Elaine Magee

The Recipe Doctor

From low-fat recipes to recipes designed for persons with diabetes, Elaine Magee, MPH, RD, shares recipes and advice to create healthy meals that are guaranteed to please.



Trade Peanut Butter for Almond Butter?

By Elaine Magee, RD, MPH

Technically, peanuts are legumes, whereas almonds are botanically in the “nut” family. Just in case you’re getting tired of peanut butter and want to try something new, there’s a new nut butter in town. You may have heard about the various and sundry health benefits—particularly for the heart—of including almonds in your diet. For example, a recent study found that when people with elevated blood lipid levels snacked on almonds, their coronary heart disease risk fell significantly, probably due in part to the fiber, phytochemicals with antioxidant activity, and monounsaturated fat components in almonds.

One easy way to work a little bit of almonds into your day is with almond butter. Use it anywhere you would normally use peanut butter, including spread on whole grain toast, bagels, or crackers; as a dip for fruits and veggies; or in cooking from cookies to sauces and dressings.

Let’s do a nutritional comparison of almond butter and peanut butter. (The figures shown for vitamins and minerals reflect percentage of the recommended daily intake.) You’ll see why we might want to trade in our peanut butter some of the time.

1 tablespoon of almond butter
1 tablespoon of peanut butter
 100 calories 94 calories
 2.5 grams protein
 4 grams protein
 9 grams fat 8 grams fat
 0.8 gram saturated fat 1.5 grams saturated fat
 6.2 grams monounsaturated fat 3.7 grams monounsaturated fat
 2 grams polyunsaturated fat 2.2 grams polyunsaturated fat
 0.1 gram omega-3 0.01 gram omega-3
 1.9 grams omega-6 2.2 grams omega-6
 0.6 gram fiber 0.9 gram fiber
 21.5% vitamin E 14% vitamin E
 5% calcium <1% calcium
 12% magnesium 6% magnesium

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Elaine Magee, MPH, RD
The Recipe Doctor Blog

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Trade Peanut Butter for Almond Butter?

I have heard a lot about the advantages of almonds in our diet. Never considered almond butter though. After seeing this chart it is definitely worth making the switch.

I have a friend who swears by almonds. He buys them in bulk and tries to eat a few every day. He is a true health 'nut'. He has researched this and I'm sure there are huge advantages to adding them to your diet.

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