Raise your hand if you love peanut butter.
Yes, it's delicious, creamy, great on everything, or straight from the jar. But it's a well-known fact that most generic peanut butters are full of trans fat (partially hydrogenated oils), added sugars, and added salt. This hardly makes it a nutritional choice. Natural peanut butters don't have these unhealthy ingredients but are often very bland and unsatisfying.
So what's a health-conscious peanut butter-addict to do? Switch to Almond Butter.
Almond butter is rich, delicious, and provides all the satisfaction of peanut butter. It can mostly be found in health food stores, but some bigger chain grocery stores carry it as well. The ingredients are almost always JUST almonds (either roasted or raw, depending on your preference) without any sugar, salt, or oils. Besides the lack of "exra" ingedients, the almond is far more nutritious than the peanut, making almond butter a healthier choice than peanut butter. Almonds have health-promoting "good" fats that lower bad cholesterol and your risk for heart disease. They're a great source of vitamin E (powerful antioxidant), magnesium, and potassium.
Warning: Almond butter is a bit pricier than peanut butter, but you're paying for a higher quality product with better nutrition (and better taste, in my opinion!) I usually opt for "natural" almond butters instead of organic just because the organic is so expensive. My favorite kind is MaraNatha crunchy and roasted, but you can try creamy or raw varieties, too.
To dieters: Almond butter is a very healthy choice and provides lots of "good," mono- and polyunsaturated fats. However, like peanut butter, it's still pretty high in calories (180 calories in 2 tablespoons). So, beware of portion size. It's not junk food, but it's just something to be conscious of. It's so delicious, I can often be found (shamefully) with a spoon in the jar, losing all control! I'm practically an addict.
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Be healthy,
Emily
Manoush
Actually--- natural peanut butter is very healthy. It is made with peanuts and salt that's it. it is devoid of the other additives. You have to mix it yourself like the almond butter and refrigerate it. here is a link http://www.smuckers.com/fg/peanutbutter/default.asp
1Almond butter is slightly more nutritious (because almonds are a little better for you than peanuts) but not that much... so it depends on which taste you like. I don't like almond but i don't think that it mixes as well.
I am a fan of soynutbutter though.
This sounds like a great alternative, considering I am a peanut butter addict!
2i have been eating organic peanut butter and really like it. the ingredients are only organic roasted peanuts and less than 1% salt and no hydrogenated oils. i refrigerate it as well. i like to put that on whole wheat tortilla's and have that as a sandwich for lunch.
3Let me clarify a bit: natural peanut butter is ofcourse a much better choice than commercial peanut butter. My only point was that almonds are healthier than peanuts and have more nutritional benefits. Also, peanuts are a very common allergen and have a very high mold content for those who are sensitive (people suffering with conditions like candidiasis or parasites).
4I actually like the MaraNatha Peanut Butter, and had some this morning! It's just Organic Peanuts, Palm Oil, Cane Sugar and Sea Salt! It's so good, though. I do like almond butter though, and really like cashew butter!
5I actually like the MaraNatha Peanut Butter, too. The kids had that for lunch today!
I used to like to buy the cashew butter you could grind yourself in the store. But, I don't have that available to me anymore. 
I don't think I've actually tried almond butter. I'll have to look for that next time I go over to the *good* store.
6Has anyone tried Better n' Peanut Butter (I found it at Trader Joe's)? Its got about 1/2 the fat and calories of commercial PB and isn't a bad alternative, especially if you have a problem with PB portion control (like me!).
7Has anyone tried Better n' Peanut Butter (I found it at Trader Joe's)? Its got about 1/2 the fat and calories of commercial PB and isn't a bad alternative, especially if you have a problem with PB portion control (like me!).
8I've read a lot about Better n' Peanut Butter and lots of people rave about it. However, I don't really think of it as healthy. It's a similar concept as fat free Half & Half. They take the basic flavors and foundations of a food, dilute it to make it have less calories and fat, then bulk it up with emulsifiers, sweeteners, syrups, etc. The calories in peanut butter (or any nut butter) come naturally from the nut (unless there are oils added, which there aren't in natural varieties) and are very healthy fats, anyway.
9Thanks for the post.
I really want to try almond butter, but I don't want to pay an outrageous price. I'm not opposed to paying a little bit more if I have to, but for 2 peanut butters I can get one small jar of almond butter. Any suggestions on the best priced one?
Also, I currently buy natural peanut butter. I think the trans-fatty stuff tastes better, but I know it is better for my health
10Yeah, the price thing is a little tricky. I think the cheapest I've found is Stop & Shop's "Nature's Promise" almond butter for maybe around $8 or so.
I always thought natural peanut butter was pretty bland compared to the artificial stuff, too. If almond butter is too pricey you can give the other nut butters a try. There's macadamia nut butter, cashew butter, and soy nut butter as well. Almond butter will always be my favorite, but the price thing really is a bummer.
11Hi I love peanut butter but didn't want all the bad stuff it can contain. I found I.M. Healthy Net 1 Carb. it is soyNut Butter. Peanut free!!!!! give it a try ladies and Gents..YUMMY!!!!
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