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 Makes: 2 cups (500ml)

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2-3 cups Dry Roasted or Raw Organic Almonds
• 1-2 tablespoons Safflower oil or unflavored coconut oil or almond oil is best
• Optional: Manuka Honey and Pink Himalayan Salt

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1. Pour nuts and oil of choice into the Vitamix container and secure lid.
2. Select Variable 1. Turn machine on and increase speed to Variable 10, then to High, using the tamper to push the ingredients into the blades.
3. In 1-2 minutes, you will hear a high pitched chugging sound. Once the butter begins to flow freely through the blades, the motor sound will change from a high pitch to a low labouring sound.
4. Stop the machine.
5. See My Raw Cashew Butter Video

 Notes

• Store in an airtight container. It can also be frozen for longer storage. Will keep in the fridge for 3-4 weeks
• Start off with 1 tablespoon of Safflower oil or  Unflavored (Jarrow Brands) organic coconut oil. If you find that you need more just add in more whilst blending.

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[fusion_old_tab id=3] The almond that we think of as a nut is technically the seed of the fruit of the almond tree, a medium-size tree that bears fragrant pink and white flowers. Like its cousins, the peach, cherry and apricot trees, the almond tree bears fruits with stone-like seeds (or pits) within. The seed of the almond fruit is what we refer to as the almond nut. 

Health Benefits Lower LDL-Cholesterol and Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease

A high-fat food that’s good for your health? That’s not an oxymoron, its almonds. Almonds are high in monounsaturated fats, the same type of health-promoting fats as are found in olive oil, which have been associated with reduced risk of heart disease. Five large human epidemiological studies, including the Nurses Health Study, the Iowa Health Study, the Adventist Health Study and the Physicians Health Study, all found that nut consumption is linked to a lower risk for heart disease. Researchers who studied data from the Nurses Health Study estimated that substituting nuts for an equivalent amount of carbohydrate in an average diet resulted in a 30% reduction in heart disease risk. Researchers calculated even more impressive risk reduction—45%—when fat from nuts was substituted for saturated fats (found primarily found in meat and dairy products).

In addition to their cholesterol-lowering effects, almonds’ ability to reduce heart disease risk may also be partly due to the antioxidant action of the vitamin E found in the almonds, as well as to the LDL-lowering effect of almonds’ monounsaturated fats. (LDL is the form of cholesterol that has been linked to atherosclerosis and heart disease). When almonds are substituted for more traditional fats in human feeding trials, LDL cholesterol can be reduced from 8 to 12%.

In addition to healthy fats and vitamin E, a quarter-cup of almonds contains almost 99 mg of magnesium (that’s 24.7% of the daily value for this important mineral), plus 257 mg of potassium.

Magnesium is Nature’s own calcium channel blocker. When there is enough magnesium around, veins and arteries breathe a sigh of relief and relax, which lessens resistance and improves the flow of blood, oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. Studies show that a deficiency of magnesium is not only associated with heart attack but that immediately following a heart attack, lack of sufficient magnesium promotes free radical injury to the heart.

Potassium, an important electrolyte involved in nerve transmission and the contraction of all muscles including the heart, is another mineral that is essential for maintaining normal blood pressure and heart function. Almonds promote your cardiovascular health by providing 257 mg of potassium and only 0.3 mg of sodium, making almonds an especially good choice to in protecting against high blood pressure and atherosclerosis.

Further research shows that eating almonds along with a high glycemic index food significantly lowers the glycemic index of the meal and lessens the rise in blood sugar after eating. (Jones AR, Kendall CW, Metabolism)

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