Almonds - benefits and recipe for almond butter

Nuts can get a lot of bad press due to their high calorie and fat content, but in reality, there are significant health benefits of eating nuts.  Almonds, in particular, help to control blood sugar levels, which can lower heart disease risk, and they also contain high levels of antioxidants, including phytosterols and phenols.  Almonds are rich in fibre, α-tocopherol, magnesium and copper, and the high monounsaturated fat content contributes to their hypocholesterolemic benefit.  In reality, this means that they can help to control body weight, glucose homeostasis, inflammation and oxidative stress.   

Almonds are definitely worth including in the diet of both adults and children.  For small children who may choke on nuts, almond butter can be a great way to include almonds in their diet, and to introduce the flavour from a young age.  Whilst shop bought almond butter can be very convenient, it is cheaper to make your own.  A 170g jar of ready-made almond butter retails for €4.99, whilst a 200g bag of almonds is €3.79 (price verified in Tesco 20-Aug-2016).  This means that shop bought almond butter is €1.04 more expensive per 100g, which is a considerable difference, especially given that making your own requires very little effort, apart from patience. 

When I’m making almond butter, I roast them in the oven for about 5 minutes at 100^oC, just to release some of the oil, but this isn’t necessary.  

After that, I pop them in the food processer and grind them for 1 minute at the highest speed setting until they are in crumbs.  

I then slow down the setting to a medium speed and leave them to mix for about 7-10 minutes.  Just when you get to the point where you don’t think it’s going to work, the oils from the almonds will release to bind the mixture together and voila, you now have almond butter!

You can use the butter in cooking and baking, as an alternative to dairy spreads on toast and in sandwiches, or you could spread between two slices of banana or apple for a tasty and nutritious after school snack.