Today’s Tip: Is peanut butter healthy?
I’m hooked on peanut butter (and almond butter when I can afford it ha ha ) and can eat it almost any way imaginable. You can use peanut butter in or on most anything like
- oatmeal
- apples
- toast/English muffins
- crackers
- bananas
- satay peanut sauce for pasta dish
and much more!
To help you decide and answer the question, “Is peanut butter healthy?”, here are some peanut butter facts:
- high calorie/calorie dense
- full of protein and fiber
- keeps you full longer
- packed with nutrition
I think it’s safe to say that peanut butter is pretty healthy. When looking at different brands of peanut butter be sure to watch for sodium and sugar. And of course natural and organic peanut butter is a better choice.
Sure there are better alternatives to peanut butter like the highly craved almond butters like Barney Butter, one of my favorites so far. I like that some almond butters even come in single serve packages because it makes them more portable. Amazon carries a variety of almond butters (including but not limited to Barney Butter, MaraNatha and Justin’s). You can also find many of these brands in specialty stores like Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and The Fresh Market.
There are even natural peanut butters, many with no trans fats, hydrogenated oils or preservatives like Skippy Natural and Smuckers Natural brands. I have tried Better N Peanut butter and would like to try the Peanut Butter & Co. White & Dark Chocolate
brand too.
Skippy regular is the brand used most in our household. Hubby likes creamy for his sandwiches. Of course processed usually has trans fatty acids but sometimes you have to pick your battles. Now if Skippy had their Natural peanut butter in a large container, I would be all over that.
I love peanut butter by the spoonful but you have to be cautious not to have too much. Everything in moderation! I always get bummed out when there is a recall on peanut butter but I’m glad to know I can always supplement with almond butters.
Oh and don’t forget, you can even use peanut butter to help remove chewing gum from your hair. What an awesome product!
Do you like peanut butter or almond butter? If so, what is your favorite brand?
*edited to add
Just found out that today is National Peanut Butter Cookie day (oh my!) and so I did a quick search for a healthy peanut butter cookie recipe and found this, lookspromising.
Healthy Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe 2 – All-Star Peanut Butter Cookie
Feel free to share more recipes on anything peanut butter related!
We love peanut butter around here. We often buy Laura Scudder’s peanut butter (or the store brand of a “natural” peanut butter). So yummy!
Lately, we’ve been spreading PB on Ritz Crackers for lunch or as an afternoon snack.
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Peanut butter is an excellent way to add protein to the diet. As you mentioned, we need to beware of the extra sugar and sodium that is added to many of the brands. I especially like Organic formulas or Smucker’s Natural peanut butter. Slap some on whole grain bread with slices of banana and you have a hearty and satisfying meal.
I seriously try to avoid any form of butter as much as possible. But given a choice, I would surely opt for an almond butter over a peanut one.
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Ahhh PB on Ritz yum!
Lilian, I LOVE PB on whole grain bread with bananas. Sometimes I add a few raisins too. I have eaten this before spin/cycling classes before. Keeps me going for sure.
OMG Angie – we are kindred spirits in so many ways! I LOVE PB!! I’m perfectly happy with just a spoonful. But I also love it on apples, bananas and celery. I also add it to smoothies. And we’re nuts (ha ha) about peanut butter oatmeal cookies. Just one is a fab snack!
My only complaint: I get Smuckers Natural and keep it in the fridge once it’s opened. It is so hard and virtually impossible to spread! Any suggestions? Anybody?
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Ha ha Cara! A spoonful of PB is so awesome. Hopefully you’ll get some suggestions on the hard PB in the fridge.