World Nutella Day

Everyone has a favorite binge food.  Our son's is Nutella.  And I am okay with most of the ingredients.  The primary ingredients are skim milk, hazelnuts (also known as filberts) and cocoa.  Palm oil, soy lecithin and vanillin round out the list.  If it weren't for the vanillin (why not the real vanilla?), I would give it five stars.

I first tried Nutella on a missions trip to Spain many many years ago and distinctly remember wishing we had such a treat in the United States.  Since that time, it has become a regular on grocery store shelves.  We get our at Costco at a hefty discount over grocery store prices.

If you've never tried Nutella, your truly missing out on a great food pleasure with a uniquely addictive taste.  It's a guilty pleasure with a touch of healthfulness.  And now, those who love it so much can unite thanks to "World Nutella Day" slated for February 5, 2012.

The uses for this delicious treat are countless and people in its cult-like following have posted photos of their favorite concoctions using Nutella and offered hundreds of recipes.  Could there by a bad one?  The Nutella company offers no recipes other than to spread it on toast in the morning.

There's even a book, "The Unofficial Guide to Nutella:  history, stories and recipes" you can devour.

In brief, its history began in the 1940's when Pietro Ferrero, a pastry maker, devised a way to extend the rationed cocoa supplies during World War II.  He used hazelnuts which were plentiful in the Piedmont region of Italy.  Originally named "Supercrema gianduja", it was renamed in 1964 at "Nut" (for the hazelnut) and "ella" as a soft-sounding filler to lengthen the name.

While it has been a favorite in Europe for 40+ years, the spread first arrived in the Northeastern United States in 1983 and has expanded nationwide since then.

You can easily recreate a Nutella-type spread using a Vitamix or food processor.  There are a number of recipes.  I have not tried them myself because the shelf-life is only a couple of weeks and we just don't consume enough to justify making our own.  But if you are interested, take a look at these trusted sources here and here for recipes on making your own Nutella-type spread.

This February 5, buy a jar of Nutella and spread some joy on World Nutella Day!

Update 01/31/2012:

I was told that Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Butter is also a very good and perhaps more nutritious option.  I haven't tried this yet but will in the future.  Has anyone else tried Justin's who can offer an opinion?

The ingredients for Justin's are:  Dry Roasted Hazelnuts, Dry Roasted Almonds, Organic Evaporated Cane Sugar, Organic Cocoa, Organic Cocoa Butter, Organic Palm Fruit Oil, Natural Vanilla, Sea Salt.

Organic Packaging Surprise

I wanted to make some fresh hummus for lunch today and reached for a can of garbanzo beans (chick peas).

We don't have many canned items in our house because they leach BPA into the food, but we do have some canned beans (in case I miss the 12-hour window of soaking time) and some tomato products (really just an excuse for not getting around to canning them last fall) on hand.

I was met with two options of garbanzo beans when I opened the pantry.  I don't know the reasons, perhaps I picked up the non-organic one by accident, but I had one can of organic garbanzo beans and one that was not -- by the same grocer brand name.

I thought a bean is a bean, except one is organic, right?  I was surprised by what the labels disclosed.

Organic Canned Garbanzo Bean Ingredients

In the organic beans I found the ingredients:

• Organic Garbanzo Beans
• Water
• Sea Salt

Traditional Canned Garbanzo Bean Ingredients

In the traditional beans I found the ingredients:

• Prepared Garbanzo Beans (they never say what "prepared" means)
• Water
• Salt
• Calcium Chloride (Firming Agent)
• Disodium EDTA

The only other significant difference was in sodium.  The organic garbanzo beans had 100 mg per serving versus a much larger 330 mg of sodium in the non-organic beans.

This helped make clear that decisions are not simply as easy as organic or not.  Organic or not also affects the handling and packaging too.  And organic clearly wins.

I pledge to read labels more carefully when shopping.

As for pricing, the non-sale prices were $.88 for the non-organic beans versus $1.25 for the organically grown beans.

Vitamix Makes Hummus
in About 15 Seconds

If your interested in making a great hummus dip, here was my recipe for today:

• 15-ounce can of organic garbanzo beans drained and rinsed and placed in blender/food processor
• 1/2 cup filtered water (more or less depending on how smooth you want the final product)
• 1 larger organic clove of garlic
• 1 Tablespoon organic lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoons of organic olive oil
• Sea salt (to taste)
• 2 small pieces of fire-roasted red pepper (optional)

*blend until smooth

Enjoy!

Fire-Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Easy Homemade Peanut Butter

Your favorite peanuts + a high-quality blender (with a tamper) = amazing and healthy peanut butter!

We ran out of peanut butter this morning, so I took some of our favorite peanuts from Costco (I'd prefer organic peanuts, but their harder to find than a Santa in July around here -- but that's another post) and threw them in our Vitamix for a quick spin.

Once the peanuts were in, I turned the machine on high and used the tamper to keep things moving.  Within 30 seconds, I had a fresh and warm batch of peanut butter.

In a nutshell (pun, yes!), choose your favorite raw, dry roasted or oil roasted peanuts.  If your from New Mexico or Georgia, your selection should be much better with organic options.  Throw them in your blender.

I usually add about a tablespoon of peanut oil to keep things loose.  You don't have to use any oil, I just like a looser product for easier spreading.  If you decide to add oil and don't have peanut, any other low-flavor oil such as Canola will work too.

Add a touch of salt if you wish.  The peanuts I used were pre-salted and that works for me.

Then turn on your Vitamix (or other high-power blender) on high-speed blend until you get a creamy base.

At this point, you can get creative.  I tend to be a peanut butter purist and leave it alone, but in this case I added about 3 tablespoons of raw honey from a local apiary to make honey-peanut butter.  I have also added a teaspoon or two of organic molasses in the past that darkens the spread and adds a nice taste.  Others have added various spices or cocoa, but you can experiment with what you like.  Add it in and continue spinning until smooth.

When finished, spoon your peanut butter out into a storage container.  I like to use a caning jar for ours.  If you will eat it within three months, store it in your pantry.  If you need it to keep for 6 months, place it in your refrigerator.  Just keep in mind that a refrigerated product won't spread quite as easily unless brought to room temperature.

If you like a crunchy peanut butter, chop some extra peanuts up and set them off to the side.  When you are done making your peanut butter, throw in the chopped pieces and stir.

Enjoy your homemade peanut butter.  It will taste better and probably be better for you.  If you aren't convinced check out the ingredient label on your store-bought peanut butter.