Nut butters are a great source of energy as they are high in protein and healthy fats! A serving of nut butter is about 2 tablespoons.
In the ingredients list of your nut butter, you want to see the type of nut and possibly some additional salt. Try to avoid any with added oils (such as palm oil, or hydrogenated vegetable oil), sugar or preservatives.
It is also really easy to make your own nut butters if you have the time and the blender capability. The trick is to roast your nuts first as they start to release their own oils then blitz in a food processor until they turn into butter! You shouldn’t need to add any additional oil, just patience is required. Add some salt to taste and try using a combination of different nuts to change it up.
If you’re buying peanut butter, our top tip is to look for brands that use a high oleic peanut. Oleic acid is a mono-unsaturated fatty acid that is really good at reducing the amount of LDL cholesterol (a.k.a the bad cholesterol) (1) which is what we want! We’re lucky as our friends across the ditch tend to grow high oleic peanuts used by brands such as Ceres Organics and Pic’s peanut butter. Fix and Fogg, Forty Thieves and Nut Butter Brothers also use a high oleic peanut from Argentina.
Peanuts, as well as being a source of these healthy fats, also provides protein, fibre, magnesium and iron! Definitely rich in nutrients! (2)
Also a note, since nuts are rich in healthy fats, nut butters are quite energy dense! Despite their high calorie content, eating moderate amounts of pure nut butter or even whole nuts is perfectly fine if your goal is weight loss. There is epidemiological evidence indicating an inverse association between nut consumption and obesity. This means a regular and moderate intake of nuts is associated with better health outcomes (3). Peanuts also have potential satiety benefits for weight control so if you are feeling hungry, some nut butter is a great snack option! (4)
Some easy snack ideas:
- carrot or celery sticks with peanut or other nut butters
- apple wedges with nut butter
- Nut butter on rice or corn thins, or jazz this up further with more toppings like berries & chia seeds, banana & cinnamon, tomato or even sriracha if you like it spicy – get creative!
- Try our delish smoothies, featuring nut butter! Get the recipes here.
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC54010/#:~:text=The%20results%20suggest%20that%20diets,highly%20resistant%20to%20oxidative%20modification.
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3583833/
- https://www.foodcomposition.co.nz/search/food/Q1020/full-alphabetical
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4144111/
