Recipe Review: Fluffy Nut Butter

 

Fluffy peanut butter and carrot sticks…yum! :)

This is a great way to make nut butter less calories and also make it last longer…doubling the amount of nut butter…so it’s frugal too.

 

I’m going to quote Chef Rachel’s recipe here but feel free to see it on her site here:

“Fluffy Nut Butter  
Prep: 10 minutes/ Yield: 1 cup; 8 servings

To make almond butter, peanut butter, and other nut butters more spreadable and less calorie-dense, you can emulsify them with warm water and add a little sea salt. After the mixture chills, it thickens and fluffs up making a delicious spread for bread, waffles, baked sweet potatoes, winter squash, cooked apple compote, or sliced fresh or frozen bananas. For a sweeter taste, see variations below.

Notes: Select a bottled brand of nut butter that doesn’t contain added salt, sugar, hydrogenated oil, or soybeans, or use homemade nut butter.Although it may be tempting to dilute an entire jar of nut butter––don’t do it, unless you plan to freeze most of it. Diluted nut butter will sour in the refrigerator after about 5 days if unsalted; 7 to 10 days if salted. It keeps well frozen.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup roasted, unsalted, unsweetened almond, cashew, or peanut butter  
1/2 cup warm filtered water
1/4 teaspoon finely ground, unrefined sea salt (Celtic, Lima, or Real Salt…)

See sweetener suggestion below if using this with frozen bananas

1. Don’t discard the oil on top of a new jar of nut butter. Process the contents of the jar in a food processor, a Vita-Mix, orin a bowl with a sturdy spoon until smooth. Return nut butter to the original jar and refrigerate what you don’t plan to use immediately.

2. Dissolve the sea salt in warm water. Add the almond butter and mix or blend until smooth. Scrape the mixture into a wide-mouth jar or small bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or freeze for 1 to 2 hours) until thick, before serving. Use within 4 days if unsalted, within 1 week if salted, or freeze for up to 6 months in covered glass jars with 1-inch of headspace at the top for expansion.

2 tablespoons: 109 calories, 4 g protein, 3 g carbohydrate (3 g fiber), 9 g fat, 89 mg calcium

Variations:

*  Sweet, Fluffy Nut Butter: To the recipes above add 2 to 3 tablespoons honey or agave nectar, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, and 1/4 teaspoon pure stevia extract powder or clear or vanilla flavored stevia extract liquid.”

 

This is really good! :) Give it a shot! :) I haven’t tried it sweetened yet…but I want to try again soon without salt/less salt. :)

Strawberry Jam

   Don’t you just love strawberries? I do. This is a picture I took of a few of the lovely jewels from the pick-it-yourself farm. Sweet. Vibrant. Little. Jewels. Delicious.

Mom was making freezer jam with most of these.  I wanted to make some that I could have……..

And I’m so glad I did.

      

The finished product. The lighting was a little weird on my camera, but anyways, the jam came out amazing. Never mind the fact that it’s gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free, AND it doesn’t use honey/agave etc. Only a little fruit juice and stevia. That’s it, sweetie!

Plus, this jam is approved by my sister who thinks all my food is disgusting. Mom, is slightly less picky, liked it too.

 

 

Simply Sweet Strawberry Jam

• This recipe is for freezer jam but can be altered slightly for canned jam. :)

Ingredients:

• 5+ c. mashed strawberries
• 3 c. white grape raspberry 100% fruit juice (or 6 oz. concentrate and 18 oz water)
• 6 t. stevia
• 1 T. lemon juice
• 1 package of No/Low Sugar Added Pectin

Directions:

• Mash berries by hand one cup at a time. (It is easier to mash by hand about one cup at a time then all together.)
• Bring the juice to a boil. Add in pectin. Stir until dissolved. Remove the pan from the stove. Add in strawberries, lemon juice, and stevia. Stir well
• Pour into glass jars being sure to leave 1/2+ inch room at the top for expansion. Let cool for an hour+ on the counter or until cool enough to place in the fridge. 
• After about 24 hours, remove all but the jar(s) you are going to use for the near-future to the freezer.
• Take your “fridge jar” and enjoy it :) It’s great for….

                                

Bananas with Peanut Butter and Jam                               Dried Pineapple Dipped in Jam

 

                               

Strawberry Surprise Chicken (Recipe coming soon)         PB & J Energy Bites (recipe to come soon)

 

And, best of all, on a spoon! :)

Homemade Sugar-Free Ketchup

I found this recipe and changed it up a bit. :) The original recipe had onion and garlic powder in it but I don't handle those well unfortuntenately! However, this recipe came out wonderful anyway! Here's the end yummy result!

Homemade Sugar-Free Ketchup

Ingredients:

12 0z can (or two 6 oz cans) tomato paste

1/2 c. + 3 T. water

1/4 c. + 1 T. agave nectar (honey will probably work too)

1 t. salt

1/4 t. cumin

3/4 t. cinnamon

2-3 T. apple cider vingear, depending on how tangy you like it :)

Directions: Blend together in a blender or food processor. Pour into sqeezeable container. Store in fridge for a few weeks (if it lasts that long!) Serve with french fries etc. :)

(In case your wondering, yes, my container is an old agave bottle :) that I recycled :))

Recipe Review #3: Avacado Mayonnaise

This recipe also comes from Ricki via Dr. Kim at Diet, Dessert, and Dogs! I love it dip and mayo! Take Ricki’s and my word for it! This is a great mayo alternative and it is sooo good on tomatoes! See her post here.

“2 ripe avocados, halved, pitted, scooped out of skins, and cubed

large handful of fresh basil leaves [or a couple shakes dreid basil]

2 Tbsp. (30 ml.) extra virgin olive oil [I didn't use it but I'm sure it'd taste even better!]

2 tsp. (10 ml.) fresh lemon or lime juice

1 garlic clove, peeld and minced

sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Combine basil, garlic, and a pinch of sea salt in a small food processor and blend until ingredients form a paste.

Add avocados and process until smooth. Blend in oil and lemon or lime juice, and then season with salt and pepper. Makes 4-6 servings.”

How to make your own sugar-free sweet relish

Now, are you wondering why I did reviews on pickles and mayo right after my review on fish sticks? That’s because I really wanted tartar sauce tonight on my fish sticks and I decided since I didn’t have any relish to experiment and make up a recipe of my own.

So here it is:

Take about 10 baby dill pickles or about half of a regular size pickle and stick it in a food processer with a little of the juice from the pickle jar. Add about 1/4 t. stevia powder to the mix. Process until your desired size for relish. (I got a little too excited and processed mine a little too much). Makes about 1/4 c. Just multiply the recipe as needed. Tastes great!