After making fresh almond butter, my Vita-Mix was a little more difficult to clean than usual because right down under the blade was a few tablespoons of unreachable almond butter. Luckily, it was also time for dessert, so I added 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, a sprinkle of cinnamon, 1/4 cup maple syrup, and 2 cups plain rice milk. I blended up the best.drink.ever.

Here is the almond butter I made in my Vita-Mix. It is really easy and takes just a few minutes. I used unsalted dry roasted almonds, and this works out to cost a lot less than pre-made almond butter in the store. I am really loving my Vita-Mix!

There is no recipe to post here because Vita-Mix provides specific instructions on making nut-butters. If you have a Vita-Mix, you have that info. Go make some nut butter!

As with all of my Vita-Mix smoothies, throw all of the ingredients in, turn to speed 10, then high, then enjoy.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups plain rice milk
• 2 oz unsweetened chocolate
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup shelled walnuts

I love making these for Thanksgiving and Christmas. They are addictively delicious.

This recipe is for 1.5 cups of Pecans. It is easy to make a big batch, and the proportions can be tweaked according to taste. I always use the same ingredients, but make them slightly differently, by adding more or less of something. So, have fun with them and enjoy.

Melt 2 TB butter in a sauce pan. Add raw pecans and coat. Add 2 TB maple syrup and coat again. Then 1/2 TB each of curry powder, onion powder, and garlic powder. Mix well. Then 1 tsp sea salt, 1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne (depending on how spicy you like them). Mix this all well and spread a single layer on a baking sheet (covered in foil to make clean-up easy) and bake at 250 for 15-20 minutes. Let them cool and enjoy on their own, on vanilla ice cream, on an arugula and pear salad… there are many options.