Hi.  I’m Caroline.  I am a dietitian who loves peanut butter.  Almond butter is great and all, but when did eating peanut butter become a social faux pas?  Like, peanut butter didn’t do anything wrong.  Peanut butter is a good friend.  There is nothing wrong with peanut butter!  (Gretchen Weiner moment….Mean Girls is always applicable.  Always.)

Did you know there are about 540 peanuts in one jar?  Did you know that 50% of the fat in peanut butter is monounsaturated fat?  True story.  To be peanut butter, the product must be 90% peanuts and 10% other (artificial sweeteners/flavorings, stabilizing agents or preservatives).  And talk about playing nice in the sandbox.  Peanut butter pairs with some many foods!  Bread, crackers, celery, bananas, apples, you can bake with it, I mean the list goes on. Oh and another bonus, one study publish in the International Journal of Obesity Related Metabolic Disorders found that peanut consumption was associated with an increased metabolic rate.

Alper CM, Mattes RD. Effects of chronic peanut consumption on energy balance and hedonics. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2002; 26(8):1129-1137.

Peanut butter, while high in fat, is also high in protein.  The fat and protein helps to keep you fuller, longer!  In addition to the satiety factor, protein and fat help to stabilize your blood sugar.  I always recommend pairing a complex carb with a protein (like peanut butter).

Peanut Butter Purchasing Tips:

Peanuts should be the first ingredient, the less ingredients the better

avoid: added sugars, trans fats/hydrogenated oils, reduced fat (always more sugar!)

Don’t be basic and demand almond butter.  Enjoy that peanut butter!  Follow science.  Not trends.