Homemade deluxe nut butter

So, child and I embarked on our first nut butter adventure in a hand-me-down food processor with a cute French name.

I had roasted my raw almonds after a hearty soak. The cashews came roasted but unsalted.

This yielded almost a quart of nut butter. I was surprised at how much it made!

Child and I ground everything in stages, constantly scraping down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula when the blade began to struggle.

- one cup cashews
- one cup almonds
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla
- 2 tablespoons local raw honey
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- about four tablespoons water (toward the end)

Scrumptious. Perhaps to heavy on the honey. Texture reminiscent of Cream of Wheat.

Waffle sandwich

The other day my mother-in-law brought us creamed chicken and waffles, a culinary experience of all its own. Chicken celery soup on a waffle.

Today for lunch I made an almond butter, fresh strawberries and triple berry preserve sandwich using the leftover waffles as bread. Yum!

Today after school, I plan to make our own nut butter. That's another entry for later...

Sandwich of Awesomeness

I'm a big fan of breakfast but I also don't like to eat until I'm hungry. Since I ate most of a box of Caramel DeLites before heading to bed last night, I didn't get hungry until 10 a.m. (I blame PMS for this binge. I am grateful it wasn't the whole box plus others. I am trying my best.)

I got busy applying for jobs and doing stuff for my in-laws. I thought I'd clean some scattered paper and before you know it, it was 11. My husband gets home at 12:15.

Do I eat something small? Do I make my lunch?

I made a delightful lunch that, yes, contained too many processed foods. But for processed foods, they are foods I am okay with.

I made a sandwich of MaraNatha extra crunchy almond butter and Smuckers Old Orchard Triple Berry Preseves (no high fructose corn syrup and has whole blueberries in it, as a preserve should!) on Archer Farm Blueberry Breakfast bread (an occasional treat as this is very processed). I gave myself a side of veggie Pirate's Booty. The lunch would have been vegan if not for the small amount of milk product in the bread.

All foods came from Target.

Nut butter party

So after dinner we had a nut butter party. I found it odd that we have five different types of nut butters in the house right now:
- crunchy almond butter
- peanut butter
- extra crunchy peanut butter
- mocha cappuccino hazelnut spread
- white chocolate peanut butter

We passed them around with spoons and crackers. It was fun.

Nut Butter

I haven't cooked much or cleaned much or faced the fact that there's a major food-themed holiday tomorrow. I have enough trouble remembering to put on my socks.

Today's breakfast was fresh strawberries, Bolthouse farms blue (berry) smoothie, and wheat toast with almond-cashew-peanut butter.

The nut butter came from Target, the Archer Farm store brand. I love almond butter, but my daughter hates it. She prefers cashew butter. So this seemed like a good compromise.

What's weird is I can distinctly taste all three flavors.

I like Target's selection of nut butters. The jars are small, but that makes them a reasonable splurge and makes it fun to try new flavors. Like this one.

Nut butters are a quick, fun protein.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Milk

Today was one of those hectic Monday mornings... And I had a quiet vision of how the morning would go. My homemade oatmeal bars for breakfast, a big mid-morning cup of tea. I had a sore throat and was worried I was getting sick. Maybe I am and that's why I fell...

I fell on the sidewalk and broke 4 teeth and needed three stitches in my chin. Oral surgeon tomorrow. Liquid diet for a while.

Lunch was Pacific Foods Cream of Tomato Soup. Snack was Stonyfield Yo Baby Banana drinkable yogurt.

Dinner made me drool with anticipation. My husband made tiny elbow noodles with tomato sauce and velveeta and browned hamburger in tiny pieces. Trying to eat it revealed 3 things:
- I can't chew. At all.
- I have limited range of motion in my jaw
- sucking on food hurts

I couldn't do it, as hungry as I am, I can't do it.


Complicating the issue is the fact that my daughter wants to share everything I can eat. Like a good mom, I share.

So, I made a carnation instant breakfast drink in the blender.

- about 8 ounces plain soy milk
- two heaping teaspoons peanut butter
- two heaping teaspoons almond butter
- 1 teaspoon Nutella
- 1 packet dark chocolate Carnation instant breakfast

We loved it

Breakfast with Almond Butter

Last night when I left work I bought a watermelon, almond butter and a loaf of Archer Farms apple fritter breakfast bread. Does that sound like a stellar breakfast or what? I have to read the label of the bread and see if it's vegan.

(*it's not. Small amount of milk. More salt than milk, but milk nonetheless.)