Nut Butters (Almond, Peanut, Cashew, ABC & Macadamia)

Posted on March 11th, 2017

Nut butters make a great snack when your time poor, travelling or just simply want something healthy to snack on. They make a great addition to pancakes, smoothies and baking and can provide you with essential vitamins, minerals and healthy fats.

It may be surprising to you to find out that many brands of nut butters are made up of heaps of ingredients that are not nuts! Worst part is they advertise them as healthy!

When choosing a nut butter you want to be looking for 100% nuts.

A lot of brands are filled with oils such as; sunflower, vegetable, canola, peanut, rapeseed, cottonseed and soybean oil which are heavily processed oils that are extremely high in trans fats and omega 6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Consumption of trans fats has been linked to serious diseases including heart disease and cancers. These oils are very unstable and as a result they can create havoc within the body and destroy other structures resulting in inflammation and oxidative stress. Keep in mind Olive and Coconut Oils are good for you!

Almond Butter

Almond butter has to be my favourite as I absolutely love the taste. Most brands of almond butter are really healthy, however watch out for those with lots of additional ingredients!

Serving Size – 20g 1 tbsp

Protein (g) Sugars (g) Sodium (mg) Ingredients

Kraft

1.3 3.8 58 Vegetable Oil, Maltodextrin (from Corn), Almonds (23%), Milk Solids, Sugar, Emulsifiers (471, 322), Salt, Other Tree Nuts.

Macro Organic

 4.0 1.0 <10 Almonds 100%

Mayvers

4.4 1.0 0.2 100% Almonds.

Melrose

3.8 0.8 6.0 100% Almonds.

Pic’s

 4.5 0.5 Less than 1g 100% Almonds.

Pureharvest

 1.2 7.8 6.2 Organic Rice Malt Syrup, Almonds (10%), Organic Virgin Cold Pressed Coconut Oil, Organic Cocoa Powder, Vanilla, Salt.

Best Brands

  • Macro Organic

  • Mayvers

  • Melrose

  • Pic’s

Peanut Butter

Peanut butter is by far the most popular nut butter and has been around for a long time. Peanut butter is definitely the nut butter you need to be VERY CAREFUL with as most brands are full of so many other ingredients and the percentage of peanuts is not 100%.

Serving Size – 20g 1 tbsp

Protein (g)

Sugars (g)

Sodium (mg)

Ingredients

Coles Smooth

 5.3 1.7 82.6 High Oleic Australian Peanuts (89%), Sugar, Vegetable Oil (Canola and/or Peanut, Hydrogenated Rapeseed Oil), Salt, Stabiliser (471 from Rapeseed Oil).

Coles Crunchy

 5.4 1.6 66.6 High Oleic Australian Peanuts (89%), Sugar, Vegetable Oil (Canola and/or Peanut, Hydrogenated Rapeseed Oil), Salt, Stabiliser (471 from Rapeseed Oil).

Coles Organic Crunchy/Smooth

 5.2 0.9 1.0 Organic Peanuts (100%).

Dick Smith – Crunchy

 4.9 1.6 104 Freshly Roasted Australian Peanuts (88%), Sugar, Vegetable Oils, Salt, Stabiliser (Mono and Diglycerides).

Dick Smith – Smooth

 4.8 1.9 123 Freshly Roasted Australian Peanuts (88%), Sugar, Vegetable Oils, Salt, Stabiliser (Mono and Diglycerides).

Kraft – Crunchy/Smooth

 4.7 1.7 115 Roasted Peanuts (85%), Vegetable Oils (contains Antioxidant (320)), Sugar, Salt.

Kraft – Light Crunchy/Smooth

3.4 3.1 123 Roasted Peanuts (63%), Maltodextrin (from Tapioca), Sugar, Vegetable Oil (contains Antioxidant (320)), Salt, Emulsifier (471).

Kraft – Natural 100% Nuts Crunchy/Smooth

 5.5 1.0 4.5 Peanuts (100%)

Kraft – No added sugar or salt

 5.1 1.1 2.8 Roasted Peanuts (91%), Vegetable Oils (contains Antioxidant (320)).

Macro Organic Crunchy/Smooth

6.0 1.0 8.0 100% Organic Roasted Peanuts.

Mayvers – Crunchy/Smooth

 4.8 0.8 51 Roasted Peanuts (99.3%), Salt.

Mayvers – Organic Crunchy/Smooth

 5.7 <1.0 <1.0 Certified Organic Peanuts (100%)

Mother Earth – Smooth/Crunchy

5.4 1.0 42.6 Peanuts (99.5%), Salt.

Mother Earth – no added salt Crunchy

5.4 1.0 5.3 Peanuts (100%)

Pic’s – Crunchy

 6.0 1.1 40 Peanuts (99.5%) and Sea Salt.

Reeses

 4.0 1.5 70 Roasted Peanuts (94.7%), Sugar, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Salt, Peanut Oil, Monoglycerides, Molasses, Corn Starch.

Sanitarium – Smooth

 5.6 1.5 105 Freshly Roasted Peanuts (90%), Sugar, Vegetable Oils, Salt, Stabiliser (Mono and Diglycerides).

Sanitarium – Crunchy

 6.0 1.1 80 Freshly Roasted Peanuts (90%), Sugar, Vegetable Oils, Salt, Stabiliser (Mono and Diglycerides).

Sanitarium – Natural Crunchy/Smooth

 6.0 1.1 1.0 Freshly Roasted Peanuts (100%).

Sanitarium – No added sugar/salt (Crunchy/Smooth)

 5.4 1.0 2.0 Freshly Roasted Peanuts (96%), Vegetable Oils, Stabiliser (Mono and Diglycerides).

Woolworths Crunchy

 5.2 2.0 80 Roasted Peanuts (90%), Sugar, Vegetable Oil (Rapeseed, Cottonseed, Soybean), Salt, Molasses.

Woolworths Smooth

 5.5 2.5 82 Roasted Peanuts (90%), Sugar, Vegetable Oil (Rapeseed, Cottonseed, Soybean), Salt, Molasses.

Best Brands

  • Coles Organic Crunchy/Smooth

  • Kraft Natural 100% Nuts Crunchy/Smooth

  • Macro Organic Crunchy/Smooth

  • Mayvers Organic Crunchy/Smooth

  • Mother Earth no added salt Crunchy

  • Sanitarium Natural Crunchy/Smooth

So many brands of peanut butter contains fillers such as; oils, sugar and added salt! Make sure you stick to the brands that are 100% peanuts.

Cashew Butter

The majority of cashew butter brands are 100% cashews, however always double check.

Serving Size – 20g 1 tbsp

Protein (g)

Sugars (g)

Sodium (mg)

Ingredients

Kraft

 0.9 3.0 56.4 Vegetable Oil, Maltodextrin (from corn), Cashews (25%), Milk Solids, Sugar, Emulsifiers (471, 322), Salt, Other Tree Nuts.

Macro Organic

 4.0 1.0 <10 Cashews (100%).

Melrose

 3.4 1.0 2.2 100% Cashews.

Pic’s

 4.2 1.7 1.3 100% Cashews.

 Best Brands

  • Macro Organic

  • Melrose

  • Pic’s

ABC Spread

Again ABC spread is pretty safe no matter which brand you choose.

Serving Size – 20g 1 tbsp

Protein (g)

Sugars (g)

Sodium (mg)

Ingredients

Macro

 4.2 0.8 10 Almonds (34%), Brazil Nuts (33%), Cashews (33%)

Mayvers

 3.8 0.8 1.0 Almonds (34%), Brazil Nuts (33%), Cashews (33%).

Melrose

3.4 0.8 4.0 33% Almonds, 34% Brazil Nuts, 33% Cashews.

Best Brands

  • Macro

  • Mayvers

  • Melrose

Macadamia Nut butter

Serving Size – 20g 1 tbsp

Protein (g)

Sugars (g)

Sodium (mg)

Ingredients

Melrose

1.6 2.8 2.4 90% Macadamias, 10% Cashews to assist milling.

There are not many brands of Macadamia Butter that can be found in your local supermarkets. Melrose was the main brand. Health food shops will stock other brands, however generally all brands of macadamia nut butter are 100% macadamias. The local arcade markets and Yeppoon markets also sell Macadamia Nut butter, just look out for it 🙂

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