a peek inside the fishbowl

02 May, 2008

newfound addiction

Posted by andrea tomkins in: Recipes and Food

open faced apple-star-and-almond-butter sandwich

This post is about two different things with one very tenuous connection holding them together. Bear with me.

First, I am addicted to almond butter – specifically – the smooth PC Blue Menu Just Almonds Almond Butter. Good lord it is it good. I think about it ALL THE TIME. I’ve mentioned it to a few people I know, and the responses have been either (a) have you tried it with honey? or (b) have you tried it smeared on an apple? It all went downhill from there.

How do I love thee, almond butter? Let me count the ways:

– you contain nothing but dry-roasted almonds
– you are high in calcium and vitamin E
– you are are helping lower the “bad” cholesterol in my body
– you are good for my ticker
– you taste really really good on toast. You’re not too sweet, not too salty. YOU ARE PERFECT THE WAY YOU ARE ALMOND BUTTER.

… and Sarah loves you too, a girl who doesn’t really like to eat peanut butter.

See the open-faced toast pictured above? Ya’ll probably think I went to all that trouble to make it for the girls. Well, it actually my afternoon snack yesterday. I decided that I was going to be a little kinder to myself, and eat something pretty on a plate while sitting at the table, instead of hoovering it while standing at the kitchen sink.

It does take a bit of work, but after all is said and done (and in this case, eaten) I always feel that it was worth it. And here’s the other thing: no one is going to cut my apples into happy star shapes for me, so I might as well do it for myself. I don’t feel bad about that part of it, but I do feel good when I do something nice for myself. Don’t you?

So here’s my question(s) for you. (1) Have you tried almond butter and (2) how are you going to be kind to yourself today?


11 Responses to "newfound addiction"

1 | megan

May 2nd, 2008 at 9:56 am

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I have not tried your almond butter (a trip to the grocery store may be in order) but have you tried any of these peanut butters? I LOVE “The Heat is On” and the chocolate one. Noone in my house will even try any of them. So weird!
http://www.ilovepeanutbutter.com/recipes.html

2 | porter

May 2nd, 2008 at 10:14 am

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i’m kinda emotional today…stress, and lack of sleep…so for some reason i welled up when i thought about how i can be kind to myself today. jeez, i guess a little kindness towards myself is in order. i think the kindest thing i could do for myself today is to go to bed early…and sleep.

i have not tried the almond butter but it will be on my shopping list for the next time i hit the grocery store that sells pc products.

3 | Cath

May 2nd, 2008 at 10:27 am

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I’m a huge fan of almond butter, although we don’t keep it in the house anymore given B’s allergies. I used to love it with sliced dried apricots, sometimes on bread and sometimes on pita. Mmmmm…

4 | The Veg Next Door

May 2nd, 2008 at 11:21 am

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Love, love almond butter. Try it in a smoothie — soy, rice or almond milk, frozen blueberries, banana, almond butter and some protein powder. This fuel will get you through the morning until snack time. Yummy!

As for being good to myself…today I will go for a run with my running group and then enjoy a date night with Hubby.

5 | J.

May 2nd, 2008 at 11:43 am

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I’ve never tired almond butter, i’m afraid that I’m going to be additicted to it. I already have PB about once (or twice) a day.

Is Almond Butter healthier than Peanut Butter? Or are they comparable?

6 | andrea

May 2nd, 2008 at 3:03 pm

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Good question J.
I just grabbed the “Kraft smooth” (the regular/green label) stuff out of the cupboard and the almond butter out of the fridge (okay, I put some on a sliced apple and ate it first) in order to help address this pressing issue!

The almond butter (AB) has 10 more calories per 1 TBSP serving than the peanut butter (PB). The AB and the PB have the same amount of fat: 8g. Neither has any transfat.

The AB has 3mg of sodium, the PB has 70 mg.

They have the same amount of carbohydrates (3g) and the same amount of fibre and protein.

Interestingly, the AB has more vitamin E … apparently the 1 TBSP serving accounts for 35 % of your daily value. It has more calcium too.

I would also like to reiterate that the AB only contains almonds. The PB contains “select roasted peanuts, soybean oil, maltodextrin, sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oil, dextrose, salt.”

So is it healthier? I’m not a medical professional, but I think it is.

7 | Lex

May 3rd, 2008 at 8:24 am

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1. We haven’t tried it yet, but we’re going to. Gerry already has us eating a handful of almonds daily. He wakes up and toasts them every morning in the popcorn air popper. It’s gotten us a little hooked on almonds. So Almond Butter is high on our list of “To be tried”s

2. how am I going to be kind to myself? I’m working with Gerry to clarify our vision of the future – strategy, lifestyle choices, business planning, goals, intentions and shared visions.
All that stuff that gets dropped by the wayside when life gets busy.

8 | Julie

May 3rd, 2008 at 9:05 am

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I have dabbled in various nut butters for some years now, and although I like almond butter very much (and so do my kids), my favorite is Kraft All Natural PB. It has a brown label. It has to be kept in the fridge, but usually it doesn’t seperate nearly as much as health food store varieties for some reason. It stays spreadable until the bottom… yummmm. I always wanted to try the spicy PB (with chili?) I see at Rainbow, but I’m too chicken.

9 | Jennifer Barney

May 3rd, 2008 at 10:15 am

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AB has more than three times the amount of calcium, more iron, magnesium, Vit E, more fiber and LESS THAN HALF THE SATURATED FAT than PB. If you want to try a smooth as PB kind that does not separate and you dont’ have to keep in the fridge try mine – Barney Butter. I started making my homemade version for my kids from fresh almonds grown right here in the Central Valley (you know Ca. grows 70% of the world’s almonds) and it was so popular with friends I started my business. Don’t worry, it is all natural NO TRANS FAT or hydrogenated anything.

10 | scatteredmom

May 3rd, 2008 at 11:18 pm

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Would LOVE to try Almond butter, but sadly, I’m allergic to almonds.

I like breathing better. :)

11 | Eating lunch >> a peek inside the fishbowl

February 27th, 2009 at 8:26 am

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[…] egg), lunch around noon, and then something in the afternoon around 2:00 (like a sliced apple with almond butter). In lieu of a second coffee (I’ve been drawing the line at one cup of Really Good Coffee in […]

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