Naturally nutty

I’ve been going through my fair share of peanut butter lately.  It’s a key component in my favorite protein shake (chocolate peanut butter – made with almond milk, protein powder, cocoa powder, and peanut butter).  But it’s also an excellent accompaniment to my whole wheat toast some mornings or to liven up a celery stalk for a snack.

Regardless how I use it, peanut butter has definitely become a more frequent purchase at the grocery store.  A while back I switched to natural peanut butter after realizing how much sugar (corn syrup) and preservatives were in regular peanut butter or the low-fat peanut butter that I previously purchased.  I know it’s a personal choice but I feel better about fewer, all-natural ingredients these days.  Unfortunately, of all the brands of peanut butter at my preferred grocery store, only one is truly natural (only contains peanuts) and it doesn’t come in a large container.  Another brand says it’s natural but the ingredient listing reveals otherwise.

Considering how often I use peanut butter now, and considering the cost of roasted peanuts compared to jars of peanut butter, I decided to attempt making my own.  It turned out GREAT and was surprisingly easy!

Since it was an experiment and I dislike waste, I decided to start with only ½ cup of peanuts.  I put them in my Magic Bullet and used the flat blade to break up the nuts.  This took only seconds to get to an acceptable consistency.  Then I switched to the cross blade and pulsed for about a minute.  The result seemed a bit dry and wasn’t really sticking together very well so I decided just a little oil.  About 1/8 tsp was all I needed to get the tiny peanut pieces to blend together into more of a paste, like peanut butter.  Of course I had to sample and it was delicious!  No added salt, no sugar, no preservatives.  I suppose it won’t keep as long as regular peanut butter but considering my rate of consumption and the ability to make more whenever I want, I think I found my solution!