Fat does not make you fat––so long as you are consuming the good stuff from quality sources. Fats that tend to pack on the pounds, contribute to diabetes, and increase your risk of heart (and other lame) diseases, are the junky trans fats found in obnoxiously shelf-stable pseudo-foods. I am talking about hydrogenated oils and such––the lurking engineered ingredients that make up processed foods. Think Jiffy peanut butter. No offense Jiffy…well maybe a little.

Good quality fats come from whole food sources––those rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are in a healthy ratio to omega-6. Despite what you may have heard, we need both 3 and 6. We just want to avoid the obscene quantities of omega-6 as found in, yet again, processed foods.

My favorites list of good fat sources includes avocado (lots of avocado), and hemp, flax, sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, and chia seeds. It also includes raw cacao, olives (and olive oil), coconut and its bi-products (coconut butter, milk, meat, and oil), as well as nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios, and cashews.

Being a pretty hefty fat fan, I have been enjoying avocado, coconut, cacao, and hemp seeds nearly every day for…well…as long as I can remember. Not every day, but a few times per week, I have indulged in nut butters made from coconut, almonds, and cashews, and frequently make dressings and hummus using tahini (sesame butter) as a base. I also work either almond or sunflower butter into my Superfood Protein Balls and smoothies. I was feeling like my nut and seed butter use was pretty on point…and then…

Dastony and Raw Mio products showed up on my door step. I did not know what I had been missing until I popped the lids on these babies! Let me just pause here to emphasize that their seed and nut butters are next level incredible. Triple next level, in fact.

When their generous sample pack arrived, I was amidst the follicular stage of seed cycling. During this phase of natural hormone regulation, it is ideal to consume flax and pumpkinseeds. I cracked open a jar of Dastony Sprouted Pumpkinseed Butter right away. I mean, why wait?

I was expecting it to be similar to the sunflower butter I had been eating, but was surprised by its noteworthy differences.

First of all, since the seeds are sprouted, the butter has a very earthy flavor profile, and a hint of grassiness. It is full, robust, and unadulterated––there is no salt or sweetener added.

It was also very sticky. Like stick to your ribs, and your teeth, and the roof of your mouth kind of sticky. I found I liked it, actually. I felt like I was eating some serious sustenance. I was! It was so good and satisfying, I ended up consuming the entire eight ounce jar in one week, incorporating the bright green butter into a variety of creations.

(Pumpkinseed Milk Matcha Latté)

First, and perhaps favorite way to use my new foodie gem, was for pumpkinseed milk. For months I had been making the milk by soaking seeds, then letting them sprout, and then blending them with water, yacon syrup, vanilla bean, and salt. The whole process was taking about three to four days (sprouting take a bit.)

With Dastony’s seed butter already sprouted, all I had to do was blend one tablespoon with one cup water, a pinch of sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla, and one teaspoon of yacon syrup. Voila––pumpkinseed milk was ready for my matcha latté and smoothies in less than two minutes.

(Chocolatey Maca Pumpkinseed Milk Smoothie)

Next, was the simple snack solution of scooping up the seed butter with pieces of dark chocolate. Their combined flavors make for a deeply satisfying treat without guilt! No further details necessary on this one. See picture below for doing it justice.

(Pumpkinseed Butter + Dark Chocolate)

After polishing off the pumpkinseed butter, I began to make my way through the selection of Rawmio nut butter spreads they had sent me. I believe these butters were impatiently waiting for me to get through the green stuff. They had BIG flavor game, and were ready to bring it!

(Superfood Spread on GF Toast w/ Hemp Seeds + Goji)

These are luxurious butters. They are sweet and indulgent––basically dessert with all of the health benefits we want and need to keep our bodies in tip top shape. I have a very tiny sweet tooth, so a little of these goes a LONG way for me. When shared with a couple of friends however who LOVE a good sweet and healthy treat, they were gone. In like a second.

From a nutritive standpoint, I applaud Raw Mio for their use of only coconut sugar as a sweetener…no agave, no cane sugar, no stevia. Just pure, mineral-rich, and low-ish glycemic crystals that won’t spike your blood sugar (unless you eat the entire jar in one sitting, which I am sure has happened!)

I also delight in their use of raw cacao blended with nutty partners like hazelnuts (think Nutella), and almond butter as show above. This pictured buttery spread is a rockstar blend of stone crushed almonds, hemp seeds, goji berries, and chia. It is less sweet than the others I tried, and pretty remarkable.

All of these delicious nut butters have a more traditional texture to them––not as sticky as the sprouted seed butters, and they spread quite nicely.

They add a ton of dimension to smoothies, protein balls, toast, chia pudding, and porridge.

My favorite way to use them are in hot cacao adaptogenic night caps such as this:

1 tablespoon Rawmio raw chocolate hazelnut spread

12-ounces warmed almond milk

1/2 teaspoon pink sea salt (I love salt!)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablepoon raw cacao powder

1/2 teaspoon ashwagandha

1/2 teaspoon mucuna pruriens 

You really can’t go wrong with these satisfying gems! I would love to hear your reviews of Dastony and Raw Mio! Please email me or comment below with your nut and seed butter experiences and favorite ways to use these products!