Tag: dark chocolate peanut butter

Nutty about nut butters!

I have always been a fan of peanut butter- still love it in sandwiches, wraps, baking, spread on an apple….

But over the last few years I have branched out and tried all different types of nut butters, so here are a few that I have tried:

Carley’s Organic Rainforest Nut Butter

I found this in my health food shop, but I have seen it online (possible at planet organic). It is made from (organic) brazils, cashews and macadamias, with no added salt or oil or anything. It does not look that appetising- it is quite pale in colour, but it has a lovely subtle, creamy taste. I like the jar because as well as the usual calories and fat it also lists the amount of omega 9 (3.9g) and omega 6 (2.3) oils, calcium (18.1mg), zinc (0.6mg) and selenium (184 micrograms) in a 15g serving. Useful info indeed. And seriously, this stuff is delicious!!!

10/10 cherries

Meridian Almond Butter

This is made of roasted almonds (99.5%) and salt (0.5%), no added oil or anything else. This is very “bitty”- you can see the tiny pieces of almond in it, but is is also quite runny and easy to spread. I think it goes really well on wholemeal toast, or spread on an apple. It is not my favourite flavour, but it is delicious. The oil seperates out quite easily but it does mix back in.

8/10 cherries

Meridian Hazelnut Butter

This stuff is amazing! It is quite thick and hard to spread, but it tastes so good. Hazelnuts go so well with sweet things, and this is no exception.

9/10 cherries

Meridian Cashew Butter

I first got this in Sainbury’s but since then I have only seen almond butter in their stores. It is in Holland and Barrett, other health food shops and online so easy enough to get hold of.

It is really thick and quite hard to spread thinly, so I always end up with a blob of it instead of a smooth spread. But it tastes amazing, very creamy (as raw cashew nuts do). If it was easier to spread it would be perfect.

9/10 cherries

Peanut Butter & Co Dark Chocolate Dreams

This is a treat for sure! It is made up of peanuts, cane juice, cocoa powder and butter, oil, vanilla and salt, so not as pure as the other nut butters. I waa glad when I checked their website that their palm oil is from sustainable plantations, as I am trying to make sure I am thinking about making ethical food choices. I got it from www.americansweets.co.uk along with some pumpkin puree and a few other bits. It is lovely- chocolate and peanut butter are such a good combo- I have had it in a pitta bread with some sliced banana and that was so good. It would also be amazing on ice cream! I am making the jar last as long as possible! It is very runny so you don’t need much to spread around.

I may attempt at making my own once it has run out as it was expensive to order and probably I could add some cocoa powder and maybe agave (to make it more runny) to some smooth PB.

10/10 cherries

Whole Earth Smooth Original Peanut Butter with no added sugar

This only has peanuts, palm oil (from RSPO member) and salt as ingredients.

I wish it didnt have the salt though. I find the crunchy whole earth really salty, but this is not as bad. It is smooth, but you can see little flecks of dark in it (like when you have vanilla ice cream with bits of pod in it)- shows it is made from real peanuts. It is much less oily than some other brands, nice and thick for a smooth spread.

9/10 cherries (it would get 10/10 if it was free from salt)

Whole Earth Crunchy Hazelnut Chocolate Spread

Nutella has nothing on this!  Imagine Nutella, but with lovely chunks of hazelnut throughout and you end up with this! Again not the healthiest, but lovely for a treat, plus the palm oil at least is more ethical.

9/10 cherries

Meridian Crunchy Peanut Butter

This is very chunky indeed- the chunkiest ever peanut butter! It is very thick- the oil seperates out naturally and can be stirred back in, and I find it quite hard to spread on toast or bread. I tend to use this if I am baking because it adds a lovely chunky texture to cookies. Real peanut flavour too. I like that is has no sugar and no added salt (again why it is good in sweet things).

9/10 cherries

Walk in the woods

I have been having my delicious bircher muesli for breakfast, and today I added a few chopped brazil nuts as a topping. It was super tasty! I love the fact that it is so versatile (like porridge really) and can be topped with all sorts. I also made with with cherry yoghurt and that made a nice change too.

Then we went for a walk in the woods (Bill Bryson style only no danger of bears) at a National Trust house in Bucks. On the way we stopped to pick up lunch- I had a lovely sandwich with philadelphia, roasted peppers, spinach and a chipotle relish (smokey, not too spicy, just how I like it).

It was so nice to spend a few hours walking outside in the fresh air, luckily the weather held out until we had to come home. We often go for walks in the evening but only by our house, so seeing different scenery (plus no cars) makes it much more refreshing.

Once home I made some cinnamon chai, and had a slice of the gone-wrong banana bread. This time I spread it with dark chocolate PB and it was amazing! The banana-PB-dark choc triangle has to be one of my fave flavour combos, and the banana bread has a lovely dense texture so it is quite a filling snack too.

After that I went in the garden and did some weeding, dug up the potatoes (a much better harvest than last year), cut some more courgettes (not sure what I am going to make with them yet- need to look through my recipes) and moved the strawberry runners. I have one strawb plant that is kicking out loads of runners- they are settling in my lettuce bed which is fab because I dont seem to be able to grow lettuce, so it is going to be turned into a strawb bed!

I am glad I got out there when I did because now it is raining again, honestly what is wrong with the summer?

We are off out this evening for a birthday celebration.

🙂

Addicted to courgettes!

I think I need to confess something! I am addicted to courgettes! Not the ones from the shop, no way, but the ones from my garden. There is something so exciting and satisfying about picking something from the garden and eating it an hour later. I have had this with strawberries before (from the garden) but have never had that many- enough for some at lunch, or some to add to a smoothie.
Yesterday evening I picked one green and one yellow courgette, to add to my dinner. I sliced them thinly and put them on a baking tray with a squirt of oil and a sprinkle of oregano. I roasted them along with a bean burger and some sweet potato. I piled the courgette strips on top of the burger, and had it with a salad, gherkin and some beetroot. Yum.
I can see more growing too, how exciting!

I have been looking in my recipe books for recipes to use, and have found one for chocolate courgette muffins. I have a nice looking recipe in the Rachel Allen Bake book too- so many recipes, so little time! Something to look forward to after my holiday 🙂
I also made some pecan blondies from the Hummingbird Bakery book (for sunday tea) which made the house smell amazing!

Today I tried porridge before my long run. I left it the same amount of time after eating before heading out, and in fact I was fine, so I may try it again. I did 7 miles, but it was so hot and I was feeling very sluggish. I had to stop and walk because I was feeling so hot, and at one point had to find some shade to stand in for a bit. It did occur to me that as I have been so busy and rushed in the mornings I have forgotten to take a multivitamin for a while now. Being veggie although I do try to include iron-rich foods in my diet (especially oats, lentils, nuts) but I also normally have a vitamin with iron every other day. So I wondered if that is why I have been struggling more than usual. So I made sure I had one today. My whole run took me 69 mins, which included 3 mins of walking/ stopping, so to do 7 miles in that time isnt bad for me.

Once home I had a weird cereal bar (a fairtrade apricot and kernel bar)- it was ok, chewy and sweet and what I fancied, but not sure if I would get it again. After my shower I made a coconut water smoothie (coconut water with banana and frozen mango- served both of us).

Then on to lunch! I had a wholemeal pitta bread with dark chocolate PB in it-mmmmmmmmm amazing! Plus apple, cherries, and some almonds.

Off out for tea now, I am hoping to fit in another run tomorrow (last one before holiday) so might try the porridge again to see how it goes.

🙂

Not such a great run

I was really looking forward to my run this morning. I had my normal breakfast of cornflakes and raisins, but I think I may need to think of something to add to it because I got really hungry. I was also have sort of stitches, but not quite, and at one point I had to stop because even walking didn’t let it go away. At first I wanted to “power through” but then I thought about why I am running. At the moment I am not training for any races, but would like to do some 10K runs in the autumn so want to keep my long run to above that distance. I am running because I love it, not to get quicker, or to beat my time. So I decided that stopping for 2 minutes in order to enjoy the rest of my run was ok. I did enjoy most of it- I saw a load of geese by the lake (cue me running at a sprint past them!), and as the sun was out but with a strong breeze I stayed fairly cool. In the end I did around 7.5 miles in 73 minutes (I took off the 2 minutes I stopped for). Ah well I am sure my next run will be better. Perhaps I should try having a different breakfast. When I first started running I didnt lile porridge before a run, even though I love it at other times. But I think my stomach is stronger now, so perhaps I might give it a go before a run one day. Watch this space!

When I got home I was so hungry so straight away alongside a big glass of water was some cherries and a cocoa orange Nak’d bar (after yesterday remembering how good they are!). MMmmmmmmm it was so good.

I am also excited about my sweetcorn- I have finally worked out how it is going to grow. There are some fluffy bits appearing along the stalks, and the seedy bits from the tassles are the pollen bits which need to drop down onto the tassles. So the actual corn will grow half-way up the stalk. Now I just have to wait 🙂

I have potted on some foxgloves (pretty flowers that seed everywhere) for a friends’ garden, tied up my little bean plants and also put one of the tomato plants in a bigger pot. I have spied another courgette growing- it won’t be long before it gets picked 🙂

I nearly forgot- for lunch today I tried some of the dark chocolate peanut butter- wow that stuff is amazing! Like eating a snickers bar, only the best bits, and with dark chocolate instead of milk, and smooth………. so much yummy stuff today! I had it on a wrap with a sliced apple, although I am thinking next time I will try it with sliced banana instead.

I also made some white chocolate peanut butter cookies (mostly for giving away) and some sundried tomato bread for dinner.

But then disaster- I was going to try my frozen watermelon today, but my mini chopper stpped working. The motor was going but the stick that goes up in the blades is not turning. Hmm. I rang them up but bizzairly their phonelines are open until 4.50pm Mon-Thurs, and til 12.20 Fridays. Phone-call on Monday it will be! So I had some watermelon from the fridge instead (boring) but might try the frozen stuff in my blender tomorrow.

I had a nice walk this evening too, so many birds about at the moment. Now I am waiting for my dinner to finish cooking- bean and veggie bake topped with the leftover mozzerella from yesterday, served with the sundried tomato bread. Yum.