Make Your Own Almond Butter

I love almonds. I love them raw. I love them roasted. I love them with cinnamon, cocoa, smoked. I just love almonds. 

Up until the last couple of weeks, when I've wanted a nut butter, I've always bought almond butter. I pay close attention to the labels & make sure they only use almonds in my almond butter, but sometimes it just doesn't taste good, ya know?   Two weeks ago, during one of our winter storms, I embarked on a mission to make my own. My first experience was okay, but I really wasn't satisfied.  I used already roasted almonds, purchased from a store. And it still didn't taste super fresh. So this week, I bought some raw almonds.

I measured out 1 cup.

And roasted my own!

   

All you have to do is spread almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in a cold oven. Turn oven on to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake almonds, stirring occasionally, until light tan and fragrant, 12 to 15 minutes. Be careful! The nuts will continue to cook after removing from oven.

I let them cool while I ate my breakfast this morning. And then popped them into my food processor. 

You'll go through several phases as they're processing. 

  

First, you'll get chopped up almonds. Then, it will look a little like almond "meal", basically a little gritty looking. After that, the oils will begin to release and it will start to stick to the sides of the food processor.  But...keep going. It's not ready yet!

  

It will kind of get thick & you'll notice heat coming off your food processor. No worries (unless the quality of your food processor isn't very good). The almonds are starting to break down, release their natural oils and make almond butter. (Mine started to ball up & I had to stop and break it apart.) At that point, I went about 5 more minutes, alternating between slow & fast. 

Finally, it started getting smoother. And the smell was positively divine!

And then...it was finished!!! I grabbed my scales & some 2 oz portion cups & divided it out 1 oz per cup. 

 

I now have six 1 oz servings of freshly ground almond butter! Make yours and let me know what you think!

Remember, when following the FirstFitness Nutrition program, you can enjoy 1/2 cup of almonds for a snack. Have some with a little celery! Yum!

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Menu-October 6-12, 2014

It's #MenuMonday!  How am I staying on track this week?  Here ya go!

Notice the "grayed" in boxes....those are NEW recipes to try!  I can't wait!

I've also changed up the system a bit.  I've added a "workout" section & removed the "grocery list".  I tend to buy groceries without my menu, so why waste space there?

We have a busy week this week.  Monday after school, I've promised Cheyenne we would go see The Maze Runner.  We won't be out too late, so we can still have dinner at home. But Tuesday is where it gets all crazy!  Dusty & Cheyenne will be off to softball practice, while I head to Arkadelphia for the City Council meeting.  Wednesday, we will play catch up from a busy week beginning while Cheyenne is at AKC.  Thursday hits us with softball practice & a college night in Hot Springs for Wednesday.  Friday night we have football (Lyndsey) and softball (Cheyenne) while Saturday brings us a college visit for Lyndsey & a softball tourney for Cheyenne.  Just when I think things have gotten slower for our family, we get hit hard with a hectic schedule.

How do you stay on track when your family has you running?

Jenn

Weekly Menu: September 28-October 5, 2014

Tomorrow is #MenuMonday & I've got mine all ready for the week!  As usual, Lyndsey has her weekly football game and Cheyenne has softball practice, but things have definitely slowed down at our house.  Thank goodness, right?!  Softball league is over now & we are off from tournaments this weekend. We get to enjoy dinner at home every night but Thursday & Friday night this week!  It's been a while since that happened!

It's always super hard to stay on track when you're on the go.  We try our best to make the healthiest choices when we are away from home, but we all know you can't really control what's in your food when you don't prepare it yourself.  With that said, I'm starting on a 30 day detox today!  I've been feeling super clunky & funky and feel that I need to get back on track, even if I haven't gained any weight!  The best way to feel better quickly is through a good cleanse & detox.  Follow my menu to feel better inside & look better on the outside!

Have a great week & eat well!

Jenn

50 pounds lost!

I am a Math teacher.  But today, I'm here to tell you about a program that rescued me from a life of misery, health issues and obesity.

In August, 2010 I began working at Bismarck. I was thrilled to find an old college friend on the staff because at least I knew someone there! Over the course of the year, Bryan repeatedly mentioned FirstFitness Nutrition to me. Always talking about his wife Penny's (another college friend) success losing weight on the products. Every time he walked off, I would think to myself "he's calling me fat"...well obviously I was! I would listen to what he said for about a year, but never really HEARD him.  Until I saw Penny in August of 2011.  That's when I began harassing my husband about getting the products.

When that photo was sent to me a couple of weeks ago, I was literally transported right back to THAT day.  I IMMEDIATELY knew what day that photo was taken and asked my friend Cheryl if it was taken the day of the BMS Back to School Bash (a dance for our middle school students).  I literally felt so many emotions over this photo...miserable and awkward...at the end of my rope. It was like I was re-living the exchange between me and Bryan all over again. So emotional to tell you about!!!

The photo on the left was taken August 23, 2011 at the Middle School's dance, the Back to School Bash. Prior to this being taken, I had walked into Bryan's office in the gym and handed him my credit card and told him to order me what I needed, to tell me how to use it and to NOT tell me what it cost. I knew my husband, Dusty, was going to KILL me! But I also knew I had a month before he would find out! LOL In that month, I lost 22 pounds. Dusty didn't kill me...but I'm sure he wanted to!


I have lost 50 pounds with this program.  I no longer suffer from symptoms of PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrom) or Rheumatoid Arthritis.  I'm about to turn 40 years old and I look and feel better than I have in YEARS!  I would love to coach you to the same success I have had. It has truly been a blessing to me and my family and I would be honored to share it with you!

Jennifer Edwards
870-403-8921
jenn.edwards2010@gmail.com
http://jenniferedwards.firstfitness.com
http://www.facebook.com/EdwardsFFN