SNACK IDEAS - VANILLA CASHEW BUTTER

I'm back after a brief hiatus from the blog. January and February have been incredibly busy. I'm so thankful for it but the house is falling down around the place, the emails have been neglected and the poor blog was forgotten about! So I'm back with a bang this week, working on lots of posts at the moment and generally getting excited and motivated for 2017. One thing I want to get better at this year is meal planning for Tom. It's so easy to slip into giving him the same foods every day, so I'm working on adding a little more variety into his (and our) diets! Up first… snacks! 

If we let Tom, he'd eat all day long. I don't know where he puts it. I've had to resort to hiding in the utility room for some secret chocolate eating. So lately, I've been under pressure to come up with a few snacks that a. will last longer than a packet of raisins (they were initially a Godsend but now only buys us one minute max, as he insists on tipping the full box into his mouth in one go!) and b. be healthy, something that you don't mind him eating because you know it's good for him!

So I rooted out a couple of my healthy cook books, blew off the dust and found a few recipes that I thought he might like. Enter Vanilla Cashew Butter, he was addicted from the first taste. It's sooo easy to make. I tend to shut off when I hear "homemade almond milk or homemade nut butter" but I had no idea how easy it is to do, well the butter is anyway. 

The only thing is, you need to have a food processor. I got a Kenwood one on sale, for really cheap in Arnotts a few years back, it was only €40. I know it's not an amazing one but for all I use it for, it's grand. The better your processor though, the smoother your butter. 

For this Deliciously Ella  recipe, you literally need two ingredients, cashews and vanilla powder (you might need to get the vanilla powder in a health shop). It's really quick and the smell is unbelievable! Tom loves dipping apple slices into the jar, spread on toast or drizzled over slices of banana. It's also gorgeous swirled into your porridge. 

The colour of mine in these pictures is slightly darker than normal because I forgot about the nuts and left them in the oven too long but it still tastes so good!!! The recipe is below and the Deliciously Ella website is just full of yummy, healthy recipes for all the little people in your life. 

Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

400g cashew nuts (about a baking tray full)

2 teaspoons of vanilla powder 

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 200˚C (Fan 180˚C)

Spread the cashews on a baking tray and cook for 10 minutes, or until they are starting to turn golden brown but aren't burnt. Leave to cool. 

Place them in a powerful food processor with the vanilla powder and blend for about 10 minutes, until the mix is totally smooth and creamy. It's so tempting to stop blending once it gets sticky, but keep going until it's runny; trust me, it's worth the extra few minutes! Stored in an airtight jar at room temperature, this will keep for a week or so.

J x