creating a healthy lifestyle for mothers and women everywhere

Showing posts with label almond butter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label almond butter. Show all posts

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Almond butter vs. Peanut butter

Thanks for all your feedback on my computer dilemma, I would love a mac but the price tag on one of those suckers is a little much. I will accept donations :) Haha!
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Some days I feel super productive and some days I have a little harder time. This morning was one of those mornings! I was tired from a late night out, eating to much and a little sugar overload ;) Although, I was still full  from the night before I was able to cook up a healthy breakfast.
4 Egg white scramble with onion, red pepper, spinach, avocados, and a little chicken for even more protein. 

Last night, Brent and I went out on a date to TUCANOS.

Tucanos is a local restaurant in SLC that pretty much is a Brazilian meat fest. Beef, Pork, Chicken.. more pork and of course all you can eat salad bar!
I started off with a plate full of some goods from the salad bar!
Lots of veggies, marinated tomatoes, cucumbers, tomato and mozzarella balls along on top of a bed of romaine lettuce and spinach. Oh, and lets not forget the shrimp... I totally overloaded on them! I LOVE shrimp! The only downfall was I had to peel them myself and that kind of creeps me out a little.. But I still completely over indulged.

The waiter comes by often and offers you a piece of meat, it felt like him or another one was there every 20 seconds... My favorite was a teriyaki steak and the roasted veggies that had a little bit of Parmesan cheese on them. 
After our bellies were stuffed we decided to do a little shopping because I had purchased a groupon that was expiring soon and wanted to use it! We headed to Old Navy right before they closed! I was able to find a workout skirt and some shorts. 

On our way back to the car I begged Brent to head into Juicy Berry (yogurt shop) Although I was still stuffed I always like something sweet to just top me off ;) We went in and took full advantage of their sample cups. 

Sometimes a sample will suffice;)

Peanut Butter VS. Almond Butter

I received an e-mail wondering why I prefer Almond Butter over Peanut Butter and decided it would make a great post! First off I have a love of both butters. Both go well with chocolate and bananas. 
If I have a choice I choose Almond Butter for a few reasons. 
Here are some nutritional facts. 


okay, you can't really read it unless you blow it up but here is the breakdown
PB is on the right, almond butter on the left.

PB                                                             Almond Butter

200 Cal                                                         180 Cal
16 g. fat                                                         16 g. fat
2.5g saturated fat                                           1 g. saturated fat
4.5g polyunsaturated fat                                 4g polyunsaturated fat
8g monounsaturated fat                                  10g monounsaturated fat
105g sodium                                                  0g. sodium
6g carbs                                                        6g. carbs
2g fiber                                                          4g fiber
1g sugar                                                         2g  sugar
7g protein                                                      7g protein 

Both being pretty similar nutrient wise, But the difference is in the micro nutrients!!
  • Almonds are known as a "super food" and peanuts aren't actually even considered a nut! They are actually classified as legumes!! 
  • Almond butter contains 40% of our daily need of Vitamin E, 25% magnesium, 8% iron & calcium
  • Almonds help to prevent heart disease, support a healthy immune system and regulate your blood sugar and blood pressure! 
  • Higher amount of "Healthy fats" which are good for fat burning and satiety. 


How to buy your butters? 

Popular Peanut Butter such as Skippy or Jif contain extra sugar and added oils! Candy in a jar. Avoid them and go for all natural peanut butter! I like "Adams" or I grind it myself. Some grocery stores have nut grinders that are accessible to you to do so! A natural PB can take a little getting use to, after a few weeks you will taste some of the "other" PB and it will taste oober salty and sugary! 
Almond Butter same as above can include added sugars and oils. I prefer to grind my own, for baking and for a more creamy butter I buy the roasted almond butter from Costco (the one shown above) It does settle and oil can appear at the top, know that, that certain brand does not have "added" oils and it is just natural oils that have settled on top. I just dump the oil out and stir it up and keep it refrigerated after opening. Its kind of soupy. You can also make your OWN! Which I don't mind doing because its so simple!!  
You can even do it with peanuts! 


I love it chunky. 
I chunky dunk a banana quite frequently! Its my favorite snack pre-workout, first thing in the morning.. and even at night with a little frozen banana to satisfy my evening sweet tooth! 

So to actually answer the question, I prefer AB over PB because of the benefits of the micro nutrients and I love the natural taste of almond butter over PB. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy a finger dip of PB here or there. :) Vanilla Ice cream + melted PB = Heaven. 

 A Con?- Almond Butter is a bit more expensive. But you do get a little more bang for your buck!

Q. Which do you prefer? AB or PB? 

Q. After overindulging does it take you awhile to get going again? Even the next day? 




Sunday, July 17, 2011

Chocolate-Cinnamon Almond Butter

Getting back into routine...I have some new recipes to share in between my Hawaii posts.. For those of you who are here for the actual "food blogger" me and not the "vacation blogger" in me... Ps. Do not expect midnight post every night.. I'm still running on Hawaii time and since its like 7 pm there now I'm hungry for dinner and not tired at all.. So, in my weak attempt to get back on Utah time, here is a midnight post for all you almond butter lovers.

I have a love for almonds...

An obsession really. Raw, roasted, ground almond butter. I'll take it.
In a bowl, on a spoon, how about just my finger?


Lately my local grocery store has been a little short in the almond department. The grinder is "out of order" frequently, so I would have to travel farther to find a grinder..



So I just started making my own! Its quick and simple.

Chocolate-Cinnamon Almond Butter

  • 2 Cups Raw Almonds
  • 3 Tbs Agave Nectar
  • 2 Tbs Coconut Oil
  • 1 Tbs Ground Cinnamon
  • 1/4 C. Dark Chocolate chips
  • optional: Sea salt to taste


Toast your almonds in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes turning them once during the process

Till they are a little brown (not too brown.. you don't want to burn them.)

sidenote: Toasted almonds make a perfect snack too!

Throw cinnamon, coconut oil, agave and almonds in blender

Don't forget the chocolate!!!

Blend together in your blender or food processor till smooth or desired consistency is achieved



I love mine a little more on the crunchy then smooth side.



oh hey.. (can you see me?)

Chocolate+Almond+Cinnamon.. YES please! 

Forget the spoon, my finger will suffice.




Saturday, June 25, 2011

Its all about the chocolate.

Hey everyone I hope your having a great Saturday so far! I woke up early and snacked on half a banana




before heading to the gym to teach pump, My foot is still bugging me so no running today, hopefully it feels better soon!
Post workout all I wanted was some chocolate and of course its never a bad idea to add some greens!


In the mix

  • 1.5 scoop of chocolate elite protein
  • 1.5 C. almond milk vanilla unsweetened
  • 7-10 ice cubes
  • 1 tbs cocoa
  • pinch of gaur/xanthan gum
  • 2 handfuls of spinach
  • Topped with a few chia seeds
This shake hit the spot this morning! That extra tbs of coca makes it oober chocolately!! Its starting to get hot here, FINALLY I think its safe to say summer is here! I have been loving it! And now we are off to enjoy this beautiful day!!