Almond butter is a great alternative to peanut butter, and it’s an even greater alternative to common dairy butter. Almond butter is tastier, healthier, and since it doesn’t turn solid in the fridge, almond butter is actually easier to spread than butter. Many health conscious individuals are turning to almond butter and other nut butters as nutritious substitutes for dairy butter, due to the high saturated fat content in butter made from whole milk. This dietary fat is not only fattening at nine calories per gram, but can also clog your arteries and contribute to the onset of heart disease, heart attack and stroke.
A recent study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, showed that even an occasional indulgence in saturated fat significantly weakens your defense against heart disease. So, it’s no wonder so many people are looking for alternatives.
One ounce of butter is 99% fat. And, 60% of that fat is unhealthy saturated fat. To make matters worse, that same ounce of butter also comes with 60 mgs of cholesterol and if it has been salted, it can have up to 160 mgs of sodium!
An ounce of almond butter, on the other hand, actually provides slightly more total fat than dairy butter. However – and this is a BIG however - most of that fat is healthy monounsaturated fat, the same fat found in olive oil, and a major part of the often doctor recommended, healthy Mediterranean diet.
Monounsaturated fat has been show to prevent heart disease by raising good (HDL) cholesterol and lowering bad (LDL) cholesterol. Almond butter, by the way, also contains zero grams of dietary cholesterol.
As you can see, other than a lot of unwanted, unhealthy fat and sodium, dairy butter supplies very little nutritional value. It gives you no dietary fiber, almost no protein and only a small amount of vitamin A, vitamin C and calcium.
In contrast, almond butter is chock full of good nutrition. It’s a very good source of protein, fiber and a good source of vitamin E, calcium, magnesium, iron and potassium, as well as antioxidant photochemical. It's also perfect for vegan and vegetarian diets.
When it comes to baking, almond butter makes a great substitute for peanut butter, dairy butter or other fats. The naturally sweet flavor of almonds compliments most baked goods and you may actually be able to reduce the amount of sweetening in your recipes when using almond butter instead of butter. Experiment with your recipes to get the best results. You'll be surprised at how easy and delicious this can be.
Regardless of how you're using almond butter, it's important to start with a high quality, minimally processed product to get the best flavor. Our Naturally Nutty organic almond butters are made in small batches and we also add a unique blend of nutritious organic flax, hemp and chia seeds to ensure a consistent home style smooth texture. That makes it perfect for any use.
In addition to our original organic almond butter, you can also try one of our delicious flavored almond butters - vanilla almond and cinnamon vanilla almond. They're all vegan, gluten free, soy free and dairy free. Get in touch, give us a try and taste the difference. Healthy and delicious. What more can you ask for?