Healthy Treats - Homemade Nut Butters

Over the past year or so, I have been on a real heath kick. Tired of reading the ingredients labels on supermarket foods and screwing up my face in confusion, I have started making all my food from home, right from scratch.

After the success of my Nutella (click here for the recipe), this now includes my own homemade almond and peanut butter. They actually taste a gazillion times better than the shop-bought versions (you can taste the nutty flavour, for one!) and they're not full of added salt or sugar - bonus.

Super easy to do and much, much cheaper than buying a jar of the stuff (I made my own peanut butter for less than 90p!), I challenge you all to do it.

Perfect on toast, but just as perfect out of a jar, with a spoon. Yummy mummy I'm not...

Enjoy,

Sam x

CLASSIC PEANUT BUTTER

This really needs no introduction, does it? Use this in all your baking (just add brown sugar if you want to use it for peanut butter cookies), for making energy bites and for making the best peanut butter sandwiches in the world! It literally takes five minutes to whip up and is so, so yummy.

Ingredients:
300g peanuts (I used dry roasted, but you could also use honey roasted, sweet chilli for a different taste)
1 tbsp honey

Optional:
Pinch of cinnamon
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 cup brown sugar

Method:
1) Take the peanuts and blitz in a food processor, scraping down the sides, until smooth. Squidge in the honey and any extras, then blend again until combined.

2) Pour into a jar, smother on toast and enjoy.

Hint: I made Chocolate Swirled Peanut Butter by combining normal butter with cocoa peanut butter - they tasted pretty amazing together. Needless to say, this jar didn't last long!

HOMEMADE ALMOND BUTTER

This butter tastes amazingly sweet, especially when you add a squidge of honey to it. It is ultra versatile, too. I've been using it to spread on oatcakes, to bake Almond Protein Cookies and...er...to just eat out the jar.

Ingredients:
300g almonds (roast them for 10 minutes at 180C for a slightly sweeter taste)
Pinch of salt

Optional:
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp coconut oil

Method:
1) Blitz the almonds in the food processor, scraping down the sides, until smooth. Be warned, this takes anywhere between 10 - 20 minutes. It's a long, old process!

2) Once the almonds start to become smooth, add in your extras and pulse to combine. Pour into a jar, spread on an oatcake and enjoy.