Meatless Monday: Keep Almonds on Hand
As a recent convert to the vegetarian lifestyle, I’ve come to appreciate almonds. Almonds are one of the “world’s healthiest foods,” and actually a food that I wasn’t particularly interested in until I understood its nutritional value. I came across my love for almonds as I was searching for alternate protein sources to meat. Come to find out, not only are almonds high in protein, but they also contain healthy fats, fiber and vitamin E. This all being said, there are so many delicious ways to incorporate them into your diet.
My personal favorite is to create my own nut butters featuring almonds. After reading nutrition labels of various nut butter brands and noticing other additives that I’d rather not consume—and living abroad where imported foods are extremely expensive—I’ve taught myself how to make homemade nut butter. Guess what, it’s EASY! All you need is a blender or food processor, nuts and/or other additions of your choosing. The smaller the food processor container the better; all you need to do is put the contents in and blend it up. Stick with it, it takes a bit for the oils of the nuts to release.
I’ve been passing around batches of my homemade nut butter to my colleagues and everyone loves it. Some of my favorite combos:
Almonds + walnuts + cacao powder
Almonds + pumpkin seeds + spirulina powder
Almonds + coffee + flaxseed
Almonds + cashews + walnuts + pumpkin seeds
Nut butter is a staple in my diet. You can find nuts regardless of where you reside in this beautiful world. I always have nut butters; they’re super convenient, compact and energy dense. They’re good to have on-the-go as we lead our busy, active lives.