Almond Butter "Fudge"

Yes! My shoulders are primed!

Up to now, I'd done very little barbell work 'cause we were in a gym shared with other gym-goers, so some of the more popular equipment like the barbells weren't always available to us, so there was no point in working out a programme that relied on them.

But, as of the 21st of Jan, our trainer's moved us into our own space, which is awesome, 'cause it means no more sharing! He's set the place up so that we each have our own stations with our own equipment, and now he's free to devise as many torturous sessions as he likes.

One of these tortures is doing bar work.

I say torture, but I was actually really excited about it, and the more we do, the more I love it. Seriously, it's awesome! (Am I allowed to be all gym n00b and brag about my, probably not very impressive, bench press working weight?!)

I've come to accept that I now live in a constant state of stiffness, but I'm glad it won't be joined by constant shoulder tenderness from where the barbell rests. It's a strange side-effect of training that I didn't expect to happen, so I'm glad it has completely disappeared. (But, what is up with all the friggin' random bruises I keep finding all over myself?!)

So anyway! What's the deal with this recipe? It's a treat. A nutty, protein packed treat.

The guys over at myprotein.com asked if I'd like to try any of their products, so I said, "Hell yeah!" and shortly thereafter received the goodies I asked for.

A massive tub of seriously incredible almond butter, a bag of raw almonds and a huge bag of vanilla whey isolate. Nice one!

Only five ingredients needed for this delicious treat

Sesame seeds give this "fudge" a halva-like flavour

A delicious tub of almond butter

Give me a spoon...

Chopped almonds for texture

Vanilla protein powder for added flavour, and of course, protein

Quickly mixed up

And ready to be cut up

I had a recipe in mind when I asked for those goodies. I thought I'd change up a recipe that I got from my trainer (I shall have to come up with a better name/nickname for him). A nut "fudge" of sorts made with peanut butter, raisins and whatnot.

It's a nifty little recipe, something you can mix up in less than thirty minutes, and it's damned tasty. So, I thought, let's mix it up a little and try a different nut butter and see what else I could do with it.

I actually didn't change up too much, just swapped out peanut for almond and left out the raisins. But, this recipe has potential so I'm sure you'll be seeing me post a few variations of it pretty soon.

I know it's called a fudge, but obviously it's not a fudge. Actually, the texture reminds me of halva. If you've had halva you'll know exactly what I mean, and the sesame seeds definitely give that halva flavour.

These things are seriously delicious, but I recommend you enjoy them with a cup of tea or coffee 'cause they do the whole stick-to-the-top-of-your-mouth nut butter thing.

Happy noshing!

Almond Butter "Fudge"

Makes 16 squares: Approx 215 calories each
Approx Macros: 4g Carbs | 18g Fat | 10g Protein per square

Ingredients
430g	15oz	1½ cups	Smooth Almond Butter
50g	2oz	2 scoops	Vanilla Whey Protein Powder
40g	1.5oz	¼ cup	Almonds, roughly chopped
30g	1oz	¼ cup	Sesame Seeds
2 Tbsp	2 Tbsp	2 Tbsp	Honey