Walnuts
Walnut butter
30/Jan/11 04:38 PM Filed in: Recipes
by Kate Whimster, BCom, MIFHI, ND
I’m doing an elimination diet right now and one of the things I’ve eliminated is my beloved chocolate! To successfully abstain, it was crucial that I plan out some great non-chocolate snacks. One great substitute for me has been walnut butter. It is really easy to make and tastes amazing! Plus, walnuts are full of healthy fats and are a diamond superfood on my SWAMI. You can also add other nuts to this mix. Today I added pecans too (another superfood).
Walnut Butter
(makes about 400-500g of nut butter - enough to fill a large Nuts to You jar!)
Ingredients:
Directions:
1. Fill a chopper/grinder/food processor with nuts, like so:
2. Sprinkle in sea salt to taste. I have no idea how much I use, just a few shakes.
3. Chop the nuts until they are in tiny pieces, then switch to grinding until they are in even smaller pieces. They will look somewhat like this:
4. Add oil and keep grinding the mixture until it reaches the consistency you want. Again, I have no idea how much oil I use! Enough to make a thick, but not dry paste.
5. Empty walnut butter into a glass jar and store in the fridge. Enjoy on rice crackers, rice cakes, as a dip for veggies, or any other way you can think of.
I’m doing an elimination diet right now and one of the things I’ve eliminated is my beloved chocolate! To successfully abstain, it was crucial that I plan out some great non-chocolate snacks. One great substitute for me has been walnut butter. It is really easy to make and tastes amazing! Plus, walnuts are full of healthy fats and are a diamond superfood on my SWAMI. You can also add other nuts to this mix. Today I added pecans too (another superfood).
Walnut Butter
(makes about 400-500g of nut butter - enough to fill a large Nuts to You jar!)
Ingredients:
- Walnuts
- Other nuts to your liking (pecans work well, I think almonds would be too hard, but haven’t tried them)
- Sea salt
- Oil of your choice (I used grapeseed oil because that is all I had, but using walnut oil makes a lot of sense or any other oil you prefer)
Directions:
1. Fill a chopper/grinder/food processor with nuts, like so:
2. Sprinkle in sea salt to taste. I have no idea how much I use, just a few shakes.
3. Chop the nuts until they are in tiny pieces, then switch to grinding until they are in even smaller pieces. They will look somewhat like this:
4. Add oil and keep grinding the mixture until it reaches the consistency you want. Again, I have no idea how much oil I use! Enough to make a thick, but not dry paste.
5. Empty walnut butter into a glass jar and store in the fridge. Enjoy on rice crackers, rice cakes, as a dip for veggies, or any other way you can think of.
Comments
Kate's walnutty chocolate
21/Jan/11 10:56 AM Filed in: Recipes
by Kate Whimster, BCom, MIFHI, ND
Yes, another post about chocolate! This is my other major chocolate “substitute.” Back in 2003, I decided to stop eating sugar entirely for one month as an experiment. This was actually a lot easier than I expected and completely changed the way I eat since. It made me realize how often I was eating sugar to sooth uncomfortable emotions and that I didn’t need to eat cookies, cake, and other desserts to have a good time or connect with people. However, the biggest thing I missed was chocolate! Not even really sweet chocolate, just that distinct taste! So I came up with this recipe for making my own fudge-type dessert using some healthier ingredients.
Kate’s Walnutty Chocolate
(makes about 36 small pieces)
Ingredients:
Directions:
1. Melt cocoa powder, butter, and almond butter in a medium pot over low-medium heat.
2. While those are melting, chop the walnuts (and cacao beans or nibs if you are using these) using a chopper/grinder until they are a size you desire.
3. Once the cocoa mixture in the pot is melted and blended, remove from heat and add vegetable glycerine and combine.
4. Next, add the walnuts, cacao nibs, ground flax, and puffed rice and combine.
5. Press the mixture into a square pan lined with parchment paper.
6. Place in fridge or freezer to cool.
Yes, another post about chocolate! This is my other major chocolate “substitute.” Back in 2003, I decided to stop eating sugar entirely for one month as an experiment. This was actually a lot easier than I expected and completely changed the way I eat since. It made me realize how often I was eating sugar to sooth uncomfortable emotions and that I didn’t need to eat cookies, cake, and other desserts to have a good time or connect with people. However, the biggest thing I missed was chocolate! Not even really sweet chocolate, just that distinct taste! So I came up with this recipe for making my own fudge-type dessert using some healthier ingredients.
Kate’s Walnutty Chocolate
(makes about 36 small pieces)
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder (I now use raw cacao powder)
- 1/2 cup butter or ghee (I make my own ghee using organic, cultured butter, see ghee recipe here) - ghee is these softer/wetter than butter, so use a bit less
- 1/2 cup almond butter (you can also use tahini or any other nut butter you like)
- 1/4-1/2 cup vegetable glycerine (very sweet but does not spike blood sugar - I get mine in large bottles from Azure Standard) or agave syrup - adjust according to desired sweetness
- 2-3 handfuls walnuts
- 1 handful cacao beans or nibs (optional)
- 1/2 cup ground flax
- 1/2-1 cup puffed rice or quinoa
Directions:
1. Melt cocoa powder, butter, and almond butter in a medium pot over low-medium heat.
2. While those are melting, chop the walnuts (and cacao beans or nibs if you are using these) using a chopper/grinder until they are a size you desire.
3. Once the cocoa mixture in the pot is melted and blended, remove from heat and add vegetable glycerine and combine.
4. Next, add the walnuts, cacao nibs, ground flax, and puffed rice and combine.
5. Press the mixture into a square pan lined with parchment paper.
6. Place in fridge or freezer to cool.
