Of all the nut butters, you’re probably the most familiar with peanut butter. Peanut butter won you over when it was the first to greet you at home after school spread over warm toast.
From being an after-school snack to a spread that is even mixed to customise dipping sauces for hotpot, peanut butter is a staple with an undisputed spot in your pantry.
In recent years, however, other nut and seed butters have been gaining widespread popularity (pun intended!) as well. For many people with peanut allergies, the rise of unsweetened, high-quality alternatives are a great way to continue enjoying sandwich spreads.
Move over, peanut butter — here’s 7 types of nut and seed butters and their health benefits you should know more about. Recipes and supplement recommendations will be provided too, if any!
Where do almonds come from? Almond trees! Almond trees are closely related to peach, apricot, and cherry trees, and the nut is the pit found within their fruit. Made from finely ground almond nuts, almond butter has the highest protein and fibre content among all tree nut butters that can help you feel fuller for longer between meals¹. Moreover, its high antioxidant levels can help to build lean muscle mass and promote speedy post-workout recovery²!
Instead of spreading almond butter on toast, try it in a salad dressing! This Immune Triple C Almond Butter Slaw is the perfect refuel for your body that takes only 20 minutes to whip up with no cooking required.
What you’ll need:
– 2 Carrots (finely shredded)
– ½ small head Purple Cabbage (shredded finely)
– ½ small head Green Cabbage (shredded finely)
– 1 Hard-Boiled Egg (chopped)
– 1 handful Toasted Almonds
– 1 tbsp Almond Butter
– 2 tbsp Tahini
– 1 tsp Lemon Juice
– 2 tsp Manuka Honey
– 1 tsp Dried Coriander
– Salt & pepper, to taste
What you’ll need to do: Blend the almond butter, tahini, lemon juice, manuka honey and coriander into a dressing. Toss vegetables and egg in the dressing. Top with almonds. Serve.
Supplement recommendation: Complement the health benefits of almond butter with a Vitamin C! It helps to support a healthy immune system and provide antioxidant support, protecting cells from oxidative stress. This recommendation is enriched with calcium so it also helps to maintain healthy bones and teeth!
An effervescent tablet like this can be taken by children as well.
Walnuts (“Juglans regia”) are round, single-seeded stone fruits of the walnut tree. Beneath the husk of the walnut fruit is a globe-shaped nut split into two flat segments with a wrinkled appearance. Nearly 14% of the total fat content in walnuts comes from a healthy omega-3 fatty acid known as alpha-linoleic acid (ALA)³. ALA offers anti-inflammatory benefits to support heart, blood and even mental health!
Walnuts are also a rich source of L-arginine, an amino acid that our body converts to nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is a compound that causes blood vessels to dilate and boosts blood flow to all muscles, including those in the sexual organs⁴.
Ooh la la!
Tahini butter is a staple in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine⁷. It’s the perfect addition to a simple and savoury dish like these Slimming Colourful Steam Eggs!
Prep time: 30 mins
What you’ll need:
– 2 Eggs (raw and beaten)
– 1 small bunch Parsley (chopped finely)
– 1 small bunch Spring Onion (chopped finely)
– ½ cup Kelp Seaweed (presoaked and chopped)
– 1 tbsp Tahini Butter
– 1 tbsp Unsweetened Soybean Milk (fortified with calcium and Vitamin D)
– 1 tsp Miso Paste
– ½ tsp Garlic Powder
– ½ tsp Ginger Powder
– ½ tsp Paprika
What you’ll need to do: Mix all the ingredients well. Pour into a deep dish and steam for 20 mins. Serve hot.
Supplement recommendation: Ladies, support your overall well-being with a multivitamin scientifically formulated with adjusted levels of nutrients to meet your specific health needs! Take one multivitamin after a light meal such as these steamed eggs or as directed by your healthcare professional.
Pure hazelnut butter tastes just as good as another beloved chocolate hazelnut spread, but with more health benefits! It’s similar to almond butter because it’s a great source of omega-3 fatty acids, but it’s also lower in protein compared to other nut and seed butters.
Hazelnut butter makes up for a lack in protein by being very high in fat, so you’ve got another nut butter that’s perfect for those following a keto diet⁸! It’s also an excellent source of Vitamin E, copper, fibre, and manganese⁹.
Mix hazelnut butter into a weight management shake in a flavour such as chocolate for a nutty taste. It will add a little more calories, but can help to keep you feeling full for longer. Tasty and healthy!
Cashew butter is made from the kidney-shaped cashew nut, a tree nut from Brazil that was discovered by the Europeans in the 16th century. Cashew butter may not contain any omega-3 fatty acids, but it’s one of the best sources of monounsaturated fatty acids and minerals such as magnesium¹⁰.These have incredible health benefits: lowering your blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol, as well as continually supporting your bones, immune, and metabolic health¹¹.
Enjoy the benefits of cashew butter with these Immune Curry Sardine Veggie Boats! Sardines are also a budget-friendly rich source of dietary calcium to support bone health.
Like most other seed butters, sunflower seed butter is loaded with healthy fats. However, what sets it apart is its particularly high vitamin E content. One tablespoon of sunflower seed butter has 93 calories and already meets 24 percent of your body’s daily vitamin E requirement¹²! Vitamin E is an antioxidant that works to neutralise free radicals¹³ and may help to reduce the appearance of aging¹³ — although you shouldn’t rely on it to zap your forehead wrinkles off instantly!
Complement the more neutral flavour of sunflower seed butter in a weight management shake in a vanilla flavour (or strawberry if you’re feeling adventurous)! You can mix it into the shake too if you’d like.
Pumpkin seed…butter? Yes, you heard that right! The last contender on our list is one made from a popular snack you’d usually munch on during Chinese New Year. Sold commercially as pepitas, pumpkin seeds are incredibly nutrient-dense. They’re a particularly rich source of vitamin K¹⁴ — a serving (28 grams) meets almost 20 to 40 percent of your daily requirement!
Pumpkin seeds are also a particularly rich source of vitamin K¹⁴ — a serving (28 grams) meets almost 20 to 40 percent of your daily requirement! They also contain zinc, an essential micronutrient for immune and sexual health¹⁵. Zinc is really important for hormone health, especially for men and sperm health¹⁶!
The earthy flavour of pumpkin seed butter is a tasty replacement in any recipe that calls for peanut butter. You could also indulge and have it straight out of the bottle occasionally. We won’t tell anyone!
We hope that you’ve gotten an idea of the other types of nuts and seed butters available at FairPrice and the health benefits that can be strengthened through supplement recommendations.
Shop for all the supplements you need for your overall well-being everyday here!
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References:
¹ Gellman, A 2021, Almond butter nutrition, benefits, warnings and tasty recipes, Livestrong.com, viewed 7 February 2022
² Chong, C 2020, 8 health benefits you can get from almond butter, TallyPress, viewed 7 February 2022
³ Arnarson, A 2019, Walnuts 101: nutrition facts and health benefits, Healthline, viewed 7 February 2022
⁴ WebMD 2022, L-Arginine – uses, side effects, and more, viewed 7 February 2022
⁵ Shoemaker, S 2019, 9 surprising benefits of tahini, Healthline, viewed 7 February 2022
⁶ Ikeda S, Abe C, Uchida T, Ichikawa T, Horio F, Yamashita K, Dietary sesame seed and its lignan increase both ascorbic acid concentration in some tissues and urinary excretion by stimulating biosynthesis in rats, J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2007 Oct;53(5):383-92. doi: 10.3177/jnsv.53.383. PMID: 18079604, viewed 7 February 2022
⁷ Superfood Evolution 2022, Benefits of tahini, top pros and cons of sesame butter, viewed 7 February 2022
⁸ Lentz, C 2019, The differences between 10 types of nut butter, Insider, viewed 8 February 2022
⁹ Martens, A 2020, How your favourite nut butters stack up nutritionally, aSweatLife, viewed 8 February 2022
¹⁰ SPICEography 2022, Cashew butter: history, flavor, benefits, uses, Cidermint, LLC, viewed 9 February 2022
¹¹ Advanced Health, The healthiest nut butters and their benefits, San Francisco, California, viewed 9 February 2022
¹² GIbson, B 2021, This is why sunflower seed butter needs to be a part of your diet, The Healthy, viewed 9 February 2022
¹³ Butler, S 2022, The health benefits of sunflower seed butter, The Joint Chiropractic, viewed 9 February 2022
¹⁴ Superfoodly 2018, Pumpkin seed butter benefits beat almond, cashew & peanut, viewed 14 February 2022
¹⁵ Fisher, L 2021, 6 powerhouse health benefits of snacking on pumpkin seeds, Real Simple, viewed 14 February 2022
¹⁶ Colagar AH, Marzony ET, Chaichi MJ, Zinc levels in seminal plasma are associated with sperm quality in fertile and infertile men, Nutr Res. 2009 Feb;29(2):82-8. doi: 10.1016/j.nutres.2008.11.007. PMID: 19285597