Pesto and Nut Butters

Pesto:

This is a simple and delicious pesto with a grainy nutty crunch
and the cheesy taste from the nutritional yeast.

2 cups fresh basil
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1 cup almonds
Juice of 2 lemons
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
sea salt and pepper to taste

Process all the ingredients in a food processor till well combined.

Almond Vanilla Butter:

2 cups of almonds
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
1 tbsp oil (I used sunolive, which is a combo we get here)
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
a pinch of sea salt

Process the almonds in a food processor for 10 to 12 minutes,
pausing to scrape the sides. The nuts will first become powder,
then they will clump together like a dough, then split and become
smoother and smoother and you will see the fats/oil
ooze out and glisten. Then add the salt, vanilla and the tbsp of oil
cinnamon and process for another minute.
Scrape the sides and spoon the butter into jars.
I got a jar and a half with this quantity of almonds.

You can make instant almond milk by using a tbsp of butter
and a glass of chilled water, adding a mild sweetener or
blueberries and viola - you have a lovely
almond milk drink :-)
I use almond butter with rice crackers or even better, slices of apple
for a healthy snack or in cookies and cakes too.....
Just be careful as this is so yummy, you could get carried away,
so measure out a serving and stick to your quota for the day ;-)


 Cashew Brazil nut Butter:

1 cup cashews
1 cup brazil nuts (high in selenium)
or you can use 2 cups of cashews.
1 tbsp oil
a pinch of sea salt


Use the same process as for the almond butter, adding the oil
towards the end.
I don't add anything else to cashew butter at this stage, leaving it
simple and basic.

I use the cashew butter in the following ways:

- adding a little water, garlic, nutritional yeast, salt and
lemon juice will give you a cheesy sauce to go over your
pasta or veggies.Thin it out with more water and you get
a dressing for a salad. Add any herbs, spices or flavors to this
sauce or dressing, yummy!!!
- make instant cashew milk (like the almond milk above) for
your smoothies and shakes.
- blend a couple of tbsp with mangoes or blueberries, add
a sweetener of choice and some nutritional yeast, a little lemon
juice and you have a filling for a raw fruit and cheesecake pie

See my earlier post of recipes for raw mango cheesecake pie and
raw avocado lime pie :-)