Almond-Walnut Butter

I've been buying almond butter at Trader Joe's for years since it's a staple in my picky son Jack's diet - and by staple I mean he eats it every day.  I usually have a pretty impressive stash of it in my pantry but for some reason Trader Joe's has been out of it for a while.  At first I panicked because almond butter is fairly pricey at most grocery stores compared to Trader Joe's.  However, the situation, and I'm sure you can see where this is going, forced me to make my own, and made me realize I should have been doing this years ago!  It's super easy and delicious.  If Jack eats it - not even noticing that anything has changed - I know it's good. 

He will eat peanut butter but since he eats it every day I wanted him to have  a variety, and it has more health benefits than peanut butter.  Almond butter has less saturated fat, eight times as much calcium, four times the amount of Vitamin E and twice the amount of iron than peanut butter.  Also, almonds are a powerful anti-oxidant and have anti-inflammatory properties. So almond butter is the clear winner here - especially for my son who eats a limited variety of foods.

I make this easy almond butter recipe almost once a week as Jack and I go through it pretty fast.  On my second batch, I thought I'd add some walnuts to pump up the healthy omega-3 fatty acids and as it turns out it's a great combination.  Next, I may try adding some sunflower seeds or ground flax seeds - any kind of nut or seed should work.

Enjoy!

 

Almond-Walnut Butter

1 lb raw, unsalted almonds
1 cup raw, unsalted walnut halves or pieces
2 teaspoons grape seed oil
coarse ground sea salt - to taste

1.)  Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and spread almonds and walnuts out on an un-greased cookie or baking sheet and season with sea salt

 

2.)  Toast nuts in oven for 7-9 minutes - just until you can smell them, make sure they don't burn and let them cool for about 10 minutes.  You may want to add more sea salt at this point depending on your taste.

3.) When cool, add to food processor and pulse for a few minutes while stopping to scrape down the sides.  Mixture should be a coarse grain at this point. 

4.)  Add 2 teaspoons of the oil and pulse again for a few minutes until the nuts release their oils and a paste forms.  Keep on pulse until the level of consistency you desire is achieved.

5.)  Store in air-tight glass jars in refrigerator.

 

"The Greatest Wealth is Health" - Roman Poet Virgil

 

"Let Food be thy Medicine and Medicine be thy Food." - Hippocrates

Jack's Ginger Snaps (and picky eaters!)

My oldest son Jack is the pickiest eater in the world.  I know I'm not alone and that many parents are dealing with their own picky eaters, but my son won't even eat "normal" kid foods.  No pizza, pasta, macaroni & cheese, grilled cheese or worst of all - no fruits or vegetables of any kind.  This drives me crazy.  Our pediatrician says he's growing just fine and not to worry, he'll grow out of it.  Well, I do worry, and I'm not quite sure what to do about it.  I do, however, make sure that of the limited foods he does eat, that they are as nutritious as possible even if it's the same foods day in and day out:

For breakfast it's organic milk and homemade waffles (loaded with extra eggs, ground flax, oatmeal and applesauce.)  Lunch is organic, sprouted-grain bread with almond butter.  For diner it's organic chicken nuggets.  I also make sure he has a daily multi-vitamin, a fruit & vegetable "pill", omega-3 tablets and extra Vitamin C.
 

We have tried to get him to eat other things, and he did when he was very young, but as he grew up he got pickier and pickier and the nightly food battles were getting us nowhere and causing tremendous stress in our family.  He claims his taste buds are "different" than ours and that's why he eats the way he does.  I will always worry about his limited eating habits, but he is growing fine and doing well in school, so we'll keep doing what we're doing and hope and pray he branches out with his food choices.  (For the record, my youngest son eats everything: sushi/sashimi, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, pickled ginger, sardines, anchovies...quite the extreme)

Because of Jack's "special taste buds" there isn't much I can cook or bake for him that he will eat, so when we discovered that he loved my Ginger Snaps we were thrilled and surprised at the same time because they are rather spicy.  (I know it's just a cookie and who wouldn't love a cookie? but believe me, Jack won't eat just any cookie)   So every year for Christmas I make these Ginger Snaps specially for Jack who thinks they're "awesome."

While I've been baking these cookies for years, I've always felt bad about using one ingredient:  shortening.  There is plenty of butter in the cookie, which is fine, but the shortening is needed to make the cookie perfectly round.  I'm a bit of a perfectionist (perhaps a little OCD) when I bake.  Although Crisco claims to be "trans-fat free" it's full of hydrogenated and partially-hydrogenated crap that I just don't feel good about using even if it's a small amount. This year I used coconut oil instead (in the winter months coconut oil has the same consistency as Crisco) and I'm happy to report the cookies not only taste great but are perfectly round and beautiful!  

  Enjoy!

 

Jack's Ginger Snaps

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 cups of sugar
1 cup of sugar reserved for rolling
4 cups of all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons of baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 Tablespoons ground ginger
1/2 cup dark molasses
2 large eggs, beaten


1.)  Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

2.)  In a bowl, cream butter, coconut oil, and 2 cups of sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed.  In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and ginger.

3.)  Add molasses to butter mixture;  beat to combine.   Beat in eggs until well combined.  Reduce mixer speed to low;  slowly add the reserved flour mixture, a little at a time until well blended.

4.) Place the remaining cup of sugar in a small bowl.  Measure about 2 teaspoons of dough;  roll into a ball and roll dough in sugar.  Transfer to a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.  Repeat, spacing balls 3 inches apart.  Bake for 11 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool.

"The Greatest Wealth is Health" - Roman Poet Virgil

"Let Food be thy Medicine and Medicine be thy Food." - Hippocrates