Hi, friends!
As you know, I lovvveeee nut butter. ALL of them. At one point, I was eating a jar a week by myself, which, of course, is not necessarily a bad thing, but, I couldn’t help but think: Was it too much of a good thing?
I received a great question from a reader yesterday on my “A Mostly ‘Normal’ Day of Eating” post:
Hi Tina! A few people mentioned portion sizes in their comments which made me think about nut butters – I think you touched on this a few months back about trying to keep that in check. Could you please do a post on that or talk about any tips you have for it? I can’t keep my spoon out of the almond butter jar sometimes and almost always have 3-4 tbsp instead of keeping it at 2! Thanks!
I can totally relate. A lot of mornings, I eat a similar amount of peanut butter on my toast and then I spread even more on the leftover banana. It satisfies me and keeps me full for awhile, so I don’t think there’s anything wrong with eating that much nut butter in one sitting. I mean, if you’re hungry and it fills you up, go for it, especially if you’re active/need the calories and not trying to lose weight.
However, if you’re watching your calories and want to lose weight, I know the struggle is real. Nut butter is one of my favorite foods ever, and I know it’s easy to go overboard with it. That said, here are some ways to keep your nut butter consumption in check:
- Measure it – A serving of nut butter is 2 tablespoons, so use your measuring spoon to keep your portion size in check. You can further keep yourself on track by storing your measuring spoons right next to your jar of nutter. That way, you always know how much to use. After awhile, you’ll be able to eyeball a serving and won’t need to measure anymore.
- Use nut butter packets – Similar to measuring your nut butter, single-serving nut butter packets (like Justin’s) help you keep your portions in control. The next time you go to buy a jar of nut butter, consider buying a box of packets instead. It’s tough to go overboard if you’re opening packet after packet.
- Mix it with Greek yogurt or part-skim ricotta – Here is an easy way to cut calories and boost the protein content in your nut butter: Peanut Butter Delight!
- Try powered peanut butter – I personally haven’t tried powdered peanut butter, but I know a lot of people like PB2, which has few calories and less fat.
- Switch it up – Instead of eating nut butter 24/7, try a different kind of spread in your diet. For example, apple and pumpkin butter are quite delicious and quite a bit lower in calories. You can also switch up your meals to not include nut butter. So, for instance, if you always eat oatmeal with nut butter for breakfast, try eggs or Greek yogurt with cereal and fruit instead.
Questions of the Day
Any other ideas to add to the list? How much nut butter do you typically eat?
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