Going Homemade!: Nut & Seed Butters

In the course of a week, the chest cold and the coughing has taken its toll. My physical body’s condition, while less than ideal, has not affected my mental or emotional health. I am more driven than ever to do the things I need to do day-to-day to ultimately get to where I want to go. I’m letting go of old habits, donating material possessions to others who need them more than I do, and cleaning up both externally and internally.

I may be coughing and not able to climb or practice Vinyasa, but I’m quite happy with my life. My first week of school gave me the impression that I was exactly where I needed to be, having professors and peers that are going to challenge and inspire me, introduce me to a higher level of learning and observation, and look on as I enhance my knowledge of conflict resolution.

So, with all this going on in a such a short span of time, I am quite behind in recipes. I spent the majority of my days sleeping and reading, slurping soup and drinking tea. I did not venture outside the home only when completely necessary, and even then it was for quick errands. The kitchen was my haven in creating warm meals and drinks, but I didn’t have the energy to ready my camera and position the lens, let alone writing down the recipes. But I have a feeling September will be the month to start the fall off with an abundance of recipes and insights, adventures near and far, and yours truly back in the peak of health.

For three weeks, I’ve yet to buy nut butter, canned beans, and kefir, and revel in how different they taste when made from scratch. I don’t have digestive upsets because I’m soaking my legumes and grains (both in whey and apple cider vinegar). I’m buying the majority of my produce from farmers markets and am pleasantly surprised how much fuller and more nourished I feel. Coffee is slowly being removed from my system, and I’m starting to actually hear what my body is saying.

In all of these changes, I hear it say “Thank you.”

 “Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos - the trees, the clouds, everything.” (T. N. Hanh)

The thing with making your own nut butters and spreads is how vast the amount of different recipes you can come up with. As I said, I haven’t bought nut butter in three weeks, all because of these recipes:

Roasted Salted Almond Butter (an Ashley classic at the Edible Perspective)

280 g Raw, unsalted almonds

1/2 tsp. Sea salt

Preheat the oven to 300ºF.

Spread the almonds on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Roast for 22 minutes, until golden brown and aromatic, stirring 2 to 3 times.

Remove and add to your food processor and process, scraping down the sides as necessary.

Process for 6 – 12 minutes, continuing to scrape as needed. 

Once it is smooth and creamy, add the salt and process for another minute or so until it is at the desired consistency.

Makes 10 servings.

This recipe was the beginning of the end for me. An end of buying pre-made nut butters forever. It was so simple and tasted so different than its plastic-jarred cousin, I had to see what else I could make. My Creative Mind called for a challenge: a nut-free spread. Alas, I ate it all before snapping a photo, but I will definitely be making sunflower seed butter and pepita spread respectively.

Multi-Seed Nut-free Butter

150 g Pepitas, raw and unsalted

150 g Sunflower seeds, raw and unsalted

1/2 tsp. Sea salt

12 g Sesame seeds

10 g Chia seeds

2 g Poppy seeds

Preheat the oven to 300ºF.

Spread the pepitas and sunflower seeds on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Roast for 22 minutes, until golden brown and aromatic, stirring 2 to 3 times.

Remove and add to your food processor and process, scraping down the sides as necessary.

Process for 6 – 12 minutes, continuing to scrape as needed. 

Once it is smooth, add the remaining ingredients and process for another minute or so until it is at the desired consistency.

Makes 10 servings.

This is certainly an experiment worth trying, especially for those who can handle seeds but not nuts in their diet. It was savory in taste, but it tasted wonderful on fruits and grains regardless.

Finally, I decided to work with walnuts. I was delighted by the marvelous consistency it has as a spread, and how little time it took to liquify in the food processor!  It has a strong flavor, but I loved that particular quality.

Sweet Cinnamon Walnut Butter

300 g Raw, unsalted walnut pieces

1/2 tsp. Sea salt

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

Stevia, to taste (optional)

Preheat the oven to 300ºF.

Spread the walnut pieces on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Roast for 22 – 25 minutes, until golden brown and aromatic, stirring 2 to 3 times.

Remove and add to your food processor and process, scraping down the sides as necessary.

Process for 3 – 5 minutes, continuing to scrape as needed. 

Once it is smooth, add the remaining ingredients and process for another minute or so until it is at the desired consistency.

Makes 10 servings.

Stay tuned for more nut/seed butters and spreads! If you have any cool combinations of flavors (say, Curry Almond Butter or Pumpkin Spice Pecan Butter) you want me to try, leave your suggestions in a comment below. Oh, and don’t forget to say what you have it with.