by Ezra Cohen Montreal

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.

As you could probably guess, we eat a lot of nut butter here at Ezra Cohen Montreal. And lately, we’ve been particularly enamored with our roasted pecan butter, enhanced with the sweet richness of pralines.

Nothing says fall like pecans. These velvety smooth nuts have an intense depth of flavor and can more than hold their own next to other seasonal staples (we’ll take pecan pie over pumpkin pie any day of the week). They’re also immensely good for you. Below, we’ll tackle the topic of pecan butter nutrition and share some of our favorite pecan butter uses so that you can enjoy even more of the good stuff.

Pecan Butter Health Benefits

Looking at nutritional content alone, pecan butter is one of the healthiest nut butters that you can eat. That’s because pecans are naturally stocked with a wide range of necessary vitamins and minerals—more than 19 of them, in fact!—including potassium, fiber, and vitamin E. And while it’s slightly higher in fat than other nut butter varieties, it’s also chockful of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, both of which are integral to a healthy diet.

When you eat pecan butter, you get more than just great flavor—you also get a ton of health benefits. These include:

• Support for cardiovascular and digestive health
• Assistance with weight loss
• Minerals that keep teeth and bones strong
• A boost for your immune system
• Reduced blood pressure

Working more pecan nut butter into your diet is a simple way to get more of the things that your body needs, and it certainly doesn’t hurt that it tastes great too. As for ways to enjoy it beyond just eating it off the spoon, we’ve got some ideas.

Creative Uses for Pecan Nut Butter

As our recipe guru, Ezra Cohen, McGill University graduate and founder of Ezra Cohen Montreal, is always figuring out new and creative uses for our nut butters. Here are two of his (and our) favorite ways to enjoy pecan butter!

Top your breakfast. Warm up a tablespoon of Ezra Cohen Montreal Praline Pecan Butter for 15 seconds in the microwave and then drizzle it on pancakes and waffles, or stir it into yogurt and put it in a bowl with fruit and granola for a nutritious parfait.

Bake with it. Add Praline Pecan Butter to your favorite cookies, bread, and other baked good recipes. A ribbon of pecan nut butter in a healthy banana bread simply cannot be beat.

Try Ezra Cohen Praline Pecan Butter Today

Ready to enjoy? Check out our Praline Pecan Butter and other nut butter varieties, and don’t forget to check out our recipe blog for even more quick and delicious ways to use nut butters!

The weather is cooling off, the leaves are changing colors, and our experts at Ezra Cohen Montreal are whipping up our favorite praline pecan butter recipes in honor of the fall season. Try one—or all three!—and take your nut butter game to the next level.

Praline Pecan Butter Fudge

Perfect for: Holiday gifts and dessert tables.

What you’ll need:

1 cup unsalted butter

1 cup Ezra Cohen Montreal Praline Pecan Butter

1 tsp vanilla extra

1/8 tsp salt

4 cups powdered sugar

Directions: Combine unsalted butter and praline pecan butter in a pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once you reach a boil, immediately remove the pot from heat and stir in vanilla extract and salt. Then sift powdered sugar into the mixture, stirring until everything is completely smooth. Pour into a lightly greased 8×8 baking dish, cover with plastic wrap, and let set in the fridge for at least one hour. Once cooled, slice into small squares.

Praline Pecan Butter Hot Chocolate

Perfect for: A post-dinner treat by the fireplace.

What you’ll need:

1 can (13oz) of full-fat coconut cream

¼ cup milk of your choice (both dairy and non-dairy will work)

3.5 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

¼ cup Ezra Cohen Montreal Praline Pecan Butter

3 tbsp granulated sugar

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

Dash of cinnamon

Optional: Whipped cream for garnish.

Directions: Heat together coconut cream, milk, chocolate chips, praline pecan butter, and sugar in a pot over medium heat. Once the mixture is smooth, whisk in cocoa powder, vanilla, and cinnamon. Remove from heat and pour into mugs. Top with whipped cream and another dusting of cinnamon.

Praline Pecan Butter & Banana Smoothie

Perfect for: A quick breakfast before a crisp fall hike.

What you’ll need:

Banana (fresh or frozen)

1 cup milk (both dairy and non-dairy will work)

¼ cup Ezra Cohen Montreal Praline Pecan Butter

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 cup of ice cubes

Optional: Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips for garnish.

Directions: Blend together all ingredients until smooth. Top with mini semi-sweet chocolate chips if desired.

Ezra Cohen, McGill graduate and founder of Ezra Cohen Montreal, is passionate about good food that’s easy to make. Try our nut butter varieties today (including our fan-favorite Praline Pecan Butter!), then check out our recipe blog for quick and delicious ideas that the whole family will love.