How To Snack Better With 5 Ridiculous Nut Butters

There's no un-punny way to say this. We're nuts about nut butter. Protein rich, filling, loaded with minerals and ridiculously tasty. Could snack time get any better?

The thing about nut butters, like most foods, is that there's nut butters and there's nut butters. Nowadays, a lot of the options you'll find in the supermarket come with added extras. Sugars, preservatives and ingredients you can't pronounce. We only buy nut butters that are clean. And when time permits, we like to whip up flavours that money can't buy.

5 Homemade Nut Butter Recipes

We like to get funky with our nut butters. Adding clean ingredients that either boost the nutritional value or the flavour. Ideally, they'll do both.

We've got a hormone balancing super food, an ancient metabolism booster, a plant based protein and delicious vanilla. Every ingredient has a purpose when it comes to this simple Nut Butter. Pre-workout fuel and protein, this recipe gives you sustained energy and a metabolic jolt to burn calories.

1. Superfood Nut Butter

Maca is hormone balancing and energising. And cinnamon is one of the best sources of antioxidants. Plus it's delicious. Same as vanilla bean paste.

Ingredients

• Almonds - 4 cups (or any nut you like)
• Cinnamon - 2 teaspoons
• Maca - 2 teaspoons
• Vanilla paste - 2 teaspoons

Method

1. Roast the almonds in the oven for 11 minutes on 170 degrees C (340F) 
2. Let the almonds cool then blend them in a food processor by themselves
3. Once a butter begins to form, add your remaining ingredients - depending on your processor, this will usually take 5-10 minutes
4. Serve with sticks of  celery, carrots or cucumber

2. Cold Drip Coffee Nut Butter

We love cold drip or cold brew coffee. Not only is it a clean source of caffeine, with 50% less acidity than the hot stuff, but it's concentration makes it a versatile asset in the kitchen. Tiramisu, affogato, espresso martini's; basically anything coffee and fun. As 'caffiends', we love it in our nut butter too.

Ingredients

• Brazil nuts - 2 cups
• Cold drip coffee - 100ml / 3 oz (you can use espresso or really strong cold brew)
• Roasted coffee beans - 1 tablespoon
• Vanilla paste - 1 1/2 teaspoons
• Coconut sugar - 2 tablespoons

Method

1. Roast the brazil nuts in the oven for 11 minutes on 170 degrees C (340F)
2. Let the cashews cool then blend them in a food processor by themselves
3. Once a butter begins to form, add your remaining ingredients
4. Depending on your processor, this will usually take 5-10 minutes, stopping to scrape down the side every minute or so

3. Immune Boosting Nut Butter

Bee pollen is a true superfood. As well as being richer in protein than any animal source, it's also an immune booster, digestive aid and a skin repairer. People use it to treat irritations like psoriasis and eczema. Amazingly, bee pollen also treats allergies. Dr. Leo Conway, M.D of Denver Colorado reported that 94 percent of his patients were completely free from allergy symptoms once treated with oral feeding of pollen. Everything from asthma to allergies to sinus problems were cleared, confirming that bee pollen is wonderfully effective against a wide range of respiratory diseases.

Ingredients:

• Cashews - 3 cups
• Honey - 2 tablespoons
• Turmeric - 1 thumb of fresh (or 1 tablespoon powder)
• Bee pollen - 1 tablespoon

Method

1. Roast the cashews in the oven for 11 minutes on 170 degrees C (340F)
2. Let the cashews cool then blend them in a food processor by themselves
3. Once a butter begins to form, add your remaining ingredients
4. Depending on your processor, this will usually take 5-10 minutes, stopping to scrape down the side every minute or so

4. Snickers Nut Butter

The delicious combination of chocolate, peanuts and caramel. Pretty hard to beat. Our Snickers nut butter is packed with high protein peanut butter, raw cacao and dates. Peanut are full of protein, fibre and healthy fats that keep you fuller for longer. Raw cacao are full of antioxidants and dates are good for bone health and strength. 

Ingredients

Chocolate Layer

• Peanut butter - 1 cup
• Cacao - 1/2 cup
• Maple syrup  - 1/4 cup

Peanut Layer

• Peanut butter - 1 cup

Caramel Layer

• Peanut butter - 1/2 cup
• Date paste - 1/2 cup (1/4 cup pitted dates / 1/4 cup boiling water) 

Crushed or chopped peanuts to garnish.

Method

1. Process chocolate layer ingredients together in a food processor and set aside
2. Process caramel layer ingredients together in a food processor and set aside.
3. Layer 1/3 of each jar with chocolate peanut butter saving some mixture for the top
4. Layer 1/3 of each jar with peanut butter
5. Layer 1/3 of each jar with caramel peanut butter leaving some room at the top
6. Top each jar with a some chopped peanuts and a spoon full of chocolate peanut butter
7. Store in the fridge and enjoy on healthier bread varieties, celery or apples

Notes

The chocolate layer will harden before it becomes soft again. This does take some time and a strong food processor. Process enough just so it spreadable but not smooth.

5. Cherry Ripe Nut Butter

The ol' Cherry Ripe chocolate bar. An Australian favourite. But you don't need to read the ingredient label to know it's not real food.

However, we love the iconic flavour. So we wanted to replicate the naughty with a nice nut butter. Now we're being a little cheeky here because we're actually using frozen berries instead of cherries. Berries are just easier to source. And you'd be surprised how similar the flavour is. If you can find pitted cherries, then just swap them in. Either option is going to give you antioxidants, slow releasing energy and fibre.

The recipe is rounded out by mood elevating raw cacao and cognitive improving coconut. 

Ingredients

• Cashews - 1 cup
• Coconut (shredded or flakes) - 2 cups
• Mixed berries (fresh or defrosted) - 1 1/2 cups
• Raw cacao - 1/3 cup
• Maple syrup - 2 tablespoons (you can swap for raw honey or 6 dates)

1. Roast the cashews in an 170 degree C (340F) oven for 11 minutes
2. Remove and allow to cool completely
3. While this happens process the desiccated coconut into a thick paste, stopping and scrapping down the sides
4. Add cashews and processor until the cashew form a smooth paste
5. Place half in a bowl and set a side
6. Add your sweeter of choice and cacao powder and process to combine
7. Taste the mixture and adjust to your liking
8. Place the mixture into a bowl and give the food processor a clean
9. Add the cashew and coconut mixture back into the food processor with the berries and process until combined
10. Place it back into its bowl
11. Fill half the jars with the chocolate layer
12. Top each jar with the berry layer
13. Store in the fridge

Conclusion

There's an endless amount of nut butter options. Just roast your favourite nut for about 11 minutes. Then throw it in a food processor with a nutritional flavour and a clean sweetener. Whip it until it's creamy and you're away.