Thursday, March 7, 2013

Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter




Do you love peanut butter?
Do you love chocolate?
Would you like an inexpensive way to marry your two loves?

I was at a health food store the other day and saw some chocolate peanut butter.  It was almost $8 for the jar!!!  No wonder why we can not afford to eat foods that are good for us.  I had a taste for some peanut butter and some chocolate so I decided to combine the two :-)

One thing my Dad told me years ago was go use the right tool for the job.  For the past, 5 years I have been using an old Oster blender that I was given around the time I graduated from college!  (yes, eons ago).  I was so frustrated and it seemed like it took more work than it was worth.  Last year I finally broke down and purchased a Vitamix.  Oh, heaven!  Right tool every time I need to make something yummy.

This week I made peanut butter (based on a recipe in the Vitamix cookbook).  I had some almonds and some dry - roasted peanuts in the house.  I threw them in the Vitamix, turned the setting to 1 and tamped down the nuts until they were homogenized.  After a few minutes out came a wonderfully smooth, creamy peanut butter.  I put each mix in an airtight container to store.  I only made a little as you can see since I was mixing for one.  

I also put a little of the almond butter in a bowl and mixed in some chocolate Shakeology (probably two tablespoons).  I ate it straight out of the bowl :-0.  Talk about craving killing and healthy.  I have the benefits of homemade peanut butter (and it's cheap!!), a chocolate fix and the nutritional benefits of the best meal replacement supplement in the country.  It's a nice treat for the entire family or to prepare and take to work and share with friends.  I encourage you to give it a try!

References:
Shakeology:  http://myshakeology.com/DaphneAyn
VitaMix: https://www.vitamix.com/
The photos I took with my iPhone.  I'm not much of a photographer, sorry!