Keri's Wellness Wednesday: How to make your own peanut butter!

The amount of money spent on peanut butter by most families every year is ridiculous. Sky may be the only person I know (without a peanut allergy) who genuinely detests peanut butter. 

So Sky, this isn’t for you, but I'm sure you'd love this! 

YOU WILL NEED: 

A blender or food processor

2 cups (300 grams) unsalted, shelled peanuts

1/4 to 3/4 teaspoon kosher (or Himalayan) salt

1 to 2 teaspoons honey (option if you would like to add some sweetness)

1 to 3 teaspoons peanut or vegetable oil, if needed (I love coconut oil)

HOW TO ROAST NUTS

- Heat oven to 180 degrees C

- Add the nuts (WITHOUT SHELLS) to a round or square cake pan (or rimmed baking sheet).

- Roast nuts for 3 minutes, shake pan then roast another 3 to 5 minutes or until the nuts are lightly browned and smell nutty (careful, they can burn quickly). 

- Let cool until you can handle them.

Another easy way to ‘roast’ the nuts is to dry fry them. Literally just put them in a pan and toss around for a while until golden.

BASIC PEANUT BUTTER

Note: If you are making crunchy peanut butter, add 1/3 cup of the roasted peanuts to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 6 to 8 times, or until the peanuts are chopped into very small pieces. Transfer chopped peanuts to a bowl and reserve for later.

What to do:

- Add the roasted peanuts to the bowl of a food processor or your blender

- Process for 1 minute, then scrape sides of bowl with a rubber spatula.

- Process for another 2 to 3 minutes until the peanut butter is shiny and smooth.

- Add your desired amount of salt and honey then process until combined. Start with ½ tsp salt and 1.5tsp honey. 

- Check the consistency, if it seems too thick, add oil, a teaspoon at a time, until you are happy with it. 

For crunchy peanut butter, stir in the reserved peanuts.

ALMOND PEANUT BUTTER

- 1 cup (150 grams) unsalted shelled peanuts

- 1 cup (150 grams) unsalted whole almonds

- 1/4 to 3/4 teaspoon kosher (or Himalayan) salt

- 1 to 2 teaspoons honey (to taste for sweetness)

- 1 to 3 teaspoons peanut or vegetable oil, if needed (again I love coconut oil)

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER

- 2 cups (300 grams) unsalted shelled peanuts

- 1/2 teaspoon kosher or Himalayan salt

- 2 tablespoons peanut oil or vegetable oil, plus more as needed 

- 1/2 cup (45 grams) raw cacao powder

- 1/2 cup (170 grams) honey to sweeten (the original recipe called for 1.5 cups icing sugar but I went the honey    route)

Give it a try and treat your family and friends to healthy, delicious homemade peanut butter!