Eden hates my Vitamix.
This makes it a bit hard to enjoy this awesome machine I finally purchased. It all started with this recipe. Sitting in her highchair enjoying a banana, her peaceful world was suddenly interrupted with the deafening sound of the Vitamix’s SERIOUS motor grinding nuts into butter. In a second her face turned red, tears streaming down her cheeks as she struggled for breath.
The next time I tried holding her. I turned on the blender, ran into the next room soothing her while she buried deep into my chest. 30 seconds at a time I would sooth her, run back into the kitchen (child in arms), turn off the motor, scrape, scrape, scrape, then repeat the whole process over again. This wasn’t very effective for either the nutella or the child.
We went through a short “cry it out phase” which lasted less than 10 seconds. That didn’t work either.
Now she cries when she sees me washing the blender’s container or wiping down the lid.
I really don’t know what I’m going to do about this.
At least I managed to make this RAW Nutella.
And when I gave Eden a small spoonful it seemed to make up for what will now be known as “The Vitamix Trauma”.
- 1 cup hazelnuts, soaked for 8-10 hours
- ¼ cup raw agave or maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ¼ cup raw cacao powder
- 2-4 tbsp raw almond milk*
- Drain and rinse hazelnuts and place in food processor or high-powered blender. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Depending on the strength of your blender, this may take 10-15 minutes to get the desired consistency.
- Once the hazelnuts turn into a buttery consistency, add the sweetener, vanilla, salt, and cacao powder and blend until smooth. Slowly add almond milk until desired consistency.
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One can never have too much chocolate hazelnut spread in their life, and I bet it’s just divine with maple syrup. I’ll have to try this once I use up one of the other 123098587 jars of nut butter in my pantry!
I’m sorry for Eden! Maybe you could get a small pair of hearing protectors that she only “gets” to wear when you pull out your Vitamix… I wear some I keep in the kitchen when I grind hazelnuts because the sound hurts my ears! Aside from that–your Nutella looks amazing. Once again–I love your photos!
Sam and I wondered if you got the new Vitamix with a quieter motor – must still be loud. Our Vitamix turns on at least once a day (yesterday was three) and if Lucas is around I always make eye contact with him and get him smiling before I turn it on. If there are 2 adults around, we take him to look out a window (something he loves). Also, when I was pregnant Sam always made me leave the room when he used it – but maybe Lucas got used to the noise then? Anyhow – I hope Eden grows into accepting the noise.
This would be fantastic for dipping fruit in for a raw potluck I’m hosting next week. Thanks for sharing! Laura xx
Can you put something over her ears – ear muffs, a scarf, ear plugs or cotton, headphones with her favorite music – to dull the noise?
My daughter used to react the same way, now she speed crawls to be held while the Vitamix is running. But, she outgrew the crying part – hopefully Eden will too! Also, this sounds amazing and I can’t wait to make it!
It is delicious! Thank you for the recipe. One questions: how long can you keep this in the fridge?
I’ve never had it keep long enough to go bad 🙂 but I would think about 2 weeks
I tried it and it was amazing! I used honey as sweetener and it came out great. Not half as sweet as nutella but I loved it. Thank you
Thank you for this recipe! I am lactose intolerant, as well as those in my family, so we haven’t bought Nutella in years. This recipe is fantastic! It was a bit challenging to get the hazelnuts to a buttery consistency, I found it would blend any further until I added the other ingredients. But it tastes great, I’m so excited! And the taste testers gave it two thumbs up as well!
I’ll be trying you version of nutella for sure. We use a thong called the “piteba” to tun nuts into butter or paste or squeeze out the natural oils. No electricity needed and hardly makes a sound. Shall try and find you a link where you can buy this Dutch invention.
Thong should have been thing ofcourse 🙂 Akward typo …
Can we use another milk besides almond? #allergy
Sure, you can use any non-dairy milk.
Agave is NOT good for you. Especially for diabetics. If you are going to label this as a healthy alternative you need to remove the Agave.
If you are looking for alternative sweeteners try maple syrup, date paste, or raw honey (if you are not vegan)
Yes I agree! I have done a lot of reading about agave, terrible stuff.. As much fructose as high fructose corn syrup! Every one who is trying to eat healthy should educate themselves on this stuff!
I do agree we should limit our sugar intake, of course. I want to mention that I never call this recipe healthy. I call it RAW and as a vegan raw agave is one of the only options for sweeteners in raw recipes. (Honey is not vegan and maple syrup is not raw).
Sarah:
We have a Blendtec which I’m sure is just as noisy as the Vitamix. At my husband’s insistence (which in the beginning I resisted), we always use headphones with it (they should come as an “accessory”!) I had even trained my two (dear departed) dogs to leave the kitchen every time the Blendtec was in use. I believe both Blendtec and Vitamix have “sound hoods” you can purchase (or maybe they are just available with certain models). I would DEFINITELY look into it because you want to safeguard the delicate ears/hearing of you and your family!
Thanks for the tip, Deborah!
I would suggest that your infant daughter is just suffering from very sensitive eardrums…ie: the sound of the blender is actually hurting her ears. The children that I care for have this condition and high pitched motor sounds such as; blenders, vacuum cleaners and hair dryers can start their screaming. She may just need to be removed from the home while you blend, just a thought. Thanks for the Nutella alternative.
I highly suggest you try PB2 with Chocolate. This is what I use as a healthy alternative to Nutella. It should be fine for vegans and definitely Paleo (even though it has a little sugar). It only has four ingredients: Roasted Peanuts, Cocoa Powder, Sugar and Salt. Here’s the profile: 45 calories per 2 TB serving. I know peanuts are not hazelnuts, but since the fat has been pressed out of the peanuts, they actually have a better taste.
I use this on Wheat Sandwich thins, which I prefer toasted — although here’s a tip if you want to try it “my way”: toast the sandwich thins, then cut them into “halves”. I will then add PB2 w/ chocolate mixed as directed. I usually make two of these sandwiches at a time and I make 3 servings (following the directions) and try to evenly divide the PB2 to cover only one side (I usually use the bottom) of the now-cut thins. Then I’ll add then other side (the top), and ENJOY!!! Honestly, if you eat TWO (maybe for dinner), you only get ~350 calories: 2*100 calorie sandwich thins plus 3 * 45 calorie servings of PB2 with chocolate.
Sarah – the decibel level on the Vitamix is so high that it can damage the hearing of adults, not to mention toddlers. If you wrap a heavy towel around the base of the unit, it can help muffle some of the noise. For your baby, you must put her in another room or else put hearing protection on her. The hearing damage may not be noticeable for a few years, but by then, it’s permanent.
Can’t wait to try the recipe. Sounds delicious!
Can you use a food processor instead of a blender? I want to try to make this! What do you put it on? Any healthyish suggestions?
Yes, that would work. I enjoy it on bananas, apples, and toast. Let me know if you come up with other ideas!
I’m disappointed in this recipe. The nut butter didn’t have a soft consistency.