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almond butter | The Blissful Blueberry

The Blissful Blueberry

a journey into mindful living and wellness

Tag: almond butter

Battle of the breads: Which Paleo bread will rise to the top?

Battle of the Breads: Which Paleo recipe will rise to the top?

I’ve been on a hunt.  A hunt for the most gluten-y tasting sandwich bread that is actually Paleo. Darn near impossible, I know.

Up until now I’ve been happy with the store-bought gluten-free version of bread. But, now that I’m trying to avoid preservatives and almost all grain, it just wasn’t cutting it. 

The problem: recipes on Pinterest don’t always work and Paleo ingredients aren’t cheap.

So, I decided to be judicious and try four different recipes that weren’t  too expensive to make. All four actually worked out to be less than the store-bought loaves I usually grab, so a step in the right direction!

I had to pull myself away from this guy to start the day and start the baking…

Shelties have the best smiles

I know, tough, right? :)

First up: a recipe from Purely Twins.  The only ingredients are plantains and eggs, so I thought I would start with the easiest one. 

The photos on the website looked spongy, but normal. 

Eh. I’m not sure what went wrong, but mine came out gritty. Perhaps it’s the fact that it calls for 7-8 oz of plantains, and mine were just cut up really small but not smushed? It didn’t specify how to cut or measure them exactly. 😉

There’s also a video on the page, but I hate watching video tutorials. Who has the time? 

Still edible though! Just really thin. Perhaps they’re meant to be put on a cookie sheet and not in a bread pan? 

Battle of the Breads: Which Paleo recipe will rise to the top?

Well, looky here. Look what tastes great with some maple cream. :) You really could put maple cream on anything and it would work miracles. 

Battle of the Breads: Which Paleo recipe will rise to the top?

Battle of the Breads: Which Paleo recipe will rise to the top?

The butter we will save for another one. :)

Next up: a recipe from Paleo Grubs

This one is a more traditional recipe. Flaxseed meal, almond butter and coconut flour. I’m a bit hesitant of coconut flour-based recipes though because they can be overpowering and sweet. 

Battle of the Breads: Which Paleo recipe will rise to the top?

It’s thicker than the last one and without a weird texture. Moving in the right direction! :)

It is a little on the sweet side though and it didn’t rise very high and it had  a  crackly surface. 

Battle of the Breads: Which Paleo recipe will rise to the top?

Looks like a turkey, doesn’t it? Weird. 

Battle of the Breads: Which Paleo recipe will rise to the top?

Battle of the Breads: Which Paleo recipe will rise to the top?

How about some Irish butter to offset that sweetness? Worked like a charm! It’s tangy-ness is the perfect balance. (Nosh nosh)

Still, not worth the hassle to make it all of the time. I can’t ALWAYS douse it with butter. 

Third on the docket: a recipe from Guilty Kitchen.  It’s pretty much the same as the last one. But different. 

Battle of the Breads: Which Paleo recipe will rise to the top?

Not as cracked top. A little firmer and a little less sweet.

Battle of the Breads: Which Paleo recipe will rise to the top?

It rose a little higher, too!

Battle of the Breads: Which Paleo recipe will rise to the top?

Here’s how the first three stack up in a row. You can tell that the third one definitely has an edge on looks and size. 

Battle of the Breads: Which Paleo recipe will rise to the top?

This one calls for some homemade strawberry chia jam! Yum! Divine! This one has top points. 

Battle of the Breads: Which Paleo recipe will rise to the top?

One for me, one for the hubs.

And last on the list: a recipe from The Seasoned Homemaker.  Again, very similar ingredients, but this one required a little more leg work with whipped egg whites and a pan of water.   (Oh, how very long it took to fill a pan with water and stick in the oven.) :)

It also used milk kefir, which I’d never bought before–because of the whole trying-to-cut-back-on-dairy thing. But, it’s fermented so I bought some. So tart!

A little darker than the others. 

Battle of the Breads: Which Paleo recipe will rise to the top?

It was a little sweet, so I thought I should add some goat cheese and level it off. Divine! 

I think this one would work for non-sandwiches just fine!

But, the third one wins for overall flavor, texture and usability! 

Battle of the Breads: Which Paleo recipe will rise to the top?

I might attempt, on another weekend, a rice flour-based bread to get even more into the sandwich-like realm, but then I’d be putting a grain in my mouth. :) Naughty! Perhaps necessary, though, for sandwich sanity. 

These four (now in the freezer!) will keep me busy for a while though. I’ll be using one of them this week for sure with some tuna salad for my lunches! Yay!

Now, I’m hungry. Maybe I’ll make an extra one for me as a treat for getting my lunches ready. :)

Anyone have some healthful sandwich bread recipes that don’t call for corn or wheat? Please feel free to share! 

Battle of the Breads: Which Paleo recipe will "rise to the top"?

 

 

Nutrition-packed Breakfast Smoothie

Nutrition-packed Breakfast Smoothie

I’ve been drinking these daily. I know, I know: it’s cold outside and a hot breakfast–especially eggs–would be a delight. But, I hate taking vitamins, so this is my solution. 

The new job is going well and I might be starting to get into a groove, although I’m always early going in and late leaving. But, the job is never finished! 

I might even feel like exercising in the morning one of these days…Weird thing is: I have been waking up at 5:30 a.m. but I don’t need to leave until 8 at the earliest to get to work on time. 

If I could take pictures of what I do with that time that wouldn’t come out all blurry I would. :) It goes like this. 

  • I make a cup of coffee with coconut oil.
  • I check my email.
  • I make a cup of nettles tea with a lemon and a dash of cinnamon. 
  • I play with the dog and feed him breakfast. 
  • I watch the news and check Facebook.
  • The dog hops on my lap.
  • We look at Pinterest until 6:30 a.m.
  • I make the smoothie.
  • We go back to cuddling and looking at the interwebs until 7 a.m.
  • Then I get ready. 

The Hobo and Christy cuddle times is the highlight of my day. But clearly I could fit exercise in there. But I haven’t. :( Maybe only 3 times in the past month. Which means I have been shoving it in at the end of the day after I get home between 6:30 and 7 p.m. I fall asleep between 9 and 10 p.m. 

The week flies by! 

I make this smoothie, in part, because I can’t seem to find time to eat during the day or at night. I need all the help I can get with vitamins and goodies. 

As you can see below, there are a bunch of ingredients thrown in, but you can modify them to your liking (and to your cupboard!) as needed.Nutrition-packed Breakfast Smoothie

The Green Superfood tub has been a lifesaver for helping me avoid taking vitamins in pill form. I did heavy research on which one was the best. The flavor is imperceptibly healthy. :) 

The Aloe Vera Juice  pictured in my photo is not the best brand for quality, but I needed it fast and didn’t want to wait for an Amazon shipment. I linked to an ideal choice. 

The Sunsweet Naturals Suprafiber I hunted for as well. My tummy doesn’t do well with aggressive fibers, so I found one that was psyllium and grain free. It’s fruit-based! 

Everything else is “standard” smoothie fair. Flax milk, ground flax seed, almond butter (that’s only almonds, nothing else), frozen berries, and spinach. 

Nutrition-packed breakfast smoothie

The liquids go in. I don’t measure. I just pour in a approximately 1/4 cup each of the Aloe Vera Juice and the Flax Seed Milk. 

Oh, I recently switched from Hemp milk to Flax Seed milk because it had fewer ingredients and seemed more natural. I bought the one that said it had added protein. The protein is from peas! :) This product is great for getting those omegas in!

Nutrition-packed breakfast smoothie

Sprinkle in some delicious fiber powder. Then add in the Green Superfood! 

Nutrition-packed breakfast smoothie

Sprinkle in the ground flax seed. (I grind my own to save money.)

Nutrition-packed breakfast smoothie

Pop in some beautiful frozen raspberries. Actually, I usually use blueberries but I was all out, so I dipped into the hubby’s raspberries.

Adding-in-the-almond-butter

Spinach! Then the quintessential almond butter. Adds creaminess and deliciousness. 

Nutrition-packed breakfast smoothie

Blend in whatever you have! This is a really old mini blender that could use some handscrubbing TLC. 

Nutrition-packed breakfast smoothieAnd voila! Perfection. Well, I lied. I made this yesterday and was out of bananas. So I thought I could make it without a banana for once and it would be extra, extra healthy and good. 

It was extra, extra healthy, but not good. So, this sat in my fridge until today–when I bought groceries. :) 

Nutrition-packed breakfast smoothie

This big guy is important. Oh so very important to the overall texture and enjoyability of a smoothie. Don’t forget it or try to do without! You’ll regret it!

You can always cut out the raspberries or do half of a banana if you want to cut back on the fruit sugars. 

Nutrition-packed breakfast smoothie

Now, drink up for your health! 

The dog is staring at me as I type. He looks really needy, so I’ll finish this up! :)

I’ll be experimenting with more flavors in smoothies as the months go on: 

  • pineapple + banana + coconut milk

So check back for more!

Do you have any favorite combinations? 

Nutrition-packed Breakfast Smoothie
Serves 1
All of the vitamins and minerals you need to start your day off right!
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Prep Time
2 min
Prep Time
2 min
Ingredients
  1. 1/4 cup Aloe Vera juice
  2. 1/4 cup Flax seed milk (or hemp, almond, or coconut milk)
  3. 1 tbs. Vitamin powder (I use Green Superfood)
  4. 1 tbs. Fiber powder (I use Sunsweet Suprafiber)
  5. 1 tbs. Ground flax seed
  6. 1/4 cup berries (raspberries, blueberries or blackberries)
  7. 1/4 cup baby spinach (or kale!)
  8. 2 tbs. almond butter (just almonds--no other ingredients)
  9. 1 banana (or 1/2)
Instructions
  1. You can blend all of these in waves since they might not all fit in un-blended form. I usually stick with liquids first, so nothing sticky gets stuck where the blades can't reach. That's it!
The Blissful Blueberry http://blissfulblueberry.com/

Clean Eating Chocolate Peanut Butter No-bakes

Cleaning eating chocolate peanut butter no-bakes

So much craziness in my world this past week. New job, husband out of town, quit sugar, blah, blah. Ugh. I’m sleepy.  Now that I’ve sugar detoxed, I think it’s time to start adding some healthy sugar back in! :) Phew!

My mom has a recipe that she gave me for Chocolate Peanut Butter No-bakes that I’ve been using forever. It’s tried and true–never steered me wrong. My husband loves it. mom's recipe

But, it calls for 2 cups of sugar. And peanut butter. I know, I know. I titled this with peanut butter. But I want people to know you CAN make it with peanut butter–and it’s just like the old fashioned one–but better with almond butter. 

This might be my new favorite go-to dessert. It doesn’t look the prettiest, but they are a healthier dessert than most and have plenty of protein and fiber! 

Cocoa nibs -dark chocolate

Some dark chocolate cocoa nibs.

local maple syrup

 Only the best local maple syrup!

coarse sea salt

Some good trusty salt. 

hemp milk

 Hemp milk. So good and good for you! Look at those omegas!

hemp milk

 Coconut milk would work well, too. Just make sure you buy unsweetened. 

add it in a pot

 Add them all in a pot with some vanilla extract. Bring it to a boil. 

soft boil.

done

It gets really dark and delicious looking! Once it hits a boil, take it off the stove and add in the rest. 

almond butter

Freshly ground almond butter! Yum!

oatmeal

Fresh cut oats! (non-instant)

stir it up

It’s all goopy! Once mixed, wait until it cools to start playing with it. Hot hands!

pan with wax paper

Get your pan ready. Then using a cookie scoop, drop them on down. That’s it! Super fast, delicious, and mostly healthy. :) 

Clean eating chocolate almond butter no-bakes

Clean eating chocolate peanut butter no-bakes

Clean Eating Chocolate Almond Butter No-bakes
Yields 30
A re-make of the traditional no-bake
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Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
5 min
Total Time
10 min
Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
5 min
Total Time
10 min
Ingredients
  1. 1 cup pure maple syrup
  2. 1/2 cup milk (I use unsweetened hemp milk)
  3. 1/2 cup dark chocolate cocoa nibs
  4. 1 tsp vanilla
  5. 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
  6. 3 cups organic, gluten-free non-instant oats
  7. 1/2 cup almond butter (or peanut butter) :)
Instructions
  1. Add the first 5 ingredients to a pot and bring to a boil.
  2. Immediately after reaching boiling, pull off the burner.
  3. Add in nut butter. Mix well.
  4. Add in oats. Mix well.
  5. Wait until it cools.
  6. Drop onto a waxed cookie sheet to cool.
  7. Ready to eat as soon as they harden up!
Adapted from my momma
Adapted from my momma
The Blissful Blueberry http://blissfulblueberry.com/