This is a variation of my Almond Butter Fudge recipe. It’s easy to make and people really enjoy it!

Ingredients

1 cup cashew butter (you can use any type of nut butter)
½ cup unsweetened almond milk (or other type of milk)
½ cup coconut sugar (or other unrefined sugar)
Pinch of salt (if using unsalted cashew butter)

Put cashew butter into medium-size bowl. Stir well and set aside. In a medium-size saucepan, combine almond milk, sugar and salt (if using). Cook on medium–high heat, stirring constantly, for 5–10 minutes. Heat to soft-ball* stage (235–240 degrees F). It will thicken and get bubbly as it cooks down. When done, quickly pour into the cashew butter and stir to combine. Mix well. When cool enough to touch, press onto wax or parchment paper. Cool thoroughly. Cut into squares. Makes 10–12 bite-size pieces. Enjoy!

* At this temperature, sugar syrup dropped into cold water will form a soft, flexible ball. If you remove the ball from water, it will flatten like a pancake after a few moments in your hand.

Health Benefits of Cashews

• Prevents Cancer: Proanthocyanidins are a class of flavonols, which fight against tumor cells by stopping them to divide further. These proanthocyanidins and high copper content in cashew nuts help fight against cancerous cells and keeps you away from colon cancer. This is one of the major cashew nut benefits.

1. • Healthy Heart: Cashews contain low fat content when compared to other nuts and that too in the oleic acid form, which is very healthy for heart. They are cholesterol free and the antioxidants present keeps you away from heart diseases.
   • Lowers High Blood Pressure: Cashew nuts lower your blood pressure with the help of magnesium present in them.
   • Helps Hair: Copper is the mineral, which helps your hair get that color. So if you take cashews, which are full of copper content, you can get that black hair that you always wished for.
   • Healthy Bones: Like calcium, magnesium is also important for bone health, which is the main content in cashew nuts.
   • Healthy Nerves: Magnesium is stored on the bones surface, which prevents calcium from entering the nerve cells and thus keeps the blood vessels and muscles relaxed. Insufficient amount of magnesium can lead calcium to enter the blood vessels leading them to contract. It also leads to high blood pressure, migraine headache etc.
   • Prevents Gallstones: Daily intake of cashew nuts can reduce the risk of developing gallstones up to 25%.
   • Helps in Weight Loss: Even though cashew nuts are considered as fats, it contains good cholesterol. So contrary to popular belief, those who eat cashews at least twice a week gain less weight when compared to those who eat less.
   • Anti-oxidants: Selenium, copper, magnesium etc. act as co-factors for many enzymes.
   • Helps Digestion: Cashew nuts help in growth and development, nucleic acid synthesis and digestion.
   • High on Vitamins: Cashew nuts are rich in vitamins like riboflavin, pantothenic acid, thiamin, niacin etc. These vitamins keep you safe from sideroblastic anemia, pellagra, etc.
   • Healthy Gums and Teeth: As mentioned before, the magnesium content present in cashew nuts is very good for bones. So it gives healthy teeth as well as strong gums to hold them.
   • Pleasant sleep: After menopause, these cashew nuts can give you relaxed and pleasant sleep during nights.
   • Free Radicals: Cashew nuts help our body to utilize iron properly and eliminate free radicals, which cause health problems.
   • Macular Degeneration: Cashew nuts have the ability to filter Sun’s UV rays and protect us from macular degeneration.[1]

    

   [1] http://www.stylecraze.com/articles/benefits-of-cashew-nuts/