Homemade Nutella!

On Sunday evening I was writing, watching tv and reading the chatter on twitter (yes, I multi-task like that) and I saw a commercial for Nutella. I am probably one of the few folks that has never tried Nutella, I was first introduced to it when I lived in South Africa (long before it was available widely in the US). I never tried it because it just looked and seemed weird, I didn't like the name or the brown color so I just left it alone. But when I saw the commercial the other day I decided to ask about it on twitter. I was surprised and overwhelmed by all of the lovers of Nutella that came out of the woodwork!

I had at least 100 responses from folks that are fans and while chatting, I quipped that Nutella better have a fan page because it is hugely popular. Of course, I had to investigate and Nutella has close to 4 Million fans on facebook! Now I was completely intrigued, people on twitter were offering to buy and ship Nutella to me because I "am missing out." I was given recipes - like crepes with bananas and Nutella and was told that it even tastes great right out of the jar.

I visited the Nutella site to see what the nutrition information looked like because I was sure it had to packing sugar and calories. I wasn't mistaken, one serving size - 2 Tablespoons boasts 200 calories, 12 grams of fat and 21 grams of sugar and 3 grams of protein. Calories not withstanding, I was willing to "take one for the team" for purposes of investigating this beloved confection. However, the lone voice of @designmama emerged from the fray and she said that "she prefers homemade it is cheaper and tastes better." Now we were talking, I figure anything I make at home is going to be better than mass produced so I searched for a recipe, found several and last night made my first batch of Nutella!

It starts with raw Hazelnuts,

if you want to have a nuttier flavor you should toast them from 10 minutes but I forgot that step so I just placed them in the food processor.

Next I added organic vanilla,

fair trade unsweetened cocoa

powdered sugar, a little salt and canola oil. Unfortunately I was unable to find Hazelnut oil which probably would have taken the fat level down but that was okay. The entire mixture took about 10 -15 minutes to make and then it was time for a taste test.

I placed the chocolaty - nutty spread on a quarter of a tortilla and bit in.

My verdict? Delicious! If you are a fan of chocolate and nuts, you will love Nutella. I only made half of the recipe because I am the only person in the house that will eat it and I am not going to have this on a daily basis. I certainly will have it again, as a matter of fact I had it for breakfast on a bagel with strawberries.

I only use half a serving size- 1 tablespoon goes a long way. Per 2 tablespoon serving, my version has between 109-147 calories, 9 grams of fat, and 2 gram of protein. Of course when you are making it at home you can adjust the sweetness and amount of oil you use, my Nutella is not too sweet and not too nutty, for me it is simply delicious!

Despite being on a weight loss journey I truly believe in having everything in moderation. My homemade version of Nutella is a nice treat, not a daily indulgence and I can say thanks to twitter I am now a Nutella convert!

Homemade Nutella Recipe

• 2 cups chopped hazelnuts (filberts)
• 3/4 cup to 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder (such as Hershey's Extra Dark cocoa)
• 1/8 to 1/4 cup canola oil

Place hazelnuts in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Process until nuts start to clump together in a ball. This will take some time (about five minutes), so be patient. Add the powdered sugar and cocoa powder and process again for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture turns dark and the ingredients are well combined. Now, slowly drizzle in enough oil to make a spread.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 to 6 weeks.

Makes approximately two cups of nutella (16 servings).

Per serving: 147 calories, 12 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 9 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 2 g protein, 0% vitamin A, 2% vitamin C, 2% calcium, 6% iron

Recipe Reprinted from Healthy Cooking Suite 101