A Healthy Nutella: No Sugar Added

You know that feeling you get when you accomplish something monumental, like finishing a marathon, graduating college, or getting a promotion? That’s how I felt today when I made a healthy Nutella with no added sugar or oil. Overreaching a bit, maybe, but if you knew how not healthy Nutella really is, then maybe you would understand why making a wholesome version made me incredibly happy.

 

The Nutella commercial makes this dietitian extremely frustrated; it’s a classic example of how food companies mislead people into thinking their brand is a nutritious choice for you and your family. The commercial claims Nutella is made from simple ingredients: hazelnuts, skim milk, and a hint of cocoa. What it fails to mention is the two main ingredients are actually sugar and palm oil, followed by hazelnuts, cocoa, and milk. A 2-tablespoon serving of Nutella has 5 teaspoons of sugar (6 teaspoons equals 2 tablespoons). In reality, you are really eating hazelnut-flavored sugar when you spread it on your toast. Part of a healthy breakfast? Fat chance. You might as well hand your kid a Snickers bar, because you’d be getting about the same quality of nutrition. Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter is a better option, with a third of the sugar of Nutella. It still contains added sugar and palm oil though, and is made with almonds as well, and who wants diluted hazelnut spread (not me).

 

So I made a truly good-for-you hazelnut spread using only hazelnuts, cocoa, unsweetened almond milk, vanilla, salt, and nothing else. It tastes like heaven on a spoon. You may be initially skeptical of my version that isn’t sickly sweet, but your taste buds will adjust to less sugar in no time–I promise. You can spread it on a banana or apple
or blend it into a smoothie to get natural sweetness from the fruit. Or you can choose my method and spread it on whole wheat toast with sliced bananas. As an added bonus, you can feel great about eating it, because you are getting in a heart-healthy 9 gram dose of monounsaturated fat, 6% of your daily iron, 3 grams of fiber and protein per serving, all with ZERO added sugar. Plus, it’s about the same cost to make your own: 14 oz of my recipe will run you a mere $3.75. Happy snacking!

 

 

 

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{Healthy Nutella: No Sugar Added}

A chocolatey hazelnut spread with no added sugar (real or fake) and no added oils. 

 

Adapted from: Healthy Nutella by Chocolate Covered Katie

Makes about 1 3/4 cups chocolate hazelnut butter

 

Ingredients

2 cups raw hazelnuts

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/4 cup cocoa

1 tbsp vanilla

1/4 tsp unrefined salt

 

Directions

Roast hazelnuts at 350F for 10 minutes. Remove skins by rubbing hazelnuts together in a towel, a few skins left on is fine. In a high-powered blender (I used my Vitamix) or food processor blend nuts into a smooth butter. This took 3-4 minutes off and on in my blender; I had to scrape the sides every 15 seconds, but it will take a little longer in a regular food processor. Don’t give up, you will get butter! Once hazelnuts look like butter, combine rest of ingredients and blend until very smooth.

 

Nutrition info per 2 tbsp serving: 130 cal,  12 g fat (1 g sat fat), 4 g carb, <1 g sugar, 3 g protein, 3 g fiber

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