07 Jan Sunflower Butter

One of our favourite, quick and easy meals is to pile a whole lot of veggies into a wrap. To help hold things together we often reach for some sort of condiment. I love the idea of nut and seed butters because they impart, not only a lovely taste, but added nutrients. Often, commercial nut and seed butters come with unwanted added stabilizers and preservatives; not to mention, they’re often expensive.

In my effort to make healthy eating easy and cost effective, I thought I would experiment with making sunflower butter. Sunflower seeds are nutrient-rich, a good source of protein, vitamin E, minerals and, of course, “good fats”. I included hemp hearts and chia seeds to boost the nutrient content. This basic butter is easy to make, and I’ve included an optional step to give it a little “heat”.

My boys are huge Sriracha fans and add it to just about everything. The problem with adding a sauce to homemade nut butters is that the addition of a liquid to a nut butter will often make it seize (much like chocolate, which doesn’t like water). You can, however, make something called “Sriracha dust” (thank you, Will), which is essentially dehydrated Sriracha sauce. If you’re interested, you can click on the link below for how to make Sriracha dust, which is easy, but does take some time (fair warning)

We have enjoyed this sunflower butter the last few days in yummy, satisfying wraps with warmed black beans, peppers and spinach. We would love to hear how you have enjoyed this.

Sunflower Butter

2 cups raw sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons hemp hearts
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon avocado oil (or other good quality oil)

1 teaspoon Sriracha Dust *optional*

Lightly roast sunflower seeds at 350 degrees for 10 – 15 minutes. Please be sure to check at 10 minutes because seeds can quickly turn the corner from “lightly toasted” to “burnt beyond recognition.” Add cooled, toasted sunflower seeds to food processor. Process for several minutes (a lifetime, it seems), until seeds form a paste. Add hemp hearts, chia, salt, sugar, Sriracha dust if using, and oil. Continue to process as you contemplate life. Fear not, you will be delighted with the end result and wonder why you haven’t made this before! Store in fridge and use within several weeks….trust me, this has many uses!