CASHEW BUTTER

Nut butters are in. I acutaly used to hate nut butters as nuts do not mix well with my digestive issues, but I realized not so long ago that having a bit of nut butter doesn't upset me so much. I keep it to a minimum though - as hard as that may be! My mom has had a jar of almond butter in the house for as long as I can remember, and way before the craze of eating it began. I realized though over the years that some of the nut butters we buy at the market are full of unwanted ingredients, so I decided to start making them at home. First, you can control what's in them, their flavors, and everything homemade is just so much better. 

I have already posted a recipe for almond butter, but I wanted to give cashew butter a try as well. Though high in calories (and no I don't count calories), cashews have a delicious flavor especially when roasted. They are high in magnesium and zinc, protein, phosphorus and selenium. Though it is important to note roasting nuts can decrease their health benefits a bit! 

I added a bit of fresh vanilla bean and some coconut sugar just to sweeten it a bit and it came out so delicous! It is perfect on some banana bread or brown rice crackers with some sliced banana or raspberries! Make sure you have a solid and powerful blender or food processor to make this!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups raw cashews

1/4 tsp vanilla bean

1 tsp coconut sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Place cashews on a baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Add cashews, vanilla bean and sugar into a food processor and continuously mix for about 10-15 minutes. It takes a while for all of the oils to release and turn the cashews into a creamy butter so be patient!