Chocolate Peanut Butter Spread

I'm so stoked! Which apparently means, I'm resurrecting things I said in the 80's. This spread is that good!

If you'd rather not hear me blabber on about how this came about, please feel free to scroll down to the recipe at the bottom of this post. I will not feel bad in the slightest! If, however, you are bored out of your gourd and have absolutely nothing better to do (ha!) then read on.....

A little while ago I splurged while at the Nugget (not hard to do ~ LOVE that store) and bought a 16 oz jar of chocolate peanut butter and coconut spread. It was a special treat for the kiddos. It met my criteria of being a whole food (truly all natural) and minimally processed and I was happy with all the ingredients (except the agave sweetener). I could live with that though, as I could tell it was minimal. Aannnnyway, I digress. I spent $6.99 on that jar of yummy-ness and what didn't go on sandwiches for my kids, went on a spoon and into my mouth.

As I was eating this by the tablespoonful and contemplating what I was going to say to my third child, (who loves any type of chocolate nut spread) to explain how I polished off the jar, I had the brilliant idea of making it myself. And I got excited. Really excited! Because then I remembered that a 16 oz bag of peanuts at Trader Joe's is only $3.29! I now had a mission. And thank goodness, the mission did not bomb! The spread turned out exactly like the one I bought at Nugget, except better ~ because I was able to add a bit more salt and I used raw honey (a much healthier alternative to agave).

Just like the one I bought, the texture is a little grainy. I actually like the slight graininess (especially for eating off a spoon). Even though the store-bought one did not require refrigeration, I'm going to recommend it ~ just because, if it has to do with other people's kitchens and safety, better safe than sorry. Me, I kept it in the cupboard because it was going so fast. No chance of it going rancid. If you do put it in the fridge, take it out about 10 minutes before attempting to spread on soft bread because the coconut oil will make it too hard to spread.

This is not an exact science! Feel around with the texture and amounts to get it to how you like it. I prefer it not too sweet, but you can add as much honey as takes your fancy. It will probably help it to be smoother the more you add, as well.

  








Chocolate Peanut Butter Spread

1 16oz bag of roasted peanuts (I used the 50% less salt ones from TJ's)
5-6 tsp of natural cocoa powder (I used Dagoba but TJ's is good)
5-7 TBS of melted coconut oil
5-7 TBS raw honey
sea salt to taste (if unsalted peanuts, you will need more, if salted, less)

1. Put peanuts, 5 tsp of cocoa, 5 TBS melted coconut oil, 5 TBS honey in a food processor and pulse until texture has a large grainy appearance. I taste at this point and see what I think it needs.  More cocoa? More honey? A smoother texture?  
2. Keep pulsing until the grains get smaller and smaller and it has a smooth appearance. If you think more oil is needed to get it smoother, add 1TBS at a time. If you want it sweeter or saltier, add honey 1 TBS at a time or salt at about 1/8 tsp at a time.
3. Once it's a consistency that will spread and you are happy with it, transfer to an empty jar or container and keep refrigerated. Or not.

Note: Before it gets to the smoother stage it will ball up on the food processor. I like to scrape down the sides and sort of break it up every time I add another ingredient beyond the first pulsing.

Let me know if you think it tastes as good on a spoon as I do!
 



 

Paleo Snack Bars

This last month I have been trying to eat mostly "Paleo". Without going into the exact definition and basis of Paleo eating (I'll save that for another post....maybe!) - basically it excludes all grains, sugar, legumes and dairy. I added limited dairy back in after a couple of weeks and didn't feel different/worse so I decided I'm okay with including a little plain yogurt and raw cheese (which if we want to get really technical means I'm eating "Primal" now. I think. Please correct me if I'm utterly confused. I usually am!)  The few times I.....ahem...."added" sugar in, I did NOT feel good. In fact, I felt positively sick. After detoxing from sugar, I can really feel the havoc it wreaks on my body.

As one could easily figure out in about 2 seconds, this way of eating pretty much eliminates all packaged, pre-made food (which I try not to eat anyway). So snacks have been really basic. Like a date filled with almond butter. Or celery and almond butter. Or apples and almond butter. Or just almond butter. Okay - not as bad as that - but in the beginning when I was getting my bearings and learning what's off limits and what isn't off limits (and whether or not I had any of the allowable foods in my house) I gave myself some grace in the imagination and diversity department.

I'm now branching out into actually making some Paleo recipes and this one is really good! Like so good, I polished off the whole pan in two days of my last batch. Yup! And I still lost weight. Go figure...... Great for a quick breakfast and an easy snack.

Adapted from the recipe for Paleo Breakfast Bars by Elana's Pantry. Her recipes rock!

Paleo Snack Bars

1 Cup Blanched Almond Flour

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 Cup coconut oil

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 TBS honey

1/2 Cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2 Cup walnuts

1/2 Cup pistachios

1/4 cup chopped dates.

1. Pulse almond flour, salt, coconut oil, egg, vanilla and honey together in a food processor.

2. Add remaining ingredients and pulse until fully combined. While pulsing, scrape down sides and break up the ingredients if they form a ball that doesn't want to mix.

3. Spread into an 8"x8" pan, pressing down with a spatula or your fingers.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, until top and edges are slightly browned.

*Note: I'm sure you could substitute your favorite nuts for the walnuts and pistachios!  Also, this just slightly sweet ~ if you want it sweeter, add a little more honey or dates and let me know if it works!