Bye-Bye Nutella and Hello Almond Butter!

 

How about a nice bowl of sugar to empower your morning? No? Then why are you still smearing Nutella on your toast? The nutritional breakdown of Nutella is terrifying. Dear OiB readers, please do not attempt to fuel your body, or your children’s bodies, with this utter garbage.

Nutella Ingredients:

Sugar, modified palm oil, hazelnuts, cocoa, skimmed milk powder, whey powder, lecithin, and vanillin

The nutritional breakdown of Nutella is more startling than the fact it is made up almost completely of sugar.

Nutella contains 70% saturated fat. A two-tablespoon (37 gram) serving contains 200 calories. 99 of those calories comes from 11 grams of fat. The other 80 calories comes from 21 grams of sugar. Plus, the second ingredient is a modified vegetable oil that is not only eco-friendly, it is full of saturated and trans fats!

Almond butter, on the other hand, is pure awesomeness in a jar.

 Almonds, as you may know, are praised highly in the medical world for having monosaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), dietary fiber, vitamins, antioxidants, and trace amounts of essential minerals. Though they are high in calories, they are incredibly energy dense. No empty calories here!

When you consume almonds or almond butter, you get the following benefits:

•  Increased brain cell communication
• Protection from the sun (thanks to trace amounts of copper)
• Healthy bones
• More energy
• Prevent heart disease
• Improved blood cholesterol
• Controlled blood sugar levels
• Weight loss

Time to throw your Nutella away and grab some organic almond butter. If you do not know where to find some in the store, almond butter is very easy to make!

DIY Recipe for Homemade Almond Butter

All you need is roasted almonds (around 1 pound/16 oz/453 grams for a single jar) and a food processor with an S-shaped blade.

 Directions:

1. Warm the almonds in the oven at about 250 degrees F/120 degrees C for 10-15 minutes. You want the almonds to be warm to the touch. This helps the oils release faster when churning them.
2. Grab your food processor. Depending on the size, I recommend topping the amount of cups added to about 3. Smaller models may only take 1 ½ cups. Pour in the almonds, turn on the food processor, and let it begin to break the nuts down.
3. After a while, you will notice the almonds turning to paste (probably around 10-15 minutes in). Stop the processor, scrape the sides, and mash the paste down to keep the processing even. You will need to repeat this several times.
4. At around 20 minutes, the wad of almond paste will begin to release oils and break down further. It will look slightly grainy.
5. Within 5 minutes of that mark, your almond butter will become smooth and creamy. Give it a stir to check the consistency before storing in a jar.

Takes some time, but oh, it is totally worth it. I actually think it is a bit addicting!

Almond butter is so delicious and nutritious. Throw out your Nutella. Burn the jars. Never buy it again. Buy some roasted almonds instead to make your own nut butter. After all, almond butter can be used in many recipes, just like peanut butter, but without the fear of peanut allergies!

So are you ready to make this huge change? 🙂

 

Nutella and Hello Almond Butter