Archives for homemade

NuttZo Review and Giveaway + Blueberry Jam

October 1, 2014 by Zucchini Runner in Food, Giveaway, Review, Side Dish | 4 Comments

Thanks to the assistance of my latest running connection with Run, Eat, Tweet AZ, you’ll be seeing more product reviews on this blog! What does that mean for YOU? That means you will be (potentially) introduced to new products, and almost always have an opportunity to win said product in a giveaway! So stick around through this review to hear how you can enter to win some organic NuttZo nut butter for yourself and family; seriously, these folks are generous! Look at the product samples I received in the mail to taste test!? I was having a particularly crummy day, and when this arrived I was all smiles. I LOVE nut butters and all things organic, so I couldn’t wait to give a To-Go packet a try!

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As I was kneading away at the packet, I noticed it was also vegan and kosher. Bonus points. (Not that I care too terribly much about Kosher, but some people might. :))

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Since I’m also a lover of chocolate and peanuts, I decided to go with the 70% Peruvian Dark Chocolate packet for my first taste test. I believe reviews should be about honesty, not just talking up the product because you got some free samples. So my honest opinion was I didn’t really like this flavor – which was unfortunate since I was so excited to try it! Despite kneading the packet for a LOOOOONG time, I was unable to get the oil and nut butter to mesh… so when I opened it, it was very separated still. 🙁 It was also messy and got all over my hands! Dashed were my hopes of using this during a long run as fuel.

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The next time I tried a sample, I was smart and got a spoon and took my sampling to the kitchen. Power Fuel was MUCH better tasting than the chocolate, in my personal opinion, and I also paired it with a banana. (One of my favorite snacks is Mr. Zucchini Runner’s homemade peanut butter on a banana!)

Win!

I did try these samples more times than pictured, and eating them by themselves (like I sometimes do with peanut butter, cause I’m crazy like that) wasn’t really an option for me. Because of their seven nut and seed blend, one of those nuts/seeds would always get stuck to the roof of my mouth and it drove me NUTS. (Pun intended!) NuttZo = Good with other stuff.

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I will say, I did experience one exception to my own NuttZo rule. When I was craving something salty on a 7.5 mile trail hike in the middle of nowhere, NuttZo sans banana was amazing! I brought 3 sample packs on our hike, one of each flavor, just in case the urge to try a nut butter struck when on the trails. I’m SO glad I did! We had stopped at the halfway point and ate lunch – but I couldn’t shake the need to eat something salty. BOOM! NuttZo to the rescue.

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I again opted for the Power Fuel flavor, and kneaded it sufficiently before opening. Since they were warm, they were also softer, which made it easier to squeeze from the package. A word of caution; you can’t scrape your teeth on the outside of this packaging like runner’s like to do with gels on the go — because the paper/ink/packaging isn’t equipped to handle that very well! I felt like I was scraping off flecks of paper and ink the first time I sampled the chocolate, so this time I changed it up (see below)!

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I was very happy I got my salty fix on the trails! And since it was so melty, it didn’t really stick to the roof of my mouth! WIN AGAIN! 🙂


Then I decided to make some homemade blueberry jam to accompany my full jar of NuttZo Smooth Power Fuel. Note, that’s not an accidental upside down label, they store all their jars upside down, until they are opened and stored in the fridge. This prevents the nut oils from separating from the nuts! Genius.

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Fresh off the stove to my NuttZo sandwich. Yes, sometimes we eat PB&J in our house.

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Partnered with jelly and bread, it was amazing! The only true downside for me with NuttZo, is the strong flavor of Brazil Nuts in the mix.  So when I put it on bread, with jelly, that strong flavor was far less noticeable. All in all, I would definitely give NuttZo a shot if you haven’t already! If you can’t have peanuts or have a mild peanut allergy in your family, the Power Fuel flavor in both smooth and crunchy are peanut free! (But please note, they are still processed in a plant that contains peanuts.)

Intrigued? Want to try some of your own delicious samples?

You could be the lucky winner of a jar of Crunchy PowerFuel PLUS 24 to-go packets!   

Just head on over to the Run Eat Tweet AZ Facebook Page.  A quick “like” on the giveaway post, and a comment enters you in to win! Deadline to enter is Oct. 6th!

*This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or associated with Facebook*

Best of luck to you! Be sure to also follow NuttZo on social media for the latest updates and product info!
Twitter: @eatnuttzo
Instagram: @eatnuttzo
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoNuttZo

BLUEBERRY JAM RECIPE BELOW>>>>>>

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Now, for those of you interested in how I made my blueberry jam, here is the simple recipe:

7 cups washed, organic blueberries
1/2 cup 100% pure maple syrup
3 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Place blueberries in a large stock pot and smash with a potato masher. Then add the remaining ingredients and stir. Set heat to low and simmer, stirring every 10 minutes. Cook for a total of 45 minutes, stirring frequently with no lid.

Now, you can either place the jam in individual jars and freeze them (to avoid canning) OR if you enjoy canning and preserving, you can can them! I chose to can them for the pantry.

If you go the canning route, you will need a second large stock pot filled with water. The first step is to sanitize your jars. Place your canning jars (I used 4-8 oz. jars), with lids and rings in the pot. Bring to a boil on high heat, cover and reduce heat to medium once it reaches the boil. Set a timer for 10-15 minutes. Once they have been sanitized, it’s important to keep them in the water until ready to fill and seal. Do not to touch the jars on the inside or the rims; same goes for the lids and rings; unless it’s with a sanitized tool. (They have canning tongs you can purchase, but I didn’t have those the first few times I canned. I just used regular old tongs and an oven mit – which was dicey – so be CAREFUL!) Anyway, once the 10-15 minutes is up, turn off the heat. Carefully extract one jar from the water, dumping out any water back into the pot. Pour the jam directly into the jar. (I didn’t use a funnel or anything, I was able to go straight into the jar. But if you need a funnel, make sure you sanitize it too.) Then pull out the lid from the hot water using tongs, and place directly onto the jam-filled jar. Next once again using your tongs pull out the ring directly from the hot water, and place it on the jam-filled jar. It takes some patience, but it’s so worth it to save the valuable jam from spoiling! Secure the ring using oven mits or towels and set aside. Complete these steps for the remaining jam. I had a little left – probably 4 oz. that I put into a clean jar in the fridge, for immediate use. 😀

Once all the jars are filled and the lids are screwed on tight, place them BACK in the stockpot full of water and boil again for 15 minutes with a lid on the pot. It will be messy. I used towels to stop some of the excessive sputtering and steaming. 🙂 Once the 15 minutes is up, turn off the heat and allow the water to stop bubbling. Remove the lid and carefully remove the filled jars from the pot. As they cool on the counter, you will hear a tiny little metal “ding” when the lid seals and protects your jam from spoiling. They are now safe to store in the pantry! NOTE: If you go to use your jam in a week, or a couple months time and that little dimple is back UP, don’t eat the jam! That means the seal was broken and bacteria is growing – even if you can’t see it. Happy jam making! 😀

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The Joys of Almonds

January 19, 2013 by Zucchini Runner in Breakfast, Food, Side Dish, Snacks | 3 Comments

Recently I’ve been on an almond kick. I think trying the Paleo Vegetarian Challenge for 2.5 seconds inspired me to finally soak my own almonds and make my own almond byproducts. Ever since I bought my Vitamix blender I’ve been itching to try things I could never do with my old blender that hated me. (If I sound bitter, it’s because I am. Ungrateful blender; I had such high hopes for it…) A N Y W A Y. Once I soaked my first batch of almonds, peeled it’s skin and popped one in my mouth, my taste buds had a party. No, I’m serious. It was incredible! I eat almonds all the time. They are my go-to snack, especially with a sweet side of dried cherries. But I had never experienced a soaked almond, sans skin. It was pure almond bliss. I couldn’t wait to experiment!

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At first, I made a tiny batch of almond butter, then quickly realized I needed MORE ALMONDS to make the new, friendly blender succeed at what it does best. While I still ate the finished product, it wasn’t quite the consistency I knew it could be. I gave it a few days and then decided to try making almond milk, with a fresh batch of soaked almonds. I measured out 1 cup of dry almonds and put them in a bowl, covered with cold water. I usually cover the bowl with a kitchen towel to avoid any foreign objects from flying in… I’m paranoid, what can I say? By the next morning, the almonds are plump and the skins peel off nicely. (I’ve also set up the soaking before work, and peeled them after work; so 8-10 hours is a good soak time.)

ALMOND MILK

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Drain and rinse the soaked almonds, leaving skins on, place in a high powered blender with 4.5 cups of water. You can use more or less water depending on how thick and creamy you want it. My 1 cup of dried almonds produced 1.75 cups of soaked almonds. I added 4 Medjool dates for sweetness with pits removed and a splash of vanilla extract. My blender recommends using the Smoothie Setting to make almond milk.

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Once the blender has completed the Smoothie Setting, or once you have decided it’s blended enough, you can do 1 of 2 things. Either use a milk bag to catch the pulp or cheesecloth. Since this was my first batch and I wasn’t sure if I would like the almond milk, I just used some cheesecloth I had at home. I doubled it up and placed it over a strainer, and the strainer over a large bowl.

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Then, I gathered up all the corners of the cheesecloth and started squeezing the liquid through!

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I had to do this a few times to get through all the milk. Each time, you are left with the remaining pulp that didn’t get chopped up! Did someone say almond flour or almond meal? Yeah, I thought so. But we will get back to that later. For now, just set it aside on a plate, bowl or baking sheet. You can see some of the almond meal sticking to the cheesecloth in the photo below.

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Once all the liquid is strained, you will be left with an amazing, creamy, great tasting milk.

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This batch made a little over a quart of almond milk.

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Store your freshly made almond milk in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Mine lasted about 5 days… because I used it all. I would imagine it would be totally fine for 7 days in the fridge however.

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If you’ve made it this far into this post, I’m sure you are already interested in making your own almond milk. Or maybe you are like my cousin and think I’m nut-so for making this stuff when I can just as easily go to the store and buy it. Why not just buy it?? Its a pretty simple answer actually – I have many weird oral food allergies (OAS – Oral Allergy Syndrome). Meaning, I won’t get anaphylactic shock as a reaction to allergens, but I do eat things occasionally that cause me to have a very itchy throat. Sometimes store bought almond milk would do this to me, but raw almonds NEVER did. So, I wanted to test it out for myself. From the farm to the processing plant, to the milk container something happens that my body doesn’t like and I listen to my body. Best news? I didn’t have ANY issues with my homemade almond milk! SUCCESS! It was amazing in my morning coffee, pancakes and my breakfast smoothie. 🙂

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Now, back to that almond meal stuff… when I noticed how much pulp it produced with my first milk straining, I immediately decided to make almond flour out of it. My friend had recently started using almond meal/flour in many of her baked goods and I had dabbled with it a bit myself.

ALMOND MEAL/FLOUR

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After all the pulp was pulled out, I had a whole baking sheet full. I spread it out as thin as I could, using my hands to break apart any chunks.

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Then, I baked it in the oven, uncovered at 175° F  for 20 minutes at a time. After each 20 minute interval, I would take out the pan and break up the bigger chunks so they would dry faster. The overall baking/drying time was ~80 minutes. This time will vary depending on the humidity in the air. By the time I removed it completely, it was looking pretty good and dry. (UPDATE: I’ve since purchased a dehydrator and I just pop it in at 110 degrees F and it dehydrates overnight. No fuss.)

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The last step is to ensure you get the big chunks into a flour consistency. Simply pour the dried pulp into the Vitamix and process into a flour!

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The last item I wanted to make was almond butter. I know I already mentioned above how I made a tiny batch that didn’t turn out so well; it was redemption time. I knew I needed MORE ALMONDS so I measured out 2 dry cups of almonds and soaked them overnight. By morning I had 2.75 cups of soaked almonds – woo hoo! Plenty for nut butter! I suckered my amazing partner into helping me peel the skins while we watched TV. It took us about 45 minutes 0_O I’m not gonna lie, at one point when the shards of almond were jabbing under my fingernail, I was questioning if this was a good idea (aka, was it worth it to peel the skins). But, I kept reminding myself of how I never liked store bought almond butter, and those butters were clearly made with the skins on – not to mentioned toasted. I forged ahead as any noble almond peeler would do!

ALMOND BUTTER

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Now, the only thing left to do was sucker my partner one final time, into helping me make the butter itself. He has far more upper body strength than me, and can pound that tamper down effortlessly. I think it helps that he’s taller too, better leverage!

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Again, there is no way in an Arizona Summer my old blender would have been able to handle this. So you will need a high powered blender to achieve a nut butter. Using the Vitamix tamper to beat down the nuts really helps to keep things moving too. The finished product is a good amount of raw almond butter to enjoy for weeks to come. Be sure to refrigerate! The consistency of this was like sugar cookie dough… oh yeah. I cannot wait to experiment with this butter! Happy baking!

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