by Ezra Cohen Montreal

Simple and healthy eating is the cornerstone of all that we do and believe in here at Ezra Cohen Montreal, so it should come as no surprise that we appreciate a great salad. And what does a great salad need? Well, aside from fresh veggies and fruits, dark leafy greens, and a nice crunch, the perfect salad needs a super flavorful dressing—and this one, made with our Natural Almond butter, definitely does not disappoint!

Nut butters lend themselves extremely well to salad dressings since they’re inherently rich and creamy. With the addition of just a few extra simple ingredients (and plenty of room for improvisation), you can create a delicious and healthy dressing in just a couple of minutes. Here’s how to do it.

Almond Butter Salad Dressing with Garlic and Lime

You’ll only need a few fresh ingredients for this addictive dressing:

3 tbsp Ezra Cohen Montreal Natural Almond Butter

4 tbsp avocado oil (or olive oil)

Juice and zest of one lime

1 small clove of garlic, minced very finely

¼ cup of filtered water

Pinch of salt and pepper

To make your almond butter dressing, combine all ingredients and blend (yep, it’s that simple!). You can whisk it all together in a bowl, throw into the blender or food processor and pulse, or add all of the ingredients to a mason jar and shake vigorously. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Want to mix it up? There are plenty of ways that you can adjust this dressing for different flavor profiles. For example, add in 1/3 cup of finely minced herbs (cilantro or parsley are both great choices), swap out the lime for a lemon, or give it a kick with a ½ teaspoon of sriracha. You can also use a different nut butter, such as our Natural Cashew Butter or Brazil Nut Butter.

This dressing goes well with any salad. We especially love it on top of an Asian-inspired quinoa salad, complete with cabbage, edamame, freshly chopped carrots, cherry tomatoes, and red onion, freshly chopped cilantro, and a handful of chopped raw almonds.

Check out the rest of our recipe blog for all of the inspiration that you need to create totally healthy, totally tasty meals, treats, and snacks with nut butters. Ezra Cohen, McGill University graduate provides insider tips and nutrition info so that you can make the right choices for your lifestyle. Looking for other great almond butter recipes? Try our Dark Chocolate and Almond Butter Cake, made with wholesome whole wheat flour and plenty of rich dark chocolate!

Eating keto doesn’t have to mean giving up sweets—case in point: these unbelievable pecan pie fat bombs! Chockful of good for you proteins and fats and free of any added sugar, these cute little balls are exactly what you need to fulfill your sweet tooth without sacrificing your keto progress. And they’re so delicious you don’t even need to be doing the Keto Diet to enjoy them.

We wanted to make our pecan pie fat bombs a bit more special, so we used our much loved Ezra Cohen Montreal Praline Pecan Butter as the binder. They’re super easy to make, and we just know you’ll love these as much as we do. Here’s what you need to do.

Pecan Pie Fat Bombs

Ingredients

• ½ cup chopped pecans
• ¼ cup Ezra Cohen Montreal Praline Pecan Butter
• 3 tbsp hazelnut flour, almond flour, or other wheat-free flour of your choice
• 3 tbsp shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1 tbsp flax seeds
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• ½ tsp sugar-free vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

Directions

1. Chop your pecans if they’re not pre-chopped. You can either do it with a knife or by pulsing them a couple of times in the food processor. Note that the ½ cup measurement refers to chopped pecans, and not whole pecans.

2. Once pecans are chopped, combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse for 1-2 minutes to combine. The finished mixture should be crumbly, with the oil well dispersed throughout. Be careful not to over blend, since you don’t want your mixture to be too creamy or nut butter-like.

3. Divide the mixture into small, evenly sized balls using your hands or a cookie scoop. You should be able to make about 10 balls. Place on a plate or a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge to set for at least 30 minutes before eating. Optional: Roll each ball in a thin layer of extra chopped pecans or unsweetened coconut shreds before putting in the fridge to cool.

Store your pecan pie fat bombs in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer and take one out whenever those sweet cravings hit. Bombs will remain fresh for about one week.

At Ezra Cohen Montreal, we’re committed to helping you meet your nutrition goals with healthy recipes that only seem like indulgences. Check back with our blog regularly for more great new recipes, and get in touch if you ever have any questions.

At Ezra Cohen Montreal, we believe it should always be easy for you to learn more about the foods that you love. To that end, we’re always ready to share the research around the health benefits of our most popular products. And this week, we decided to tackle the benefits behind one of our all-time favorites: almond butter.

Almond butter is more than just a delicious addition to meals, snacks, and recipes. It’s a vitamin-rich, nutrient-rich food that helps your body be at its best and get more of the good stuff. So what exactly are those benefits? Here are three of the biggest ones.

1. It’s chock full of wholesome nutrition

Every single tablespoon of this tasty spread features plenty of the nutrition you need, including protein, fiber, healthy fats, calcium, magnesium, vitamin E, phosphorus, and a whole lot more. Compared to peanut butter, almond butter boasts more fiber, less sugar, and less saturated and unsaturated fat, making it an excellent alternative to the original nut butter king and an all-around great food for maintaining a healthy diet.

2. It can help control your blood sugar

Magnesium is a mineral that plays a role in more than 300 of your body’s key processes, and that includes regulating your blood sugar (hence the reason that a large portion of people with diabetes turn out to have a magnesium imbalance or deficiency). You’ll find about 45 milligrams of magnesium in every tablespoon of almond butter, which accounts for a decent amount of the 400 or so milligrams you should be consuming every day. So slather it on toast, blend it into your smoothies, or build your own flavorful almond butter parfait—your blood sugar will thank you.

3. It’s great for weight loss

If you’re trying to lose weight, then almond butter is an excellent choice for helping you do it. Almonds have been associated with lower body fat levels and slimmer waistlines, and have been found to be more effective than just lowering your calories and upping your complex carbohydrates.

A lot of this comes down to all those key vitamins and minerals, and especially all that protein. Simply put, almond butter keeps you full for longer while also filling in a lot of the nutritional gaps that might be standing in the way of effective weight loss. Not too shabby for something so inherently delicious.

Love almond butter as much as we do? We want to hear about it! Contact us today to let us know what else you’d like to know about almond butter, as well as additional almond butter recipes you’d like to see on our page.

Ezra Cohen, McGill graduate and founder of Ezra Cohen Montreal, is always looking back in his roots when coming up with new recipes. So when it came time to tackle pistachio chocolate fudge, he knew he had to bring in some inspiration from his favorite alma mater.

Montreal is a thriving food community, which is great news for McGill students. While early morning classes and late-night studying might necessitate a trip to one of the campus dining halls, there is more than enough opportunity to enjoy all of the delectable creativity in the surrounding city. And this pistachio fudge recipe incorporates some of Ezra’s own favorite off-campus bites from his time in The City of Saints.

Ezra’s pistachio fudge brings in two big inspirations from his McGill years: the sesame seeds atop Montreal bagels and the pretzel topping from Ezra’s favorite chocolate-dipped cone at La Diperie. Combine that with perfectly roasted pistachios and deep dark chocolate and you get the most delicious bite this side of the Canada-U.S. border.

How to Make Pistachio Fudge with Sesame and Pretzels

Ingredients

1 ¼ cup shelled and roasted pistachios

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

2 teaspoons sugar

12 ounces 70% dark chocolate, chopped

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Pinch of salt

2 cups roughly chopped miniature pretzels

Directions

1. Put ¼ cup pistachios in food processor and pulse until chopped. Be careful not to pulse too finely—you don’t want it to become a powder. Mix in sesame seeds and sugar and set aside.

2. In a saucepan over low heat, melt together the dark chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, and salt. While it’s melting, put the remaining cup of pistachios is a plastic bag and use a rolling pin or another heavy device to break up the pieces into slightly smaller chunks. Add nuts to melted chocolate mixture.

3. Pour the chocolate mixture into a 9-inch baking pan fitted with parchment paper for easy removal later. Smooth the top, then generously sprinkle it with the pistachio and sesame mixture and chopped miniature pretzels.

4. Let the fudge cool to room temperature and then refrigerate for at least four hours. Once ready, cut into squares and enjoy!

Want to put your own spin on this McGill-inspired pistachio fudge? The campus and Montreal offer plenty of other inspiration. Case in point: nix the sesame seeds and pretzels and combine your ¼ cup pistachios with a tablespoon of maple syrup and a touch of espresso powder for fudge that’s reminiscent of the maple latte at Montreal’s Café Humble Lion. Yum!

For more great recipes from Ezra Cohen Montreal (including our fan-favorite Praline Pecan Butter Fudge), check out the rest of our recipe blog.