Peanut Butter advice - Help!

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Leeanne1974
Leeanne1974 Posts: 207 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi all
I am always reading how some of the guys on here eat peanut butter with celery etc and claim its a great food when you are dieting etc.
I had some sunpat crunchy peanut butter with Celery for my lunch and, yes, it was gorgeous.
It was only after I had a massive great dollop though that I logged it on here and nearly fainted with shock at the cals lol.
Can anyone please advise me if it has other benefits though that way out the high calorie thing?

I live in the UK and I have yet to find anywhere local to me that sells almond / cashew etc butter. Please don't recommend I eat that instead because I have looked for it but to no avail.
Thank you all so much in advance!
Leeanne x
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Replies

  • mjsunshine16
    mjsunshine16 Posts: 251 Member
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    I eat the Simply Jif - Fresh-roasted peanut taste with low sodium and 33% less sugar than regular Jif.
  • tlaker
    tlaker Posts: 82 Member
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    there is PB2, i dont know if they sell it in the UK but its 45 calories for 2 tbsp and i actually like it and i'm a peanut butter lover. BUT my all time fav kind is Skippy ALL NATURAL. as long as you dont eat too much PB you will be okay. 2 tbsp wont hurt your diet in my opinion :)
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    You might try a low sugar peanut butter and spread just enough to taste it instead of globbing it. I was shocked when I first saw the calories in my peanut butter, too. It has such a strong flavor though, that I've found I don't really need as much as I had been using. A little bit goes a long way. Peanut butter on celery is one of my favorites. You can also try almond butter.

    Also I agree with tlaker that Skippy All Natural is good too.
  • DizzyLinds
    DizzyLinds Posts: 856 Member
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    I live in the UK and have PB on celery as a snack..it's so nice! I use the Whole Earth PB and you can buy it in Tesco. I also get almond butter in tesco (called Meriden i think..smallish jar). The Whole Earth one is no added sugar.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
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    Peanut butter is high in healthy fats. Also, a very decent, although incomplete protein source (pairing it with wheat makes it a complete protein, hence the popularity of peanut butter sandwiches.)
  • invisibubble
    invisibubble Posts: 662 Member
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    I use Whole Earth No Added Sugar as well. It's gonna be high in calories and good fats though, but it's GOOD for you.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    Well, if it doesn't contain HFCS or trans fats, it is a healthy fat, for one thing. For vegetarians and vegans, it's a decent source of protein. It satisfies both sweet and salt cravings without a ton of sugar or salt. It tastes AMAZING on a spoon by itself or paired with nearly any other food on the planet. It's very filling.

    I love peanut butter.
  • lady_in_weighting
    lady_in_weighting Posts: 196 Member
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    dont eat low fat peanut butter what ever you do! they label it as such in the shops but it is just full of sugar and nasty rubbish. eat natural peanut butter and enjoy it as part of your daily kcal in take on toast or in porridge ect. if you want to try almond or cashew go to holland and barrett. They stock it!
  • akiramezu
    akiramezu Posts: 278
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    eat something else, but no offence, you don't need it at all, in fact, stay away from it, it's highly dense in calories and i'm pretty sure you would eat more than a tablespoon worth lols
  • Flab2fitfi
    Flab2fitfi Posts: 1,349 Member
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    there is PB2, i dont know if they sell it in the UK but its 45 calories for 2 tbsp and i actually like it and i'm a peanut butter lover. BUT my all time fav kind is Skippy ALL NATURAL. as long as you dont eat too much PB you will be okay. 2 tbsp wont hurt your diet in my opinion :)

    Amazon uk sells it - have to hide it from the kids but makes great smoothies.
  • DryHeet
    DryHeet Posts: 61 Member
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    Another option is hummus. 2 tablespoons is 70 calories. I think its pretty good with celery.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,229 Member
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    It is high in healthy fats. I have recently learned that going low-fat could actually sabotage your progress. If you don't get enough mono and polysaturated fats in your diet, then your body could produce excess grehlin and cortisol. Both are hormones that can interfere with weight loss. Grehlin will cause you to feel hungry, and cortisol will hinder the fat burning process.

    It has a fair amount of protein, but it is not as good of a source as meat.
  • abetterjune
    abetterjune Posts: 219
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    do you have a food processor or blender (I use my bullet blender- works fine)? You can make your own nut butter with less (or no) sugar, or use an artificial sweetener, to cut calories.

    Here's a great resource:
    http://naturesnurtureblog.com/2012/06/07/homemade-almond-butter-other-nut-butters/

    Seriously, though, I do this in my bullet and it works fine, just a bit of scraping down the sides.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    Another option is hummus. 2 tablespoons is 70 calories. I think its pretty good with celery.

    No offense, but ewwwwww, yuck! LOL
  • patchesgizmo
    patchesgizmo Posts: 244 Member
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    if you can get the natural peanut butter that is best, or at least look to see what is mixed with. Most are high in sugars or honey. I buy the natural pb which has no sugar or honey added. It is high in fats, but they are not the bad fats they are the good fats that your body needs. Body's need a certain amount of fats to continue to process normally, if you cut out all fat, you are harming your body.
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
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    Well, I had to check what remote UK island you were living in... Kent!?

    Go back to Tesco or Asda and try again. It's next to the peanut butter.
  • KatFierce
    KatFierce Posts: 252 Member
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    PB is actually pretty good for you, healthy fats great for hair, skin and nails, good amount of protein. I say get one that is only nuts no extra sugars and salts etc. Then pair it with some fiber like whole grain toast or crackers, some fruit like apple or some celery too and its a great snack/mini meal. In moderation its fine, but its an item I make sure to always measure as its easy to over do it.
  • inkandsheep
    inkandsheep Posts: 101 Member
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    I live in the UK and I have yet to find anywhere local to me that sells almond / cashew etc butter. Please don't recommend I eat that instead because I have looked for it but to no avail.

    Do you have any health food shops near you? Holland & Barrett, Whole Foods Market or small independent ones? They all stock a range of nut butters, many with no added salt/sugar etc.

    I mostly use pb in baking to replace butter/margarine/oil. It's a healthier fat and I like the flavour, plus as a vegetarian I get protein from it.
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
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    do you have a food processor or blender (I use my bullet blender- works fine)? You can make your own nut butter with less (or no) sugar, or use an artificial sweetener, to cut calories.

    Here's a great resource:
    http://naturesnurtureblog.com/2012/06/07/homemade-almond-butter-other-nut-butters/

    Seriously, though, I do this in my bullet and it works fine, just a bit of scraping down the sides.

    This. All you really need is a food processor and the nuts or seeds that you want to make into butter. I've done this a few times with almonds (though I recommend adding an oil to the almonds to smooth out the texture; IME, almond butter with nothing but almonds tends to be kind of dry) and it's awesome.
  • Jill_newimprovedversion
    Jill_newimprovedversion Posts: 988 Member
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    Peanut butter is a good source of protein- and monounsaturated (GOOD) fat , as well as a good source of fiber, magnesium and potassium.

    Read/compare labels and opt for the one(s) you can find that are LOWEST in SODIUM and SUGAR.
    Generally it's the natural ones and/or organic.
    Note: Reduced fat ones are most often HIGHER in sugar/sodium (which is true of most reduced fat products)

    If you find them not sweet enough, you can always sprinkle a little of your own preferred sweetener on top. I do this with stevia.

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