5 Ways to Eat the Most Nut Butter!
Growing up, I think I ate a peanut butter + jelly sandwich for lunch almost every day …anyone else?? Maybe that’s why the obsession with nut butters, whether it be almond butter, pumpkin butter, sunflower seed butter etc., seems to be something many of us have in common!
While most people trying to lose weight avoid peanut butter altogether because of its high calorie and fat content, I’m here to tell you that nut butters can actually be an important staple in your diet for weight loss!
Top reasons why Simply Savor loves her nut butter:
-Convenient and cheap
-Is a great pre or post workout snack (paired with an apple, banana, whole wheat toast, smoothie, etc)
-Full of protein (~8 g per serving!) and fiber to keep you feeling full
-Full of nutrients, especially Vitamin E and niacin
-High in good for you, heart healthy fats (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated) that have been proven to reduce cholesterol levels, improve brain function, and promotes satiety
-Tastes good on everything! (ok maybe this is just my personal opinion)
However, my problem is that I’m one of those people who if I could put peanut butter on everything, I probably would. Absolutely no self control around a peanut butter jar…Seriously, it’s dangerous. 
One serving of nut butter is 2 Tablespoons, ~200 calories, and 16 g of fat (remember it’s the good for you kind though!) It’s so easy to get carried away and consume almost a meals worth of calories in just 4 dips into jar (which I’m definitely guilty of!)
So instead of cutting back, this hungry girl decided to come up with 5 tips and tricks to get the most spoonfuls of peanut buttery goodness into my life… sans all the crazy calories!
1. PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter
Nutritionals (for Original PB2)
Serving Size=2 Tbsp. Calories: 50 Fat: 2 g (Saturated: 0g) Carbohydrates: 3 g Protein: 6 g
-PB2 is made with premium quality peanuts that are slow-roasted and pressed to remove the fat.
-All natural with no artificial sweeteners or preservatives.
-Same consistency as full-fat peanut butter with all of the roasted peanut flavor, but with more than 85% less fat calories.
How to make: Just mix 2 tablespoons of PB2 with 1 tablespoon of water and stir until smooth.
Ways to eat: Can be mixed directly with jam for a PB2 and Jelly sandwich, yogurts, smoothies, baking etc. Peanut butter Chocolate Milk anyone?
2. Chocolate Covered Katie’s Banana Butter
Serving Size=2 Tbsp. ~50 calories
Banana and peanut butter is probably my absolute favorite food couple. So when one of the sweetest and most creative food bloggers came up with this amazingly simple… and even more amazingly delicious recipe for BANANA BUTTER using just 2 ingredients I was pretty much jumping up and down in peanut butter joy. 
Click here to check out Katie’s BANANA BUTTER recipe and her top reasons why it’s better than peanut butter!
Nutritionals
Serving Size=2 Tbsp Calories 67 Fat 5.7g (Sat 1.1g) Carbohydrates 2.3g Protein 2.8g
Emily (aka CurlyTop) was certainly right when she said this recipe would go down in history. Her PBU has taken the foodie community by storm! Her recommendations for eating PBU?
Eat in on toast.
Eat it in Greek yogurt.
Eat it in oatmeal or oatbran or muesli.
Dip carrots or apple slices or strawberries or blueberries.
Make ants on a log.
Dig out the graham crackers and make Pbu s’mores.
Spread it on a Larabar
Spoon it on ice cream.
Dribble it on a sweet potato.
Lick it off the spoon…
Click here for the PBU recipe so you can start making your own!
4. The Simply Savor Mini Spoon/Fork Method
This technique is purely mental. By using a fork (to scrape the PB) or smaller spoon (like this cute condiment spoon from Crate&Barrel), you can have the the satisfaction of getting to dip into the jar multiple times since you’re getting smaller amount of PB with each spoonful… No more feeling deprived!
It’s kind of like the mental aspect of volume eating…do you feel more satisfied filling up on a huge salad the size of your head with tops of delicious toppings, or having only one teeny tiny bite of cake?
5. Lose (Some of) the Oil
All-natural peanut butters (the kind you should be buying—no trans fat/hydrogenated oils!) have a top layer of oil separation that occurs. This is a natural part of the process, and is where most of the fat is found. Before stirring up your jar, try pouring out half of the oil from the surface, and save the rest to mix in with your peanut butter to keep it moist and rich. Doing this can slash hundred of calories, and you’ll still reap the benefits of the healthy added fats in there!
Have a favorite nut butter or not sure what brand to choose from? Check out this Peanut Butter Taste Test!
SimplySavor Storytime: (For all the new Simply Savor readers, I studied abroad in Rome for 6 months,) and the first thing I wanted when I arrived was…you guessed it… peanut butter! Those first days being away from home, surrounded by some of the best food in the world, and all I wanted was my comfort food! You should have seen the look on the food vendors faces when they saw an American girl trying to ask where to find PB (“Burre di nocciole?” along with crazy hand gestures…it was quite the scene.)
Here’s evidence of how much I loved my PB while abroad…
my ROMAN PEANUT BUTTER PYRAMID! …Molto delicioso
I wasn’t exaggerating—there’s probably 3 or 4 missing jars too! (we would take these with us when traveling to make sandwiches or just eat straight from the jar to save $$)
What’s your favorite nut butter? Have any of your own tips or tricks? Let me know!
Great post! My favorite nut butter is the Dark Chocolate Dreams, from PB&Co.
I’ve found by not making it a ‘forbidden’ food, I don’t find myself out of control. As long as I let myself have some when I want some, I don’t want it all the time
Holy deliciousness I heart nut butters. But a little goes a long way for me…I usually only need 1 or 2 teaspoons (1/6 of a serving) to flavor my oats, yogurt, smoothies – and then it gets put back! Otherwise…there’s no telling what would happen!
haha i wish i had that self control!
mmm kristen you know im a huge fan of futters nut butters. their cashew butter is simply amazing. (http://www.futtersnutbutters.com/) you know, they make their butters so fresh that there is usually no time for oil seperation like you get with most natural store butters. awesome awesome.
yues futters is the absolute best! chocolate hazelnut all the way
i dont think ive ever tried cashew butter though!
I am just like you and absolutely LOVE nut butters!! Lack self-control! Thanks for all the tips – I haven’t eaten any of those before so I’m excited to try them out.
Awwwwwwwwww Kristin I LOVE this post!
And I really want to find pb2 because so many people seem to be using it as a dipping sauce or icing. Pb icing? Yes please
Love,
Katie
yumm PB icing would be amazing…definitely asked for PB2 for a birthday present
I love peanut butter and almond butter. I was like you and ate a PB&J for lunch every day until I graduated high school.
My tip may be a little bit gross, but lick the spoon/knife. That little bit that’s stuck on there has already been counted into the amount your putting on your toast or in your oatmeal, whatever, so go ahead and enjoy it. It sort of feels like a treat.
i loove this tip…it really does feel like a treat. you can’t let good PB go to waste!
love the cupcake picture too!
I love nut butter, especially almond butter! as far as I tried, I love all brands!
So, great tips!
self control? mmm…… it’s hard!
I haven’t commented yet, but have been following your blog for a week or two now and I just wanted to say that I think this is the greatest blog post out of all the blogs on the blogosphere I’ve read…ever! PB is my favorite food, hands down, but I’m with you–no self control! I eat it with a butter knife for the whole mental thing. “If I just take it nice and slow and savor every little dip…” haha! I’ve been very curious about PB2. Thanks for all the tips! Love your blog
you are so sweet! your comment just made my day
i will definitely be trying the butter knife idea out too! thanks girl!
love this post
I was surprised how good PB2 was- I mix the powder straight into yogurt and it’s awesome.
I like smooth peanut butter- PB and Co because it’s really runny so perfect for drizzling over yogurt/cereal bowls
Holy crap! I love almond butter. I love peanut butter. What I DON’T love is how I weep when I look at the nutritional info. I love the fact that it has a lot of protein and good fats, but damn, that is a LOT of calories and fat. So it’s like, ok, I could have…. let’s see….. a teaspoon. With my oatmeal. A teaspoon.
*cry*
I’m definitely going to try out some of these recipes, especially the one with the banana. LOVE banana and peanut butter.
this post makes me that happiest peanut butter addict in the world
and that says a lot coming from miss pb and jenny herself!
I love nut butter, Trader Joe’s Sunflower is my favorite! That is also one thing I miss when I travel, it is so hard to find internationally without it being $10+ dollars.
ooh never tried sunflower butter before!
My two new faves are PBLoco Choc Chip Cookie Dough PB and PB&CO Dark Chocolate Dreams!! Although these are usually reserved for sweet treats (i.e. breakfast?? :/ haha)
chocolate chip cookie dough peanut butter sounds so good, i need to find this asap! and i agree with you, there’s no better time for dessert than at breakfast
I LOVE nut butters! I go through a jar every 2 weeks. My boyfriend, on the other hand . . . he had a jar last him more than 6 months! Unbelievable!
I’m like you, Kristen. I can’t be trusted around an open jar of PB. I just love it! And, I have tried using a fork and I still eat too much of it. But that’s OK! It’s better for me than a lot of other crap out there. PB2 really has peaked my curiosity. I always wondered about the consistency – thanks for the recommendation!
I like to mix a tiny scoop of PB into my greek yogurt and top it off with some nuts and fruit. Because the PB is mixed it with the greek yogurt, I always think I’m having more than I actually am!
Great post today, Kristen! Have a great weekend!
love the yogurt and pb idea, ill definitely be trying this soon! thanks nicole!
I love your passion for all things nut butter!
I agree, the combination of PB and banana is a blessing from heaven!
Thanks for sharing some great tips!
Great points! The high fat content also helps you feel more full throughout the day so you’re likely to eat less. A interesting but effective strategy used by many French.
Who says PB and J is only for kids? Pretty much half of my class eats that for lunch hahah
I seriously could live off nut butter, no joke, so I am like drooling with the post above!
I am so intrigued to try the PB2 product that is floating around the blog land. I need to investigate this!
My favorite has got to be Barney Butter. Not going to lie
barney butter is great, im a big fan of the crunchy version!
Great tips on consuming nut butters. I love all nut and seed butters except peanut butter. I did have it though growing up (had it all the time – on anything that I could find) till I find that I have food sensitives to it and had to so good-bye PB. But hey, there are plenty of other great nut butters out there now. I love my raw almond butter. I love putting in smoothies or making some delicious desserts out of it or even my own raw “cheeze” spreads! That is so cool that you studied about in Rome, I did the same though I was there for a month in Italy and traveled all over. I truly enjoyed myself, that trip got me hooked on WINE. I wasn’t a big fan till I went there! LOL
that’s so funny you said that because i wasn’t a fan of wine until i went over there either and now i looove it! and every time i have a glass i feel like i’m back in italy
I could never choose just one–I love all nut butters! However, my recent obsessions are raw almond butter and good ol’ fashioned PB.
thanks for this post!!!! I love pb/nut butters, but they’re so expensive here in Msia. I would one day love to try cashew butter. cos i love love love cashews.. Thanks!
aw im sorry theyre so expensive over there! have you tried making your own??
I just bought more this week. We have a variety in the pantry, around 5 jars. I want to make a pyramid with my butters!
yes do it!! and send me a picture so i can see! we’ll start a wall of peanut butter pyramids online
I need PB2 in my life! I can’t find it anywhere for the life of me! Thanks for the link, perhaps I’ll just give in and order some.
You are so right about PB and banana mixed..mmm – great couple!
My favorite nut butter is a toss up between raw almond butter and raw pecan butter. I like to make my own at home and stuff it between medjool dates, smother it on a banana, or eat it straight out of the jar! Can’t have too many healthy fats, in my opinion!
hahah love this post. My favorite nut butters right now are naturally more, harris teeter organic PB or AB, maranatha AB, Justin’s Maple AB…I can’t choose one!
thanks for all that peanut butter info. Peanut Butter is a drug I swear. I love it. There is nothing better than a peanut butter and banana sandwich on whole wheat (YUM).
My favorite brunch is probably scrambled eggs and toast or french toast
I love peanut butter. I brought a jar to work for my breakfasts and that turned out to be a bad move because I dipped into it way too much. I love the PBU, but I definitely need to try the banana and pb mix!
I’m currently obsessed with maranthana’s crunchy peanut butter. It’s simple and perfect!
GREAT POST!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m a HUGE fan of the tiny spoon method and love Katie’s banana butter! And I hadn’t seen PBU yet-thank you for opening up my world!!
pb and i have a serious love affair. always organic always nothing added-just dry roasted nuts.
i dislike soynut and pecan butter. i am also not a fan of pb&co-too sweet-though the blogosphere will probably disown me for that.
like sunflower butter without any sort of sugar added (extremely hard to find!!)cashew butter, and of course almond butter. esp tj raw almond butter because it actually fits in my budget. i just can’t justify spending 15 dollars for 12 servings. sorry!
seriously, its an addiction.
Gah, you’re a genius! This is the most awesome page. I’m checking out all the links, and then heading for my pb jar.
Kristen-
Just found your site and love the recipe ideas and the principles behind your methods in the kitchen
I’m like you – if there’s a jar of PB near me, there needs to be a lock on it so I don’t eat the whole thing, it’s seriously addicting!
I love your PB alternatives… not sure if you have Trader Joe’s near you but they carry Better ‘N Peanut Butter which is also 85% less fat, but already premixed and ready to eat – around $4 a jar and it’s very good.
Keep it up! Looking forward to reading more of your stuff, thanks!
Craig