Peanut, almond, sunflower seed: nut butters – I love them all!
September 13, 2011
You can take the American out of America, but you can’t take the American out of her – at least where peanut butter is concerned.
Many people may think nut butter is something to avoid when dieting, but I find it very satisfying and something that I enjoy, so it makes a regular appearance in what I’m eating. It fills me up and I spread it thin on a Wasa cracker with a little jam. It’s also one of things that’s more difficult to find in Italy, so I always stock up when I visit the US. These are the jars I currently have in the house:
- Peanut Butter & Co. : The Heat is On – I went to visit their restaurant in NYC during my trip to NYC last October, and I enjoyed sampling their different flavors (I loved the portable packs). I got The Heat is On flavor which is peanut butter and hot spices, and to be honest, it’s too hot for me. This is coming from someone who has a high tolerance of heat – I eat pepperoncino/hot pepper very often, hot salsa, Thai food, and Indian food don’t phase me. But it’s just too hot. I eat it sparingly with some jam.
- Peanut Butter & Co : The Bee’s Knees – who doesn’t like honey in their peanut butter? I wish there were fewer ingredients in their nut butters (items like palm oil, natural honey flavor, evaporated cane juice I don’t see very necessary)
- Sunbutter organic unsweetened Sunflower Seed Butter – it’s 100% sunflower seeds. Awesome.
- Trader Joe’s Sunflower Seed Butter – I have been eating this for a year or so and I always run out too quickly. Other than sunflower seeds, it has evaporated cane juice and salt, but it’s oh-so-tasty.
- (Save) Natural Peanut Butter – this was actually bought in Italy, in one of the international markets I constantly seek out. It’s 100% peanuts which is amazing to find – most of the peanut butter I find is Skippy (popular in Thailand and Philippines, imported into Italy) and it has transfats and other things I am trying to avoid. I already have another jar in the cupboard when that one runs out.
- Trader Joe’s Valencia Peanut Butter with Roasted Flaxseed –
haven’t opened this yet but looking forward to the crunch– it’s now open and oh, SO good. Crunchy peanut butter and roasted flax seeds is ridiculously awesome together. I am already going to buy another jar on my next trip. I also want to try the almond version.
And I’ll keep rotating those in and out as I get more.
What’s missing from here:
- Justin Nut Butter – I have a few single-serving packets left but I’m seriously regretting not getting more and/or a larger jar to keep around. My favorite flavor so far is the Almond & Maple Syrup. Delicious.
- Archer Farms Almond, Cashew & Peanut Butter (found at Target) – it was a mix of cashew, almond, peanut….or something like that. The problem is, the mix made the overall taste completely unremarkable. I abandoned the jar while still in the US.
Do you have a favorite nut butter that I should try?
8 Comments
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Food Blogger on a Diet 
So many nut butters! I’ve never tried anything other than peanut butter, but you’ve inspired me to want to try others! Sunbutter here I come!
The sunflower seed butter is definitely my new favorite. So good. Try that almond + maple if you can, too 🙂
Some people swear by cashew butter but I haven’t been able to try one yet.
Almond butter is one of my new favs on toast in the morning! Love my peanuts though.
Yes, something about peanut butter says home 🙂
Soybutter took some getting use to, but I grew to like it. It’s like healthy Nutella (without the chocolate). If you like soybeans, you’ll like soybutter.
Wow, I’ve never tried soybutter! I’ll have to look out for it.
I’ve always been into Adams 100% Natural when I lived in the U.S. – until my local grocery store had the machine that grinds up the peanuts right before your eyes (mesmerizing and cheap!).
Now that I’m in Faenza (Italy), I have found this organic foods store in my neighborhood, and they sell a line of nut butters from a brand called Rapunzel (from Germany), including sesame (tahini! I can make hummus!), peanut, cashew, and I think probably sunflower seed. Totally organic and the only ingredient is the nuts themselves. The creamy peanut butter is great for making peanut sauce with. 🙂
I will have to keep an eye out for Rapunzel – I have found some peanut butters from Africa and Thailand in a few international stores here in Milan, but nothing from Germany.