Lea Hurley never thought the company she started in her basement would become her livelihood.
“The American Dream started in my basement, back in 2018,” Hurley told Fox News Digital in an interview from her home in Noblesville, Indiana.
At the time, Hurley was in the middle the battle against cancer and developed many food intolerances. “Everything” makes her sick, she said, except for a few things: turkey, rice and nut butter.
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That last one ended up being a real change, and not just for her physical health.
“I discovered I could make nut butter taste like dessert“, she said.
Indiana-based Lea Hurley is the founder and CEO of American Dream Nut Butter. (American Dream Walnut Butter)
And instead of eating junk food, she made her own nut butter that would help satisfy her sweet cravings without making her sick.
“Not only did it help me curb my sweet tooth, but it really changed my body composition,” she said.
A former personal trainer, Hurley began adding nut butters to her clients’ plans, “and they saw the same results I did,” she said.
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“So my husband kept begging me to let him take it to a bodybuilding competition because we had a bunch of friends competing,” she said.
Hurley was hesitant at first and refused to let him go, but that didn’t stop him.
“It was a real hit. Everyone loved it.”
“He took her without my knowledge and it was a real hit. Everyone loved it,” she said.
Soon people were coming to her house to fill their own jars with nut butter. She realized that she should start selling them herself.
‘I still remember the first order’
Hurley started publishing it nut butters on social media and saw her following grow.
“I started with 12 followers in 2018, and now we’ve reached 200,000,” she said. “I still remember the first online order that came in.”
American Dream Nut Butter had its first online sale in 2018. The company had its millionth in 2024. (American Dream Walnut Butter)
That first order was so exciting that she and her family danced around the house, she told Fox News Digital.
In July 2024. American dream nut butter achieved its millionth online sale.
“It’s a bit of a crazy story, from starting from nothing to where it is now,” she said.
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Hurley named her company American Dream because, for her and her family, “that’s what we feel like doing.”
She said, “We’re living the American dream. We’re the epitome of what that means, how people can start from nothing. And then, you know, with a little bit of opportunity and hard work and God’s graceyou really can make a difference.”
Hurley said she and her family have been “living the American Dream” since turning her American Dream Nut Butter business into a company. (American Dream Walnut Butter)
The company “was actually like a godsend, because I would have been laid off from my regular job with all the work I would have had to miss” because of her many illnesses, she told Fox News Digital.
‘Basic Ingredients’
The process of creating one of her products, she said, also starts with a little math high quality ingredients. The protein powder in American Dream products is specially made for the company.
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“It starts with the basic ingredients I use, making sure they taste good first and then getting the ratio right,” she said.
Then he moves on to the “macros” of the product: the amount of carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
Hurley said she wants her nut butter to “taste like you’re almost eating the real thing.” (American Dream Walnut Butter)
“I also want it to taste as close to eating the real thing,” she said, as much as possible.
“No protein cookie it will taste like a cookie. But I want to get it as close as possible without using artificial sweeteners because I really don’t like them,” Hurley said.
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In addition to making nut butters, cookies and more treats full of proteinanother goal of the American Dream is to “try to help as many people as possible.”
One group that is especially close to her heart is veterans. The American Dream has its own veterans and first aid program that the company has dubbed “American Heroes.”
“One of the things soldiers said they missed from home was fast food.”
“Each month, customers or ambassadors will nominate a veteran or first person or active duty military that we can send a care package to. We make 100 of them a month,” she said.
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Overseas troops receive a “big box full of candy” along with nut butters and other products of the American dream.
“One of the things soldiers said they missed from home was fast food,” Hurley said.
American Dream’s “American Heroes” program sends 100 care packages a month to soldiers, veterans and first responders, its founder said. (American Dream Walnut Butter)
“So along with our nut butters, we’re going to pack things like Doritos and Pop-Tarts and cookies and all the things that they asked for, plus some fun things to do, like crosswords and stuff like that to somehow fill the time.”
By making nut butters that are both nutritious and delicious, Hurley said she discovered what she believes is a godsend.
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“I don’t know exactly how I’m going to do it,” she said.
“I feel that everyone has different gifts from God, and this is my gift. It wasn’t until I started American Dream that I said, ‘God, I really have a talent from God.'”
