For the Love of All that is Almonds!

ALMONDS!!! Yes, they are a great snack to eat raw or in it’s butter form with apples, but why are they sooo good for us? And how else can we use them? I've got answers to both!!!

8 Health Benefits of Almonds (according to eatlocalgrown.com):

1. Reduce Heart Attack Risk:  A study showed those who consumed nuts five times a week had a 50% reduction in risk of heart attack according to the Loma Linda School of Public Health.
2. Lowers ‘Bad’ Cholesterol:  One clinical study showed that almonds added to the diet had a favorable effect on blood cholesterol levels and that none of the study groups experienced weight gain in the study by Dr. Gene Spiller, Director of the Health Research and Studies Center, Inc.
3. Protects artery walls from damage:  It was found that the flavonoids in almond skins work in synergy with the vitamin E thus reducing the risk of heart disease. (Research at Tufts University)
4. Build strong bones and teeth with the phosphorus in almonds.
5. Healthy fats helps in weight loss:
   • Although nuts contain lots of fat frequent nut eaters are thinner on average than those who almost never consume nuts. (data from the Nurses’ Health Study)
   • Those who ate nuts at least two times per week were 31% less likely to gain weight than were those who never or seldom at them in a study involving 8865 adults. (WHFood’s article on almonds)
6. Almonds lower the rise in blood sugar and insulin after meals.
7. Goodbrain function:  Almonds contain riboflavin and L-carnitine, nutrients that boost brain activity which may also reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
8. A nutrient for the nervous system according to Ayurveda; they help to increase high intellectual level and longevity.
9. They alkalize the body.
   Almonds are the only nut and one of the few proteins that are alkaline forming.  When your body is not alkaline enough, you risk osteoporosis, poor immune function, low energy and weight gain. 

Now, it's time to share some recipes on other ways to eat almonds other than in their raw or butter form:

We love almond milk in our house and use it in overnight parfaits, and of course, in Shakeology! It is a creamy, sweet flavor and from time to time, we make it from scratch! It really is pretty easy, so today I am going to share the recipe in case you want to try and make your own too! (No I don't always make my own. I have definitely been known to put Silk brand Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk in my cart)

Almond Milk

1 cup raw unsalted almonds

4 cups water

1 drop of vanilla

3 pitted dates, torn in chunks

4 more cups of water

Strainer

milk bag, cheese cloth, or a cut off pair of pantyhose or tights (yes, you read that right!)

high powered blender or food processor

In a large bowl, add almonds and 4 cups of water. Soak overnight (I soaked mine for a full 24 hours, but that is just bc I didn’t have time to make the milk yet! But do it at least 8 hours). Drain and rinse off almonds. Add almonds (now super plump!) to a high powered blender (I use a Ninja) or a food processor. Add in 4 cups of clean, filtered water, dates, and vanilla. Blend, blend, blend!

Use milk bag or other option above over the mouth of the blender spout and pour almond milk into the bag over the strainer that is over a large bowl (see picture). Pour until blender/processor is empty and squeeze bag (be sure to WASH THOSE HANDS!) over the strainer and bowl. Once completely drained, save the almond pulp in the bag (for the recipe below) and pour milk into a jar or small pitcher. Will make about 2- 2 ½ cups of milk and will keep for 3 days in the refrigerator.

If you followed the recipe above, now you have all this pulp to deal with. What should you do with it? What ever you do, don’t throw it away! Make your own almond flour! We love using almond flour in our whole wheat, flaxseed pancakes every Saturday morning! And guess what? Almond flour is expensive - so here is a great way to make your own using leftovers from your awesome milk!

Almond flour

Almond pulp from almond milk recipe

Parchment paper

Cookie sheet

Blender

Preheat oven to lowest setting (the lowest mine would go was 170 degrees). Tear off a sheet of parchment paper and cover cookie sheet. Carefully pour almond pulp out of bag onto the parchment paper. Spread out evenly with a spoon. Bake to dry out pulp for 2-3 hours. Once finished, it should feel dry and a little crispy. Spoon into blender and pulse to break up clumps and give it a soft texture. Don’t do this too long - you may end up making almond butter! Save almond flour in a ziploc bag and keep in the fridge if you are going to use within the next week or so, or you can freeze it as well.

So now you have all this flour, what are you going to do with it? What we do is make these delicious pancakes every Saturday morning! Before we started clean eating, we would make pancakes every morning since we got married and it became tradition. But they weren’t with good ingredients and we might as well have been eating actual cake! So now that we’ve changed our lifestyle, we didn’t quit our traditions, we just altered them! Hope you all enjoy these as much as we do (our 2 year old loves them too!)

Whole Wheat Flaxseed Pancakes

1/4 Milled Flaxseed

2 tsp Baking Powder

1 cup Whole Wheat Flour (or 1/2 cup whole wheat and 1/2 cup almond flour)

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tbsp Agave

1/2 cup Greek Yogurt (plain)

1/2 cup water

1 egg

1 tbsp Coconut Oil

Combine flax, flour(s), baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. (sometimes I add a dash of cinnamon!)

In separate bowl, mix yogurt, water, egg, agave, and coconut oil (if your coconut oil is solid, you will have to melt it in the microwave for about 20 seconds so that it is in a liquid state)

Add liquid ingredients to dry and mix until moistened (don't over mix). Here is where you may need to add a little extra water, but batter will be sticky (and is supposed to be - not like normal pancake batter)

Heat griddle to 350 and spoon batter and form pancakes (the dough won't spread on it's own, you have to spread it thin with your spoon). Flip and enjoy! Top with bananas, berries, and pure maple syrup (but not too much!)!

*If you have leftover pancakes (I make a double batch to ensure that we do), freeze them in a ziploc bag (put parchment paper between them so they don’t stick together!) and take them out for a quick breakfast! They fit great in the toaster!

I'd love to know if you try any of these recipes! And please be sure to PIN them and share with friends!

Thanks,

-Ashley