I started to tell you a little bit about my clean eating journey last week in this post. Over the past month and a half, I have been FAR from perfect (we’re talking SEVERAL cheats, not limited to chocolate chip cookies, dell taco green bean & cheese burrito, tacos, and maybe a half dozen cupcakes or so). Despite these moments of weakness I have been very pleased with my results so far. Greater energy, a feeling of being light on my feet, less lethargic and a waist line that has shrunk nearly 4 inches.
Too much structure stresses me out–which is the main reason fad diets don’t tend to work for me. But what I’m doing now (clean eating), while not always easy, it’s very simple. For the first time in longer than I can remember (maybe for the first time EVER), I feel good about what I’m putting into my body. I feel fueled rather than stuffed.
One of my daily go-to “healthy fats” is almond butter. It helps satisfy my sweet craving and it can be relatively filling. I have been buying the Trader Joes and Sprouts brand of almond butter and have been pleased, but I was anxious to try a homemade version and see if I liked it better.
The verdict: yes and no.
Here’s what I learned about making my own almond butter with a Vitamix:
1. Use almonds that have been kept in the fridge or freezer. This recipe requires that you blend the almonds for several minutes. If using a Vitamix or other industrial strength blender, extended blending will cause the contents to heat up which will denature the fatty acids in the almonds. Chilling your vitamix container and nuts will help keep the temperature down.
2. I decided NOT to add oil to my recipe simply to keep the fat content down. As a result, my finished product was more dry than standard almond butter–but still a great flavor and easy to spread. You can choose to add one tablespoon of canola oil at a time during the blending process until desired consistency is received.
3. Just when you think you are done blending, blend a little longer. It took longer than I expected for the almonds to transform from a dust to a paste. I imagine the process would have been much quicker if I would have added canola oil. ALSO, after reading through several other recipes, I’ve learned that if I would have kept blending for another 10 minutes, my consistency would have become creamier (a total of 20-30 minutes, yikes). So while making your own almond butter is cheaper than store bought, it sure is time consuming.
4. I LOVE the flavor of this batch. BUT I really wish it would have turned out creamier. I am determined to create a creamy batch without having to add oil. Let me know if you have any additional tips. For now, here’s how I made mine:
- 3 cups of roasted almonds
- 1 tablespoon of cinnamon
- a pinch of sea salt
- combine all ingredients in Vitamix or food processor.
- turn on blender and slowly increase to highest speed.
- use the tamper (that wand that comes with your Vitamix) to push the almonds down into the blade. periodically turn off the blender and use a rubber spatula to scrap the almonds off the sides of the container.
- continue to blend for several minutes until desired consistency is achieved.
- optional: add one tablespoon of canola oil at a time until desired creaminess.
For additional recipes made using my Vitamix, click here.
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*I was given the Vitamix Creation II to review. As always, all opinions are my own and I am completely head over heels in love with my Vitamix.
Sarah
Any time I have made almond butter or grinded cashews for recipes I usually add a touch of melted coconut oil. This will help keep the bad fats away (canola oil) and add in good, really healthy, fats. The only thing with coconut oil is you have to warm it up before using it – solid coconut oil will not mix in annnnything. Good thing though, it takes a split second to get it in liquid form!
Mandy
SarahSo happy someone spoke up about canola oil being bad stuff. Even a lighter olive oil would be a better option (since it isn’t cooked or heated).
jess
dooo you have a food processor? i almost kissed friends of mine when they gifted my new husband and me a vitamix for our wedding, but it’s not my go-to for nut butters… creamy almond butter only takes 12-15min max in a cuisinart ((1 cup almond per 7 cup bowl for speedy creaminess… 2 cups almonds would need 11 cup bowl)). no added oils needed!
so happy that you’re feeling more like you. congrats, lady!
Brittany
I would definitely recommend using the coconut oil. I place mine in a cup and place the cup over a bowl of hot water to melt the coconut oil. putting it in the microwave will kill some of the good stuff 🙂 Canola oil is a really bad oil. We even use sunflower oil sometimes.
I love the idea of adding cinnamon, I think I will try that next time!!
Thanks and good luck in your clean eating journey!
Michelle
Coconut oil or grape seed oil is a wonderful substitute for canola oil.
Lacey
Yum! I’ve been wanting to make my own nut butters (and cookie too!) for a long time now. My blender isn’t very powerful though, so I always talk myself out of it. This looks so good, I may give it a try…
Suzy
I haven’t tried almond butter in my vitamix yet, but have made sunflower seed butter in it (delicious & a nice change for less of a price when you go through a lot of this stuff). Like the others, I’ve found I prefer my food processor because it gets stuck less (taking less time) and is way easier to clean. I also use a bit of coconut oil for healthy fats/creaminess. Going to have to try the almond butter! Did you try soaking your almonds at all?
Tara
hmmm… applesauce? or just water? when i make cashew cream (for lasagna, pasta sauce, etc) i just do cashews and water and it’s pretty creamy depending on how much you add… otherwise i’d try a touch of coconut oil.
Jody at Six Little Hearts
Sounds great!!! It would make a fab blog post to share your meal plan! I am breastfeeding so my bod is holding on to 6 kilos! I would love to get the weight to start to shift!! Enjoying the clean eating posts. I need to wean off sugar!
Nana
Do you know about the blog http://www.wholefoodsimply.com? I am sure you would LOVE some of those recipes and they make you feel so good eating because even tho they are sweet, they are HEALTHY!! Check it out! Your almond butter sounds delicious. congrats
Alicia
Hey Ashley, Like a few others have mentioned, coconut oil should do the trick. Plus coconut oil is great for a million other uses too. (if you haven’t heard of oil pulling, totally look it up!)
Erna
I love homemade almond butter and make it all the time. To get a really creamy and smooth butter I like to make smaller batches rather than big. That way it doesn’t take too long to make it and it lasts for a few days, and to save time I always make it when I’m making something else too, like date, oats and cocoa balls (great for satisfying those chocolate cravings instead of chocolate and oats cookies!!).
Erin
I NEED to try this–pronto!
Absolute Mommy
I saw that someone else suggested it, but a table spoon of solid coconut oil would make it smoother, but you are right, it would add some fat. Looks delicious. And yeah for clean eating.
XOXO
instagram video downloader
This looks amazing! I will definately give it a try!
I hope I will manage as I am not a great cook!
HERVE LEGER
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