Nut Butter Obsession
In my home, we’ve got a nut butter obsession. We’ve been obsessed with almond butter for years, however recently, we’ve started to branch out into other types of peanut butter substitutes. Oftentimes, we have to buy online because our Publix seems to sporadically stock Barney Butter. One week they’ll have it and the next 2 it’ll be sold out.
As you may or may not know, Ray is allergic to peanut butter (among his many food allergies, though it’s not a severe allergy). Once we found that out, we switched to almond butter. We all agree almond butter tastes amazing and we’ve tried a lot of brands. Our favorite almond butter brands are Barney Butter and Justin’s Nut Butter. We’ve also tried things like the Sneaky Chef’s No-Nut Butter made from golden peas, which we like.
Justin’s Maple Almond Butter was my first foray into flavored nut butters and it’s still my favorite. This week, we decided to try a few other flavors out. Ray chose Raw + Chia, I chose Cocoa + Coconut, and Dave chose Jif Cashew Butter, after our friend Trish raved about how amazing it is.
Raw+ Chia was not to my taste. It was too minimal in flavor and big on texture I wasn’t fond of. The Cocoa + Coconut was a disappointment for me. I tasted no cocoa flavor and it was overwhelmingly coconut. I do like coconut but this was closer to eating a mouthful of extra virgin coconut oil with a bit of almond butter in it than almond butter with coconut and cocoa flavor added.
However, the Jif Cashew Butter was amazing. Its flavor was so creamy and delicious we devoured the whole jar. Its texture was super smooth, too. After trying the store bought, I sort of want to try making cashew butter in my Vitamix.
While Raw + Chia and Cocoa + Coconut won’t come home with us again, I will definitely be buying the cashew butter again. When it comes to Barney Butter, I’m going to stick to the original creamy almond flavor.
Do you have a nut butter obsession? What’s your favorite? Have you ever tried making your own?
For treats, I like Justin’s, but for everyday use I like basic versions that are simply nuts, and maybe oil & salt. Typically I buy Whole Foods 365 brand, but I also buy Trader Joe’s house brand. I try to eat foods with a few additives a possible since they tend to trigger my food allergies. Jiff is too high in sugar and additives for my taste.
The Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut is obscenely good; it puts Nutella to shame!
I have a nut butter obsession for sure! My current favorite is Wild Friends vanilla espresso almond butter. I finally tried cashew butter after my husband found it at Aldi.
That cashew butter sounds really good. I’ll have to look for that. I bet it’s awesome for cooking with, too. I was excited when I saw the almond-coconut-cocoa. Sorry to hear it was awful.
No peanut allergies here, and we’re very into JIF peanut butter. Hubby and I like crunchy, the boys like creamy. Other than that…does Nutella count? lol