Peanut Butter

I absolutely love peanut butter. Besides tasting great, I recently read that it helps keep you feel fuller for longer, preventing you from snacking on less desirable foods. In my efforts to source out healthier alternatives for some old favourites, I purchased a jar of natural peanut butter from a local farmers market. It was absolutely delicious, but at twice the price of your store bought variety, I was reluctant to buy it again.

Then I realised, peanut butter is just peanuts (duh). Why not try make my own? Thanks to google and a recently inherited food processor from my mother, I was able to whip up my own batch in all of five minutes!

All you need is a bag of roasted, unsalted peanuts from the supermarket and a good quality food processor. Toss the nuts in, and power up the machine for about five minutes. Many recipes online suggest adding extra oil to the nuts, but the nuts release their own oil after a few minutes in the machine. It may look like the nuts need the extra oil (the mixture will appear grainy and dry), but just let it keep mixing and it should all come together. When it has reached the desired consistency, scoop out the butter and pop it in a jar. I keep my peanut butter in a glass jar in the fridge after reading that this helps prevent the loss of B vitamins. 

One of my favourite quick snacks is peanut butter spread on a rice thin. Though admittedly, I'd happily just eat this stuff right out of the jar! 

On a side note, it's only two nights until we fly off to Auckland! I am getting wayyy too excited, and a tad nervous (flying is not really my favourite past time). I'll take plenty of photos, which I'll endeavour to share when I get back. 

Have you got much happening in the upcoming week?

Reanna.