I bet you didn’t know how many different options exist to pair with your jelly! Today I am breaking down nut butters. I’ll tell you the best options at the grocery store, what to avoid, and even how to make your own!

Peanut Butter

If you go to the grocery store in search of peanut butter, you will be greeted with a million different options. Crunchy, smooth, low fat, natural, omega-3, – it can be crazy confusing! All you really need to make peanut butter is peanuts, profound- I know! But if you read labels on jars of peanut butter at the grocery store, you’ll see that companies believe they need to add some other tasty ingredients.

Example #1: Jif – the quintessential PB of everyone’s childhood

Ingredients:

MADE FROM ROASTED PEANUTS AND SUGAR, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: MOLASSES, FULLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OILS (RAPESEED AND SOYBEAN), MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, SALT.

The red words are the scary things. Added sugar, trans fats and more trans fats. I get it, companies add these things to prolong shelf life. Take your jar of JIF to the garbage please. It’s a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, not a transfat and jelly sandwich. So whats a better option? Look for a jar that says peanuts and/or salt – thats it! Here you go:

Ingredients:

PEANUTS, CONTAINS 1% OR LESS OF SALT.

See – much less scary. While the above is a much better option, the best choice would be a natural and organic peanut butter. I understand budgetary restrictions, so try to at least go with natural.

You could also make your own! Check out Averie’s post here.

Can’t have peanut butter due to an allergy? Stay tuned, I plan on adding some posts later this week on peanut butter alternatives! Oh, and one more thing- nut butters are high in fat. But please don’t be scared of healthy fats. You could buy PB2, but check out Food Babe’s post for info on that!