Healthy snack foods - almond butter.

This one is really a follow-on from my last post about almonds, and is mainly the recipe to make it at home. What is it? Think peanut butter only with almonds instead of peanuts.

Warning!! The reason I'm giving you the recipe is that almond butter is VERY expensive to buy at the supermarket. Money not a problem? OK, go ahead and buy the commercial stuff - just check the label first to make sure they haven't added nasties to it - you know how they love to do that, right?

You know the system - you just want to buy a product - not the product plus added sugar, added salt, trans fats, saturated fat, things you can't find in the dictionary, let alone pronounce - just the product. Surely not asking too much? I digress.

Even if you are rich, making it at home is just plain commonsense. You understand the value of a dollar. You also like to control and know what goes into your body. There is no better way than to make almond butter yourself.

The recipe.

You will need:

A blender.
Dry roasted almonds.
Salt.
Vegetable oil.

Go to the supermarket and purchase a suitable quantity of DRY ROASTED almonds. One packet, 250 gm (1/2 lb) or 500 gm (c. 1 lb) should be ample. Don't bother with the raw almonds as you then have to roast them; and they are the same price.

Set up your blender. Put a small amount of the almonds into the blender.

Start the blender and gradually add almonds. After you have added about a quarter of the almonds add a small amount of vegetable oil.

Keep adding and blending the almonds until you have added about half of your almonds. You will need to periodically switch off the blender and scrape the sides as the almond mixture will tend to stick to the sides away from the cutting blades of the blender.

If the mixture is too thick, just add a little more vegetable oil until you get the desired thickness. You can choose to have it chunky or keep blending 'till you have smooth.

Taste it first, then add a little salt to taste if needed.

Spread on fresh wholemeal bread or toast.

That's it! Almost the same quantity of protein, weight for weight, as eggs. Tasty and nutritious as well.