As someone that takes fitness and nutrition very seriously (with some occasional decadent treats along the way) I love delicious new food discoveries than fit into my eating plan. If you have followed this blog long enough, you know that I favor the Mediterranean diet, a diet rich in fruits, veggies, with moderate meats and fish, legumes, grains and dairy. Healthy fats come mostly from olive oil and nuts, and let me tell you, I am nuts about nuts, especially almonds and cashews!
I get approached by companies every day wanting me to feature their products on my show. Literally 95% of the time, I tell them no. I can’t with good conscience share products with you I don’t believe in, but today I reveal something I have been obsessed with for 6 months, and I am too excited not to share it with you anymore. Behold…American Dream Nut Butter:
Did you ever go into a frozen yogurt shop and go bonkers with the toppings? Yeah that would be me. Well, this nut butter line features a variety of flavors with scrumptious toppings, from streusel and chocolate chips, to salty pretzels and crumbled cookies. American Nut butter starts with a base of super high quality and smooth almond, peanut, or cashew butter. Then the mix-ins begin, from cookies and cream to s’mores to my favorite of this month’s release, Peanut Butter Cheesecake.
These nut butters are low in sugar, with added protein for that satiety factor. They have new flavor releases for every season, so the anticipation is always fun! I signed on to be an ambassador, so that I can give my readers a discount. Use code BLANCHE10 at https://www.americandreamnutbutter.com/ to get 10% off! What I love is they are family owned company in the U.S.A., and donate 10% of their proceeds to our veterans. They are also all gluten free.
Now I have to be honest here so I want to make two clear points, I try and order the nut butters with the cleanest ingredients, as some of their flavors, like the cereal ones, have artificial colors. Secondly, portion control is key to eating these nut butters. Portion out the amount you want to eat, then put the rest away, or else you will eat half a jar before you know it! I personally like to drizzle them over berries or bananas and Greek yogurt for dessert or a light meal.
I will share with you my favorite flavors below based on flavor and clean ingredients. They are always changing, so if you like a particular one, stock up or else you might have to wait a season before it comes back!
MY FAVORITE FLAVORS WITH NO TOPPINGS:
- Confetti Cake Pop Almond butter–smooth and drippy almond butter with a vanilla cake batter flavor
- Grandma’s Peanut Butter Fudge Peanut butter: like eating melted peanut butter fudge- no need for jelly!
MY FAVORITE FLAVORS WITH TOPPINGS:
- Mistletoe Kisses: This is a holiday edition, it has an almost butterscotch flavor with white chocolate chips and a buttery crumb topping
- Peanut Butter Cheesecake: Literally a gluten free graham cracker crust mixed in the peanut butter with mini peanut butter cups, I swoon over this one! https://www.americandreamnutbutter.com/collections/shop-all-butters/products/chocolate-peanut-butter-cheesecake-peanut-butter
- Santa’s Magic: Who cares if Christmas is over, this one is insanely good! Gluten-free granola clusters, coconut flakes, mini peanut butter chips and mini chocolate chips: https://www.americandreamnutbutter.com/collections/almond-butter/products/santas-magic-almond-butter
- Naughty or Nice Cashew Butter: This one has the cleanest ingredients of all the cashew butters. This butter is also a lot thicker than their almond and peanut varieties if you prefer that texture, which is great to bake with too. This one has a blend of brownies and chocolate chip cookies for the win!
Of course, I didn’t want to write this blog without providing you with a healthy recipe, so today I will share how I make my high protein Chickpea cake:
Believe it or not, pureed chickpeas make up most of the foundation for the batter of this moist cake. I have also added other healthy hacks, namely: using sugar free allulose instead of sugar (I get mine from Trader Joes) adding Greek yogurt and whey protein powder for extra filling protein, using oat flour instead of regular flour, and using American Dream Nut butter instead of oil or butter. This makes a perfect cake for snacking when you get the munchies after lunch, or a quick and easy breakfast with a cup of coffee in the morning. Check out my new video on this recipe here:
HIGH PROTEIN CAKE RECIPE
- 1 Can Chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup Greek yogurt
- ⅓ cup allulose
- ¼ cups Peanut Butter
- ¼ Cup Oat Flour
- ¼ cup whey Protein Powder I use EHP Labs Oxy Whey Chocolate Caramel: https://amzn.to/3GBFUo4
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ cup Chocolate Chips I use Lily’s Sugar Free: https://amzn.to/3GCnNhH
- In a food processor, blend the chickpeas, yogurt, egg, vanilla extract, nut butter, and allulose until smooth. Add the protein powder, oat flour, baking soda and baking powder, and pulse until combined. Lightly mix in your Chocolate Chips. Pour into an 8 by 8 pan lined with parchment paper Bake on 325 F for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean