The FastDay Forum

I love peanut butter. A good one is really really expensive here (6 € so 5£ and around 8$). So I decided to make some. Good quality peanut (without salt) and a pinch of good quality sea salt at the end and it divided the price by 3 and the taste is really really awesome (and no additives which is a plus)

I read that peanut butter, even is full of good things. Good fat, proteins, poor in carbs

Is it better to put peanut butter on your toast in the morning than "normal" butter ? I read also that a lot of people who build muscles eat peanut butter because it seams to be great for that.

Here's what I found about its benefits

http://www.livestrong.com/article/245438-health-benefits-of-peanut-butter/

What are your thoughts about it ?

I love it and tend to use it mixed with chillies and lime and coconut milk as a satay sauce with grilled or barbecued meats, especially chicken and love peanuts in gado gado too. Your homemade version sounds yummy!

I love peanut butter. I also wonder why I opened this thread as I have finished eating this evening and my Tuesday fast has started. Now I have to wait until Wednesday to enjoy the peanutty goodness.

Thanks for the idea dhana, I'll try during the week. In fact I never cooked with peanut butter, only used it on toast... until now !

Sorry TheFrog, I can't fat today so I am cooking instead

It's so simple to do. I put the peanuts in the mixer, wizz a few seconds, wait 30 seconds (for the peanuts to release the oils), wizz again, wait, etc until it was the consistency I wanted it. Just finished with a touch of "fleur de sel" (salt flower ?) which is a very subtle salt and that's it. Couldn't be simpler, really...

Slightly different but along the theme, I recently came across something called PB2 powder. Basically it is peanut butter without the fat, in powdered form. You mix it up to make a smooth peanut spread. I haven't yet tried making the spread up (only got it last week) but used some powder in a spicy sweet potato based soup, and it tasted fantastic!

Here's a link:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/PB2-Powdered-Pe ... B002GJ9JWS

Bizarrely, I LOATHED peanut butter until a few years ago. Even the smell of an opened jar wold make me heave. However, I always loved peanuts in snickers bars, satay sauce and biscuits etc. Then I tried a three day diet programme where peanut butter was part of the menu, and I made myself eat it. Now I love it Just goes to show you should still try new flavours even as an adult, because clearly ones palate can change still. My DH couldn't bear marmite when I me him, but now he spreads it thicker on toast than I do! He was converted when I diluted it with butter as I did for our babies

I am the only person in my family who will eat peanut butter. My husband hates it so much that we have an agreement, he will eat celary (which I loathe) and I will eat peanut butter and we won't kiss for 4 hours afterwards.
Otherwise, I sneak in spoonfuls of it when I'm feeling a carb craving coming on. It seems to knock the carb craving off. I have a heaped teaspoon then. Otherwise I use it on bread products and as a dip for crudities.

I have seen that PB2 powder before and was put off by the price, but my jar is running low so I may try it. Its what is left over when they have squeezed all the 'groundnut' oil out.

[carorees]

What about almond butter? I'm the only one in our family who likes peanut butter but the others might be persuaded to like almond butter. I keep meaning to try to make some but keep forgetting. Now I've seen your peanut butter method, Manderley, I may actually get around to having a go with the almonds.

Hi all

I've been enjoying sticks of pepper, carrot & cucumber dunked into a peanut butter 'dip' (pb just loosened with a bit of milk/almond milk and sometimes with a bit of smoky chilli jam stirred in) for a non-fast day lunch (takes ages to eat and leaves room for a piece of home made cake if I have some handy). I absolutely love peanut butter.

Last week I made some 'power porridge' by making porridge with 2 tsps cocoa powder, then swirling in a dollop of peanut butter and some maple syrup, and then shook over some salted peanuts. It was amazing and broke my fast wonderfully at 10am and kept me going until dinner time. Probably about 600 cals though, so not a fast day meal!

Will definitely try making peanut butter, it can be expensive to buy. I like the Meridian brand, they've had a huge jar at 100% extra free recently so I stocked up on that. It's not sweetened or salted so I do sometimes add some maple and a sprinkle of sea salt for the flavour but it means it makes a good ingredient.

Making almond butter is easy but will take a lot longer than peanut butter - I have to whizz mine in the food processor for up to 1/2 hour sometimes until the oils release and it smoothes out, and there's a heck of a lot of scraping down to do but it's worth it as I prefer the raw almond taste to the toasted almonds they use in the almond butter I've bought in the shops.

I believe you can use the same method with almonds, and with any nuts of your choice

Next time I'll try with cajou nuts and pistachios.

Winsome you mix the powder to what for it to become a spread ?


Here's what it looks like

I'm a nut monster and will eat any kind of nut butter, (even though peanuts are technically legumes). The fat is the best part, so I cannot imagine this powder stuff. Come to think of it the whole point about peanut butter (only crunchy though) is being able to eat it greedily straight from the jar by the spoonful. Greenmonster. If you soak your nuts overnight, so to speak, they process faster.

Ooh I'l have to try that rawkaren, thanks. I know about the soaked cashews whizzed up to make all sorts of creamy things (I read lots of vegan food blogs even tho I am not one!) so I imagine the almonds would soak nicely too and maybe even make a larger quantity of the butter. Would it keep as well using soaked nuts? I don't get through it that quickly (although it would be a good reason to eat more...)

I can't comment on how well it keeps because it gets eaten very fast in our house so I have never tried it. You could make it sweet with a bit of cocoa powder and some maple syrup, nutella style or turn it in cheese by adding nutritional yeast, herbs etc etc. I have to stop now having nut fantasies as I'm fasting today.

Hmmmmmmmmm, I love it, I've broken many a mixer making nut butters, I just LOVE cashew nut butter, but I always have almond butter and peanut butter in stock. Two things to make it easier is either to soak the nuts as rawkaren said, or to lightly grill the nuts before blending them.

Also I make this kind of thing quite a lot, it's great if you eat a lot of nut butter like me!
http://ohsheglows.com/2011/05/05/abu-ha ... -butter-2/

For those interested, there is a recipe of chocolate peanut butter and almond butter as well

She puts honey and oil, I don't but I like how she says that you stay in control, it's one of the big reason I decided to try, to stay in control

http://www.inspiredtaste.net/21318/how-to-make-peanut-butter-three-ways/

And a pistachio butter recipe. Look at this colour...

http://www.coffeeandquinoa.com/2013/04/homemade-pistachio-butter/

Another with almonds

http://eatplaylovemore.com/2013/08/18/homemade-almond-butter-3-ways/

Oh boy, wish I had not looked at those photo's today. Toasting nuts beforehand. Have not tried that, I bet it makes the end result really tasty. Yummy