Peanut Butter & Alternatives

 Growing up I had more peanut butter & jelly sandwiches then anything else. Who doesn't love a good classic? I like peanut butter on or in most things as it's delicious, let's be honest. I never really thought about what was in my peanut butter until I saw this picture right here. I thought, hmm, maybe I should check the labels more closely. So here I am. Label checking like a crazy person. One thing I'm not a huge fan of besides pesticides and GMO's is added garbage. Hidden sugars, things I can't pronounce, and labels that lie. This picture has a few basics of the "bad guys". So I decided that I was going to look for some of the Good guys. Some of these are on the list but I tried to find the other alternatives that weren't on here. Some are peanut butter alternatives. Just as yummy! SO let's dive right in. 

MaraNatha 

First things first, don't ask me how to pronounce this. I will butcher it. As you can see from the picture they carry a multitude of peanut butter based, or peanut butter alternative products. My favorite of these is the raw maple almond butter & the almond butter. This brand will send you a free sample if you check out their facebook page! 

• MaraNatha almond butters have a sweet, mellow flavor and a rich texture that comes from our insistence on using only the finest, heart-healthy* California almonds. 
• Most of these varieties come in natural and organic versions. There are countless delicious ways to add nutrition to your diet by incorporating MaraNatha almond butter. 

These are just a few things I grabbed directly from their website about their products. This particular product is one of the one's I listed as a personal favorite. Here's what's inside & their description.  

   Enjoy the delicious taste of almonds blended with a hint of maple sugar in our No Stir Raw Maple Almond Butter. The perfect way to enjoy the great taste and natural goodness of almonds – with no stirring required – this great tasting, convenient nut butter contains 6 grams of protein and is a good source of fiber. Enjoy it as a dip for pretzels, spread on apples or simply enjoy it straight from the spoon.

INGREDIENTS: ALMONDS, MAPLE SUGAR, PALM OIL, SEA SALT. CONTAINS: ALMONDS. MAY CONTAIN PEANUTS. 

Store Locator  

The prices for this obviously depend on location to some degree. This does retail on Amazon for $6.98 for a 12oz container. 

                                              Justin's

This one was on the original list and the photo I have is my personal favorite from this company. Honey Almond Butter. I really enjoyed the flavor of this one and I like that they also make little individual packs so you can "try it out" without worrying that you are purchasing an entire container just to hate it. 

Here are a few things I pulled from their website. 

• Justin’s values not only sustainable practices, but also integrity and transparency at every step of the way. By sourcing the highest-quality, local ingredients, simplifying the supply chain, and initiating environmentally friendly office practices, we strive to mitigate our environmental impact.

• In addition to taking care of the earth, Justin’s emphasizes taking care of the community. We pay-it-forward through our hunger relief efforts with Conscious Alliance and the entrepreneurial global poverty relief efforts with Whole Planet Foundation.

INGREDIENTS

Dry Roasted Almonds, Honey Powder (Sugar, Honey), Palm Oil*, Sea Salt.

Where To Buy

This is also carried at Target. The classic peanut butter retails for for $4.99. 

Don't go nuts!

If you or someone in your family has a peanut allergy this is a must for you! This nut free peanut butter alternative is school safe, gluten free, organic, nut free, non-gmo, and vegan. This is also the flavor they carry that tastes most like traditional peanut 

butter. The flavor of this one is amazing. It's not super oily like some peanut butter alternatives and it definitely hits a lot of thumb up areas for me!   

• Lily Pinto is the inspiration for Don‘t Go Nuts. She was diagnosed with severe peanut and tree-nut allergies at age three. Lily was blessed to be born into an entrepreneurial family, who created this company for children like her and for the world around them.

• The company has attracted creative, experienced people with caring hearts to help make this family‘s shared vision a reality.

• Don‘t Go Nuts is a division of Pinto Barn Inc., a company of loving people creating conscious products for whole lives. To learn more about Pinto Barn visit PintoBarn.com

INGREDIENTS: INGREDIENTS: Organic Dry Roasted Soybeans, Organic Soybean Oil, Organic Powdered Sugar (Organic Sugar, Organic Tapioca Starch) Organic Palm* Oil, Sea Salt. Contains Soy. Made in a facility that handles dairy. *Sustainably Sourced.



This retails for $6.99. You can also grab this brand in double packs off Amazon!

Where to buy

I'll probably update this list in the future with more options but these are some of the more affordable options that are still healthy. Many of these brands come in squeeze packets for individual use if you want to try them out! 

As always! Let me know what you guys want to see! Name a topic! :)