Okay…you guys are SO NICE. Thanks for all your sweet comments about Ry and I’s pool pics 
A few people requested that I share tips on how to get better defined abs, so I am currently in the process of coming up with a post all about ABS! I am definitely not a nutritionist or a trainer, so everything that I share will be 100% my opinion and what has worked for me personally. But hopefully you can benefit from some of them! So check back soon for my go to ab workouts and other tips!
Anyways, how has your week been?
Mine has been pretty typical, but there have definitely been some highlights!
On Tuesday night, Ryan and I made the short drive down to Denver for the Rockies game. We grabbed dinner at The YardHouse (which was PHENOMENAL) and headed to the field.
Our seats were WAY up in the nosebleeds, but they were cheap and we had a good view of the city
Wednesday morning I woke up with one thing on my mind: homemade nut butter. I have been wanting to make some for ages now and figured that it was the perfect thing to do on a day where neither of us had plans.
We used the “Not so Sinful Cinnamon Raisin Almond Butter” recipe from Eating Bird Food and started by roasting 2 cups of almonds.
he was as excited as me! haha
Then we got out my mom’s totally ghetto food processor…
welcome to 2011. lets keep up with the times here, mom.
(excuse the fact that I had just woken up and look like a total slob)
Despite the fact that this food processor is about 30 years old, it worked like a charm at blending up our almonds!
We blended and scraped and blended and scraped until it was finally smooth enough to add our additional ingredients.
1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 cup raisins, and 1 tsp vanilla extract were added into the mix. After blending it up and tasting, we decided that it needed a little extra sweetness, so we added about 3 drops of liquid stevia. Those of us who aren’t used to natural PB need some help getting weened off of the high fructose corn syrup.
And viola!
This stuff is SO GOOD. After trying PB & Co’s cinnamon raisin swirl peanut butter, I thought that nothing could compete. But this stuff is JUST as good.
Ryan doesn’t like chunks of raisins, but after he left, I stirred in about another 1/4 cup of whole raisins into the jar
My favorite way to eat this is on pieces of celery.
Ants on a log? Ah how I miss kindergarten.
After eating lots of almond butter, we decided it was time for lunch!
My sandwich was pretty plain and boring….(sandwich thin, turkey, pepperjack, hummus, lettuce tomato…) so it went undocumented.
Ryan’s, on the other hand, was quite impressive.
Behold the ultimate manwich.
It included 1 full sandwich thin plus another half, turkey, pepperjack, pesto, tomato and spinach.
He was pretty proud of himself. Ever since we started dating, he is becoming a MAJOR foodie and he loves taking pictures of his meals.
I think I may have had something to do with that…
So now that I am thoroughly obsessed with homemade nut butters, I can’t wait to make another batch!
Any good homemade nut butter recipes that you’d like to share??
kristi (sweetcheeks)
/ July 21, 2011I love homemade nut butter too!! I like mixing different nuts together like sunflower seeds, cashews, and peanuts. I love how you have turned him into a foodie haha. That is too cute!
healthycollegegirl
/ July 21, 2011I definitely need to try sunflower seed butter! i’ve seen it a ton around the blog world and must give it a shot!!
Jessy (squeezetheday)
/ July 21, 2011So far I’ve only made 3: plain almond butter (my favourite), coconut butter (so yummy!) and chocolate walnut-almond butter (the walnuts gave it a very bitter taste, despite the sweetener). I’ve never thought of putting raisins in it – I’ll try that!
healthycollegegirl
/ July 21, 2011OH MY GOSH girl all of those sound AMAZING! i was thinking about making coconut almond butter so that may be my next attempt. chocolate walnut-almond sounds sooo good too! thanks for the ideas!
Tessa @ Amazing Asset
/ July 21, 2011Umm yum.. this nut butter recipe is certainly a must try! I buy my own all of the time, for no good reason as I have a food processor, so I am going to start with this recipe
Thank you for commenting on my blog so I could find yours! I look forward to reading more
healthycollegegirl
/ July 21, 2011so glad that i found your blog and you found mine!
Brittany
/ July 21, 2011Ohhh I need to make some nut butter asaaaaap. This one sounds amazing! I love that you have turned Ryan into a foodie!! You guys are so stinkin’ cute.
healthycollegegirl
/ July 21, 2011Thanks Britt!!
ittybitsofbalance
/ July 21, 2011I’ve never made nut butter– but should definitely get on that! It gets expensive downing practically 1 jar a week
p.s. Blast from the past with the ants on a log!!!! I’m making some stat
healthycollegegirl
/ July 21, 2011right?! why is nut butter sooo expensive?! try making it!
In Sweetness and In Health
/ July 21, 2011Oh that nut butter looks awesome! I want to try to make some soon…but I have no idea what I would make it with haha. You guys are so cute together
healthycollegegirl
/ July 21, 2011You totally should! I foresee lots of homemade nut butters in my future! Haha. And thank you!
Keri @ Blue-Eyed Runner
/ July 22, 2011Love the ants on a log! I went to a yard house once in Cali…I wonder if its the same thing.
Alexa @ Simple Eats
/ July 22, 2011OH my gosh your nut butter sounds awesome! I made a cinnamon vanilla walnut butter awhile ago that was pretty good!
runningperspective
/ July 22, 2011oh my gosh i am making that almond butter now!!!!!!! looks so so so good!!!!
and YESSS to that abs future post! cant waitt!
Cheryl
/ July 23, 2011Please tell me how you got those HOT ABS lady.. I mean it I want info…Wahoo!!
healthycollegegirl
/ July 23, 2011Haha I’m working on a post right now!
Dominique @ The Good Life
/ July 23, 2011Between your abs (last post) and his biceps (3rd photo in this post), yall really need to go be on the cover of some fitness magazine! It’s just too much!
Anyway, that almond butter sounds like the jam! I’m defnitely with ya on the extra raisins, too
myhighonlife
/ July 25, 2011i cannot wait until i move into my new apt where i can bring my vitamix and make nut butters whenever my heart desires! looks phenomenal.