I’m glowing about TWO things right now and ONE of them has to do with YOU lovely people.

#1 Some of you guessed it. YES, I did make almond butter for the firs time! It couldn’t have been any easier.

Do you have a food processor? Do you like almonds? Then this is a no brainer! This [along with pnut butter] are items that you almost 100% of the time by in a jar at the store. It’s there + it’s easy. What I love about making nut butters at home is that you can control the ingredients that go in it! Okay…on with the post!

Let ‘er rip!! I’ll post the recipe at the end! This part at the beginning was INsanely LOUD!!!

Starting to form almond meal and sticking together. My excitement is building [nerd]. Scrape down #1

Whirling around…now it’s just “humming”

Ohhhh yaaaaaah…we are on our way…Scrape down #2…3…..4…lots of scraping down the bowl

ChunkEE

And THERE you have it. Creamy, thick, almond butter with no added oil, salt or sweetener. You have to be patient as this took about 15min with all of the bowl scraping and processing.

But it’s so worth the wait.

A little more info? Surely. So I used 2c of almonds. I know the price of almonds vary quite a bit. I can find almonds for ~$7.50/2lbs at Natural Grocers here in CO. That price definitely makes AB at home cheaper.

There are appx. 3.5c of almonds in 1lb. 2c of almonds yields about 1.25c almond butter [or a tad less]. In a typical jar [18oz] you’ll get 2c of almond butter. The cheapest AB I have seen is about $6.99. I do know they have a much larger jar [maranatha brand] at Costco for about that same price you will find the smaller jar in most grocery stores. I think it is definitely doable to find deals on almonds [trader joes, natural grocers, iherb.com, amazon] to make this fit your budget.

It was so easy to whip up without any extra ingredients….unless you want to add more ingredients…which I did :)

You didn’t think I was going to make plain ‘ol almond butter now did you?

Say hello to mr.vanilla bean. Oh vanilla, how I love thee.

1/2 of the batch got a healthy dose of finely chopped almonds and CHIA seeds!! I wanted CRUNCHY almond butter.

The other half got vanilla beans + ground cinnamon mixed in. Can you see the vanilla bean flecks? hehehe I’m still working on exact amounts of how much should be put in. The cinnamon definitely made it even a bit thicker. The vanilla beans have opened up quite a bit. I’ll have to see how it is in a few days to know how to adjust for next time.

Chris thought the AB’s were both really good. However, they totally stick ALL over your mouth…but as does any good AB ;) I have heard some people say they needed to add extra oil to get it thinner. It all depends on preference!

Let me know if you have questions or decide to try this out. I’m going to post photos that any readers send me of recipes they try from my homemade week. So get in the kitchen + send your photos to edibleperspective AT gmail DOT com.

I know you guys always love seeing the messes I make. This wasn’t toooo bad ;)

RAW Almond Butter

2c almonds [I used raw]

Process in your food process for about 15min scraping down the sides as necessary. It will turn from almond chunks, to almond meal, to almond dough, to an almond ball, and finally to almond butter. If you want a richer/nuttier almond flavor you can roast your almond in oven at 350* for about 7-10min. Make sure to stir the almonds every 2min and watch so they don’t burn.

Mix Ins: chia seeds, vanilla beans, cinnamon, coconut, almond chunks, cocoa powder, etc.

Exciting thing #2!!!! You all know how much I love the cookbook Clean Food by Terry Walters. I recently talked to Terry and she was kind enough to offer a cookbook giveaway for my readers!! I think this is a GREAT way to kick off homemade week. Super excited.

A little about Clean Food:

all of the recipes are vegan
it is split up seasonally with a FULL menu of recipes for each season
there are desserts, appetizers, entree’s, etc for each season
the first 35 pages give a FABulous explanation about eating REAL, CLEAN food and eating for YOUR health
there is an ingredient index in the front with very helpful information
each recipe takes up ONE page and they are all clear cut and easy to follow
there are some unusual ingredients that are worth investigating and trying out
there are no recipe photographs
each recipe has a small summary of what the dish is like, what it will do for your body, and/or what other recipes in the book to pair it with

So far, I have tried about 1/4 of the recipes in the WINTER section of the book. Cooking seasonally is amazing. There is nothing better than using fresh ingredients from the season. I urge you not to be scared because this is a Vegan cookbook. You all know I am not vegan. However, I LOVE how I feel after consuming the food I make from this book. I am not weighed down and lethargic. [I am also not just bs’ing about this ;)] You will notice a difference once you start to eat cleanly on a regular basis…trust me! Chris even says that he feels better after eating meals, like the ones in this book. If you don’t believe me, ask Teri!

Pretty paintings for each season :)

2 SUMMER desserts!

The page marker you see at the top definitely comes in handy!

To enter: This giveaway will be open until 5pm [mountain time] on Wednesday, March 17th! Sorry this is open to US commenters only. I will use the random # generator to pick the winner on Wed.