Nutrition Center. Not cheap but money well spent in my opinion.

Enjoy!

Your in Health,

Mika

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