Island Macadamia Nut Butter

Good morning and welcome to Friday! I’m still getting used to this new schedule of working MWF – I have Tuesdays and Thursdays at home to work on my freelance projects and whatnot. Yesterday was my second “day at home” on this new schedule and it went much more smoothly than Tuesday when I worked in my PJ’s all day long.

Yesterday after I took Mack to kindergarten and worked on a writing assignment, I met up with my friend for coffee at a new-to-me coffee shop in Pleasant View. Coffee Concepts was really cute and my iced mocha was pretty tasty. It’s a toss up though because it was really “light” both in chocolate and coffee content – especially when compared to the standard triple shot that comes in the mochas at Grounds for Coffee. I do like that coffee!

I did manage to get my workout in for the day, though I did not go running.

I was supposed to go running, and the day before, and the day before. I don’t know what’s up with me but…I just don’t want to. I think I’m sick of the treadmill. Ever since that outdoor 10k, I haven’t had any sort of desire to go to the gym. Arggghhh. I’m supposed to be training for a marathon and here I am skipping training runs right and left. I need some motivation…

Enough complaining.

I have a really fun recipe for you guys today – remember when I was stocking up in the bulk foods section of Winco? Well, I had nut butter projects in mind and this recipe is the first of what I hope will be several winning nut butter creations.

Island Macadamia Nut Butter

Prep Time: 5 minutes Yields: 8 ounces

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup Carob Chips – Bulk Bin #1972
• 1 Cup Macadamia Nuts – Bulk Bin #2201
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Tbsp Coconut Flakes – Bulk Bin #1774

Method:

• In a food processor, grind macadamia nuts to a fine powder.
• Melt carob chips by microwaving for 1 minute, stirring and heating an additional 30 seconds.
• Add olive oil to melted carob chips.
• Add this melted carob mixture to the food processor along with the coconut flakes.
• Process until well combined.

Serving Suggestion: As a dip for crackers. Mixed into oatmeal. Atop a waffle.

Though macadamia nuts are often decreed as high fat foods, it is important to note that over 3/4 of that fat is monounsaturated, the healthy kind of fat. Even though that’s mostly good fat, it is still fat, so you don’t have the green light to go “nut” (<—pun intended). Incorporating macadamia nuts is only a wise choice if you are going to cut other high fat foods and you eat the nuts sparingly. They are also cholesterol free and can help your body to reduce bad cholesterol. They even have flavanoids which are the “magic beans” found in red wine and are converted to anti-oxidants in the body.

Carob is a non-dairy, caffeine-free alternative to chocolate. There are some disagreements in the food world over whether carob actually tastes anything like chocolate, and there are disagreements in the medical world over whether carob really is a healthier choice. I like how Nutrition Diva puts it “let’s be frank: most of us aren’t eating chocolate for the nutrition.” If you’d like to read more about the potential health benefits, check out this article in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Weekend Activities

Looking for something to do this weekend? Well, I have some really cool events posted on my calendar (see the top left of any page on this site):

• Cheese Please! The Art of Making Homemade Cheese – a cheese making class with Beehive Cheese
• Ogden Seed Exchange – come get your garden inspiration!
• Family Physician’s Kit – learn to make a healing kit for your family using essential oils – class is FREE!

Also, be sure to check out Indie Ogden’s weekend calendar so you don’t miss a thing – they’ve got just about everything going on here in O-town broken down by the hour!

I’ll see you all next week – we’ll be talking about CSAs – what they are, what they cost and why you should join one. Any questions? Email me at thefamilypracticeblog@gmail.com and I’ll be sure to answer them in that upcoming post!