The Organic Climber – Vegetarian running, cycling, swimming, rock climbing and raw foods.

Ever since I purchased a Vita-Mix blender I have enjoyed making my own nut butter. I recently started adding other ingredients to enhance the taste. Initially I just started with just honey, then one day I added coconut oil, and what resulted was purely amazing! The sweet satisfying flavor will have you making batch after batch. My last climbing trip to Arkansas was the first time I ate this recipe, and let’s just say I only came back with half a jar. It’s that good!

For those of you that don’t have a high-speed blender such as the Vita-Mix or Blendtec you can use a food processor, you just have to process A LOT longer. I was never able to obtain a satisfactory consistency when I made them in my food processor, but I recently saw a blog that had a very creamy mixture from a food processor. They key is patience, and processing for up to 15 minutes. That is why the Vita-Mix is so amazing. It will only take you about 3-4 minutes of blending to obtain a nice creamy texture.

Anyway, without further or do, here is the recipe for creamy almond goodness.

Recipe – Raw Almond Butter – Honey & Coconut Flavored

• 3 cups of raw almonds (you can also use cashews in place of a cup, or do half-and-half)
• 1/2 cup of cold pressed olive oil (extra virgin)
• 1/4 cup of coconut oil
• 4 TBSP of raw honey (or raw agave nectar for 100% vegan option)

Pour all the ingredients into the blender, staring with the almonds. Process for two minutes using the tamper provided with your Vita-Mix to push the almonds down into the blades. After two minutes dial the speed of the blender down and let the motor cool off a bit, then finish processing for up to two minutes until a rich creamy consistency is obtained. By the end, the nut butter should be smoking from the heat of the blades working hard. Warm almond butter is the best kind in my opinion, so enjoy it while you can, just don’t burn your tongue!

For those opting to use a food processor us a spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender periodically. If you are not patient enough to spend a good amount of time waiting for a creamy consistency, you can stop once you get a moderately smooth consistency. It will be a bit chunky, but still spreadable. Either way, the flavor is still delightful.

This recipe is great for every day use! It goes great in smoothies, on apples, celery or on raw flat breads and sprouted grain tortillas.

Uncategorized by OrganicClimber
agave nectar, almond, blendtec, butter, coconut, cold pressed, creamy, ezekiel, grain, honey, olive oil, smooth, sprouted, tortillia, Vita-MIx
1 comment

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Experimenting with smoothies is always fun for me. I usually end up discovering my best smoothies when I run out of mixed berries, which is what I make my daily smoothies out of. Once I run out of those I am forced to get creative.  This particular smoothie was one of those moments. I had just been to Whole Foods but forgot to pick up frozen berries, but I still had a package of frozen mangoes in the freezer. During my trip to Whole Foods I had picked up a batch of rainbow chard.

Rainbow chard can be identified by it’s large fan like leaves. The base of the step is usually multicolored – pink, red, orange and yellow, the leaves are a dark green with red veins and stalks.  Rainbow chard wilts quickly though, so be sure you plan on using it within a couple of days if you decide to purchase some.  This particular chard is also sweeter than most, thus making it idea for smoothies. Unlike kale, you will barely notice it’s there.

The Recipe:

• Two large Rainbow Chard leaves (or your choice of greens)

• 5oz of Frozen Mango (half a 10oz package)

• 1 banana

• 3 TBSP of Almond Butter

• 4 TBSP of RAW Honey

• 1 Cup of Vanilla Hemp Seed Milk

• 4 TBSP of Hemp Seed Protein Powder (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a high speed blender (I use a Vita-Mix) and blend until smooth.

RAW Food, Smoothie Tuesday by OrganicClimber
almond butter, banna, green smoothie, hemp, honey, mango, mangoes, protein, rainbow chard, RAW, smoothie
4 comments

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For the first Smoothie Tuesday I thought I would share with you my favorite smoothie. I discovered this smoothie one day after giving in to a craving for a peanut butter cup from a co-worker. I thought surely there is a raw version of a peanut butter cup out there, after all I have had some delicious vegan peanut butter cups. After a quick Google search I turned up a blog post by Rawdog Rory.  Granted I didn’t find exactly what I was looking for, this liquid peanut butter cup is truly awesome and in my opinion.

Most non-raw foodies likely won’t have some of these ingredients, but they can be easily acquired at a place such as Whole Foods. But rest assured I will be providing plenty of recipes that anybody can make.

The Recipe:

• 2 cups water
• 4 TBSP of Tahini
• 1/3 tsp of Vanilla Extract
• 4 TBSP of Raw Cacao Powder (do not use Carob Powder as a substitute, it does not work, I tried)
• 4 TBS of Raw Honey (or Agave Nectar if you want it Vegan)
• 1 – 1.5 Frozen Bananas
• 6 Cubes of ice (I think Rawdog suggests 8, so start with less and add more if you need them)

Combine all the above ingredients in a high speed blender until there are no longer any chunks of frozen banana and you are done! Pour your drink and enjoy. I find this usually makes about 32oz of more, so either be hungry or be ready to share with friends.

You can even easily make this into a green smoothie and add a hand full of spinach and it will hardly affect the flavor of the smoothie.

For those of you out there that are visual learners you can watch Rawdog Rory make the smoothie himself. The end of the video is amusing when he blends the smoothie in his bedroom.

The health benefits of this smoothie are tremendous, it’s especially a good source of protein. Both the tahini and cacao are excellent sources of protein. Not only that, but the cacao has more antioxidant flavonoids than any food tested so far according to Live Superfoods. Be sure to check out the web site to see more benefits. If you are interested in purchasing raw cacao, the best place I have found online is Amazon.com. I am fortunate enough to be able to get a better price locally and avoid shipping fees.

RAW Food, Smoothie Tuesday by OrganicClimber
banana, cacao, honey, Peanut Butter Cup, peanutbutter cup, RAW, smoothie, tahini
12 comments

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