We love almonds!!!

Almonds are my favorite nut. Most mornings I add 7 to 10 almonds to my breakfast. Almonds are tasty and nutritious as most people will agree.

1.  They reduce heart attack risk.

2.  They lower ‘bad’ cholesterol.

3.  They protect artery walls from damage.

4.  Almonds help build strong bones and teeth.

5.  They provide healthy fats and aid in weight loss:

6.  Almonds lower the rise in blood sugar and insulin after meals.

7.  They help provide good brain function. 

Homemade Almond milk:

 

Ingredients

- Pure, filtered water for soaking
- 1 cup raw, organic almonds
- 4 cups pure, filtered water

 Optional Add-Ins
- Sweetener to taste (i.e. maple syrup, honey, stevia)
- Homemade vanilla extract (I like to add 1 teaspoon to the mix)
- Carob powder (Chocolate almond milk anyone!?!)
- Spices (i.e. cinnamon, allspice, cloves)

Method

1. Allow the almonds to soak covered in pure, filtered water for up to 48 hours in the refrigerator. Overnight will do, if you’re in a pinch. But, I like to give mine a good couple of days.

2. After soaking, strain the soaked almonds and toss the soaking water.

3. Place your almonds, four cups of pure, filtered water, and any optional add-ins in a high-speed blender and blend on high until the mixture becomes frothy…approximately 1-2 minutes.

4. Pour the contents of the blender through a cloth lined strainer — or if you have one, nut milk bag — into a 1 quart glass canning jar. Squeeze to extract all the goodness of the almond meal.

5. Store the milk in the refrigerator. It should keep for up to 3 days. Shake the jar prior to use.

! Per Serving: Serving size: about 3/4 cup, 35 calories (25 from fat), 3g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 5mg sodium, 1g carbohydrate (1g dietary fiber, 0g sugar), 1g protein

Almond Butter

  

1. Add 3 cups of raw almonds to food processor
2. Turn machine on LOW & allow to run for 10-20 minutes (make sure to stop periodically to scrape down the side)
3. After about 5 minutes, the almonds will be coarsely chopped
4. After about 10 minutes+, the almonds will be finer
5. After about 20+, the almonds will start to gum up looking more like a thick mash

Almond butter -VS- Peanut butter

 Recent years, almond butter was somehow anointed the chosen nut butter among health-conscious eaters, who smear it on their sprouted breads and gaze upon peanut butter as its low-brow relative. 
But the creamy almond treat is not cheap (it's often about double the price of peanut), and when pressed, most people really can't tell you why they're willing to splurge. 
So, we asked top nutritionists and health coaches to really break down the health differences between the two nut butters we're obsessed with most