Cinnamon Vanilla Almond Butter and 21DSD Round 3!!!

Hey guys! Remember me saying how excited I am about my Vitamix and how I’m going to be posting a ton of recipes using it? Well here’s yet another one…and I have three others currently archived. I’m not gonna lie…the main reason I wanted a Vitamix was to make my own nut butter, and I was shocked by how well it does performing this task! This is just the first of many nut butters I’ll be making with my Vitamix…I may never buy store bought again (okay, who am I kidding? I’m a sucker for Justin’s and You Fresh Naturals). I was able to make nut butter in literally a minute. A MINUTE. It took me 20 minutes in my last food processor and I had to stop every 30 seconds to scrap down the sides. So it’s safe to say my love for my Vitamix is even greater now. Please, if you are a foodie or cook a lot like me, do yourself a favor and buy one of these life-changing machines.

In other recent news: My 3rd official 21DSD starts on Monday! I’m sooo excited to get rid of my post-Holiday sweet tooth along with a variety of other things. This time my mom will be joining me for her 2nd detox and my best friend will be joining us for her first! I’ve been doing small things to prep for it for the past few days and I’m so excited about how many of the basics I’ve made instead of doing them store-bought. For example: I made my first homemade ghee using Nom Nom Paleo’s recipe, and it turned out absolutely amazing. I have both chicken and beef bone broth in my freezer sectioned into about 18-2 cup bags that I’ll be able to use for soup and other recipes throughout the next three weeks. And I’m currently soaking almonds to make homemade almond milk for the first time! I roasted TONS of vegetables with just salt and pepper to keep it basic (broccoli, brussels sprouts, and asparagus) along with making my perfect parsnip fries and baking sweet potatoes. I’m waiting for my beef to get here so I can make Perfect Paleo Burgers from PaleOMG and her 5 Ingredient Pizza Spaghetti Pie. Until then I’ll be eating the rest of the Cracklin’ Chicken I made a few days ago or eggs. For snacks I’ve got banola from the 21DSD book prepped and in single-serving bags and I have organic green apples. I’m thinking I should maybe prep some of the almond butter cups from the sugar detox book incase a sweet tooth strikes, so that may go down today.

I also made my own almond butter for the first time, and am sharing the recipe with you below..duh. :)

I’m rereading my Chunky Monkey Ice Cream post from my first detox when I gave 12 tips for detoxing, and taking in my own advice. I was a wise one, that I was. It was written almost exactly a year ago when I first began eating “paleo” after doing my first sugar detox and totally loving it and the way I felt! I want to reestablish that enthusiasm I had for the paleo diet because I miss it…lots. I’m better at giving into temptation nowadays, and less good at feeling energized, happy, and motivated. It’s crazy what dietary changes can do to you, and I want to make sure the choices I’m making in my diet are affecting other aspects of my life positively.

Along with reestablishing the old, I’m also beginning some new. And I am so excited about this new!!! I’ve been wanting to join Crossfit for a VERY long time now and always thought I’d have to wait until college since I was playing several sports, but where one door closes another one opens. I’ve ended my volleyball career and am replacing it with Crossfit training, and I am so very anxious to see where this new journey will take me. I’m hoping to improve my athleticism and gain some muscle mass. I also can’t wait for the weather to get nice so I can be living an active, adventurous lifestyle again biking, running, swimming, and paddle boarding! (My seasonal affective disorder is so real).

During this detox I also want to focus on my Keys to Leading a Healthy Life that I wrote a little less than a month ago. Especially the happiness section. This is even more important while sugar detoxing because to be completely honest–there may be a mental breakdown…or two. But the most important thing to do during this is to relax. Take a deep breath…and don’t think about food. Maybe think about abs…kidding. But getting your sleep and taking time for yourself every day will be very helpful to your success in the sugar detox. When you are having extreme cravings you need to just chill out and do something you like that has nothing to do with food. It might be crafting up a DIY decoration for your house or going on a walk/playing with your dogs or kids or family. It could be reading or writing. I don’t know, but whatever it is it will help keep your stress down and get you through your breakdown better than a binge would. But if you do binge…that’s okay. Everything will be okay. Life will go on. Forget it and move on tomorrow, ready to eat healthy again. Even if you slip up, you’re still eating better than you were before, and that’s important to remember.

Here’s to the next 21 days. Best of luck to us all.

Cinnamon Vanilla Almond Butter

yields: ∼1 1/2 cups        prep time: 5-25 minutes (depending on blender)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups almonds, roasted or raw*
• 3-4 Tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Procedure:

*If your almonds are not already roasted, preheat your oven to 350°. Lay them flat on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until slightly crunchy. Let the nuts cool.

For Vitamix:

1. Place almonds and coconut oil in Vitamix and cover with lid.
2. Start on Variable 1 and turn the vitamix on then increase the speed to 10. Flip the machine to high. Use the accelerator/tamper tool to press down the nuts and get them all ground. Once the nut butter is smooth, turn the machine off.
3. Pour in the vanilla and cinnamon and combine on Variable 1 until well incorporated.
4. Store in jar or container in cupboard for 2 weeks-1 month

For Blender or Food Processor:

1. Place almonds and coconut oil in blender and cover with lid.
2. Process the nuts until smooth, scraping the sides of the container as needed.
3. Once smooth, add the vanilla and cinnamon and process until combined.
4. Store in jar or container in cupboard for 2 weeks-1 month.