Thursday, February 6, 2014

coconut almond butter

I like snacks. Little bites between meal time to keep me happy. 
I always have some kind of snack (or two, or three) in my school bag or my purse......I actually have an irrational fear of being "out" somewhere and not having a snack tucked away, just in case. 
The horror!
I'm always looking for new snacks to try out, whether for on the go, or when I'm hungry at home.
Almond butter is nothing new around here--I make it every now and then, and while I always have good intentions of using it sparingly for fruit dip.....I usually end up eating it with a spoon.....whoops.
A few weeks ago my sister-in-law told me about her latest obsession: coconut peanut butter. 
I couldn't get it out of my head. 
I didn't have any peanuts on hand, but I always have raw almonds and unsweetened coconut.....so I just had to give it a whirl. 
(pun totally intended, because I have the humor of an old man).
coconut almond butter // the little red house
almonds + coconut = coconut almond butter. 
It's that simple......and so good.
coconut almond butter // the little red housecoconut almond butter // the little red house
Coconut Almond Butter
-2 cups raw almonds
-1 cup shredded UNSWEETENED coconut (keep this in your cupboards! It's so good thrown into oatmeal, smoothies, cookies, everything) find it in the bulk bins.
-pinch of salt. 

Heat oven to 400° and roast almonds on a cookie sheet for about 15 minutes until almonds start to brown and smell perfectly toasty.
add almonds, coconut, and salt into a food processor or your high powered blender and process for 5-6 minutes. (stop a few times to scrape down the sides if needed)

I asked on facebook how YOU like to eat almond butter:
-apples
-bananas
-stirred into smoothies
-on toast
-with a spoonful of chocolate chips
-stirred into breakfast quinoa
-by the spoonful
-my kids love it in their lunch boxes with pretzels or apples!
coconut almond butter // the little red house
but wait! 
there's more!
Raise your hand if most afternoons at 4:00 you simply
must. have. chocolate.
is that just me?
so why not find a healthier way to get your afternoon chocolate fix....
introducing:
Chocolate Coconut Almond Butter
2 cups roasted almonds (see roasting instructions above)
1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
pinch of salt
1 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder
2-3 TBS pure maple syrup
1-2 TBS coconut oil, melted

make the coconut almond butter with the directions above. 
once your mixture is finished and smooth, add in cocoa powder and maple syrup--a little more, a little less, depending on how sweet you want it.
once the cocoa powder is added, the almond butter will loose some of it's smooth texture, so while the food processor is running, slowly add in your melted coconut oil until your almond butter is smooth again. 
chocolate coconut almond butter // the little red house
taste. 
taste. 
taste. 
and enjoy.
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Happy Weekend!

4 comments:

FedeB | La Blonde Femme said...

OMG! Can I say I love you???
I needed these two types of butter in my life!!!! :)

Big hugs from Italy!! :))

Federica

Eileen said...

This sounds so delightful that it actually might convince me to get a food processor one of these days. :) I would eat this on oatmeal every single day! (Maybe with raspberry jam?)

Darcee said...

Oh my yum!!!! Why haven't I thought of this, so simple!!

Filipino Store said...

Wonderful post,. I love coconut almond butter