Almond Butter: The New Peanut Butter?

If you haven’t tried almond butter, it will grow on you.

It not only is nutritionally better for you than peanut butter, but it also has a different taste and texture.

Give it a chance and you will come to love almond butter that has a wide variety of health benefits.

Nutrition Benefits

• Heart Healthy: Contains about 130 mg of omega 3’s per 2 Tbsp. serving. This isn’t a ton, but it is a significant dose of heart healthy fats. For example, it is recommended by some experts to eat 3 grams of omega 3 per day.A 2 Tbsp. serving also contains about 12 grams of healthy monounsaturated fats. Nuts, and more importantly, almonds have been shown to help reduce cholesterol. This may be due to the fact that almond butter contains, a combination of cholesterol-reducing phytosterols, healthy fats, fiber, and antioxidants.

• Diabetic Friendly:When almonds are eaten with meals or snacks, it has been shown tohelp reduce blood glucose spikes after meals.
• High Antioxidant Content: Walnuts, pecans, and chestnuts are also considered a high source of nut antioxidants.
• High Vitamin E: A 2 Tbsp. serving contains about 40% of your daily value! Vitamin E acts as a potent antioxidant and along with the other antioxidants found in almonds, they creates a powerhouse of antioxidants. This leads to benefits such as anti-aging, reduced cancer risk, and reduced risk for many diseases.

What’s So Bad about Peanut Butter?

Nothing really. Almond butter is just another nut butter alternative that happens to have a little more heart healthy fats, antioxidants, and a new flavor.

The other added benefit of almond butter is that it usually all natural and trans fat free. You don’t have to worry about reading your labels as much. With peanut butter, you have to check to make sure it was made with the right oils, has no added sugar, and is trans fat free.

5 Ways to Eat Almond Butter:

1. Make an almond butter and jelly sandwich
2. Spread it on a few whole grain crackers
3. You can find small, portioned packets of almond butter which you can eat by itself
4. Add almond butter to a smoothie
5. Stir it in your oatmeal to add a protein and fat source