Brazil Nut Butter

For those of you who have been following my blog, you might notice that I have been totally obsessed with brazil nuts as of late! A few days ago, I made my Veggie Beauty Burgers, which contain brazil nuts as a base.

I am typically an almond butter girl all the way, but just yesterday I don't know what posessed me to buy a $32 jar of Rejuvenative Foods Brazil Nut Butter but buy I did!

Sometimes I think our bodies tell us when we need something in our diets- and, mine, certainly has been talking loudly! Not only are brazil nuts high in iron, zinc, magnesium, but they are also an excellent source of selenium, which is a powerful antioxidant that protects us against aging by improving cell quality and elasticity, stimulating our immune system and can even helping fight off heart disease and some forms of cancer. Brazil nuts have 2500 times as much selenium as any other nut!

Another bonus is that brazil nuts do not contain phytoestrogens like almonds. For most of us, we need not worry about this but for cancer patients or those at risk who have been told to avoid them, brazil nut butter may be a better option.

So, how did the two stand up?
I decided to do a face-off! On the way to drop off C at school, I stopped by Dean & Deluca and got one of their mixed berry bran muffins. NO, I am sure it was not vegan and probably has a bit of sugar... but, who cares, its been a long week. So, I had both the brazil nut and almond butter with it.  have to admit, I still do prefer my nutty almond butter but the brazil nut butter was still very good. It tasted much more mild and almost a bit more fatty/oily more like coconut butter. Overall, both were very good!

I can see where the brazil nut butter would be great in dips and salad dressings and I am excited to begin experimenting with it this week!

I also recieved a bag of gorgeous brazil nuts from High Vibe in my last order and I am also planning on using my Green Star Juicer and making my own!

This week has been busy! My daughter's book fair, my son's Middle School Chorus performance, my daughter's Invention Convention (she invented glasses with windshield wipers), her class PJ party (yes, she is going in pj's) and a boy-girl Carnival Party for my son tonight (which, I am chaperoning) whew- am looking forward to a quiet weekend!!!

Here is her poster for it. She was so proud of it and the glasses themselves turned out cute (didn't photograph well so didn't include them)

My Mother's Day gift to myself this weekend will be no blogging! Just simple time with family.

After being well-fueled with a muffin and almond/brazil nut butters, I am off on my 7 mile run in the gorgeous New York City sunshine (finally!!!)

Veggie Beauty Burger

Yesterday was a sunny and glorious day and I thought that the weather had truly turned warmer for good. But, the good luck was not to be! Today it is cold and damp and, after sitting on a lacrosse field for 2 hours, I wanted to prepare something warm and comforting for dinner tonight- brrrrr! Since I had alot of vegetables left over from the past week that were almost past their prime and a lot of pulp from my juicer (yes, I save the pulp!), I decided to make these delicious beauty burgers!
Veggie Beauty Burgers
1 cup ground flax seeds
1 cup brazil nuts (you can use walnuts or pecans if you don't have brazil nuts)
1-2 cups veggie pulp (you can use 2-3 stalks diced celery, 1/2 diced cucumber, 6 small carrots, a few handfuls of diced lettuce such as romaine, spinach and/or kale if you don't have pulp)
1/2 large tomato (I only had cherry tomatos so I threw in 5 of them)
1/2 large red pepper
4 tbsp dulse
1-2 cloves of garlic (diced)
1-2 stalks of broccoli
Juice from 1 lemon
4 tbsp nama soyu (or soy sauce)
Dash of sea salt
2 tsp rosemary
2 tsp tarragon
Oh, and I also threw in the Crunchy Sprouts that I made a few days ago!

Put all of the above ingredients in a food processor and process until relatively smooth. Shape into patties and place either in your dehydrator (if you are going raw) for approximately 4-6 hours turning over half-way, or cook on the stove top. If you are going to be cooking your burgers then wrap in seran wrap and let burgers set in refrigerator approximately 1-2 hours before you are cooking them.

When they are done, place them on a sprouted bread such as the ooey gooey Manna Bread, the grainy Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Buns, a healthy collard green or your favorite bread. I slathered the Raw Cheddar Cheese on them from the Kale Chips I made a few days ago but Vegenaise would be great too!
And, don't forget the sliced tomato and lettuce to give it some crunch!

So, why do I call these my Beauty Burgers?
Well, they are bursting with live enzymes, antioxidants and nutrients that help us have healthy skin, radiant hair and beautiful nails as well as fight against that nasty aging!
 
Did you know?

 
Brazil nuts are an excellent source of selenium and, in fact, have 2500 times as much as any other nut! Selenium is a powerful antioxidant that protects us against aging by helping with cell qualtiy and elasticity, stimulates our immune system and can even help fight off heart disease and some forms of cancer. Brazil nuts are also high in iron, zinc, magnesium.
 

 
Cucumbers are very high in silicon, which is essential for building and maintaining strong nails, bones, teeth and promoting hair growth. Cucumbers are also a good source of vitamin A, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin C, vitamin K, B- vitamins, folic acid and potassium! Cucumbers also help us hydrate our bodies therefore our skin!

 

Flax seeds are high in Omega 3's and fiber. Omega 3's have been known to hydrate and strenghten nails, skin and hair. Omega 3's also can help fight depression. But, when you are looking and feeling better, who is going to need that?
 
 

Red Peppers & Tomatoes are high in Vitamins A, C, K and the anitoxidant lycopene. Consuming foods high in the these antioxidants  have been proven to protect against free radical damage associated with aging as well as sun exposure.

 
Broccoli is high in vitamin C, which protects skin against free radical damage and aging, as well as vitamin A, E, iron and fiber.
 

 
Dulse is high in calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, iodine, chlorophyll, B-12, enzymes and fiber and is one of nature’s richest sources of proteins, having up to 48% of plant-based protein. Due to its high iodine and other nutritients, dules helps cells regenerate and repair.

The burger was delicious and look (almost) like the real thing- and definitely tasted better!!!