Pardon the peanut butter in the photo above
Ah... nut butters: mysterious to some, beloved by others. I love almond butter, but I can never think of enough things to do with it! It's a great way to get some fat in your meals or snacks plus its delicious! Below is a quick and dirty on nut butters; varieties, health benefits and a how to make your own. Seed butters are lumped into this category as well and they are very delicious!
Futter's Nut Butters has a lot of great info, and they sell a wide variety of products:
Almond Butter is mildly sweet and one of the most popular alternatives to peanut butter. It is easily spreadable, on bread or crackers, and can be thinned with liquid to make sauces or dips.
Thought to have originated in Asia and North America, almonds have been cultivated since ancient times in Assyria, Persia, and Greece. Ancient Romans referred to almonds as the "Greek nut." Almonds continue to be grown in warm climates, including the Mediterranean regions, South America, and California.
USES
Almond butter is so versatile and is gaining popularity for many reasons. It has a mellow taste with a delightful "finish". It can be used like peanut butter and also as a base for soups, sauces, and dips.
NUTRITION
Nut butter varieties are high in protein, nutrients and unsaturated fats, low in saturated fats, and, of course, no cholesterol or trans fatty acids. In addition, they are important allies in decreasing the risk of heart disease.
Almond is particularly known for calcium, magnesium, potassium, protein, vitamin E and arginine (may play an important role in preventing heart disease). Please see our nutrition page for additional information.
Some of the other varieties include:
Macademia Nut Butter
Brazil Nut Butter
Cashew Butter
Pistachio Butter
Hazelnut Butter
Pecan Butter
Walnut Butter
Flaxseed Butter
Sunflower seed Butter
and combinations of the above!
Click here to learn how to make your own homemade nutbutter!
Here are a few ideas I found around the interwebs of things you can do with your favorite nut butter (excluding peanut butter of course!)
Almond Butter Stuffed Dates
wellsphere.com
Ingredients:
Dates pitted and sliced on one side
almond butter
Directions:
Make sure to slice the date only on one side so the almond butter doesn't sneak out the other side!
Raisin Banana Boats
Crunchybits.net
Ingredients:
Bananas sliced in half length wise (or any fruit)
Nut Butter
Raisins or dried currants
Directions:
Spread nut butter on the bananas, top with raisins. YUM.
Toasted Coconut Skewers
Ingredients:
Fruit of choice (bananas, apples, berries, strawberries, etc)
Nut butter
Toasted coconut
Directions:
Take your fruit and skewer it (if you want), spread nut butter on it and roll in toasted coconut!
Fruit and Nut Butter
Ingredients:
Can be as simple as pairing any fruit with any nut butter!
is salsa/picante sauce considered paleo?
ReplyDeleteSalsas are in general paleo. Best to check the ingredients, but if it's homemade it's probably paleo! :)
ReplyDeleteoh, thank god. i've been looking at this paleo thing for a while and i wasn't sure if i could even attempt it, because frankly, there's no way in hell i am giving up salsa under any circumstances.
ReplyDeletethanks for the answer! ps: what do you put in your coffee if you're paleo?
Hey John,
ReplyDeleteIt's actually a very easy diet - meat veggies fruit eggs nuts seeds. its deliciuos and satisfying!
I usually drink my coffee black on ice, but sometimes i'll put a dash of 1/2 and 1/2 or heavy cream.
Thanks for the great tips, I have become a recent fan of Almond Butter and have found Barney Butter to be by far the best brand. My whole family loves it!!
ReplyDeleteBarney butter rocks the house!!!
ReplyDelete