Hi!
I’m typing this on Tuesday night as I often do, so I don’t know if I’m currently chipper as a spring bunny or if I’m a zombie right now. Probably the latter. My moves yesterday consisted of 3.5 hours of ballet since I decided to sleep through class last week. It hadn’t danced ballet for that long straight through since the Orlando Summer Ballet Intensive two years ago. It’s a good thing I love ballet!
For this week’s WIAW, I’m just going to focus on one food that I’ve been eating A LOT recently: almond butter. (I’m actually so excited. Any excuse to talk about nut butter is a good one to me!)
With the queen of food parties and adorable things, Jenn!
You see, when I first started becoming obsessed with nut butter (thanks to healthy living blogs— I’m such a conformist), I stuck to fan-girling over the classic peanut butter. I then ventured into the land of sunflower seed butter, which is now one of my favorite things ever. I even made my own cashew butter once, but that didn’t hold my fancy for long.
Greek yogurt with banana slices, chia, hemp, cinnamon, nutmeg, a pumpkin muffin top/scone, and almond butter
I had eaten almond butter in the past, but that was when I was still eating spoonfuls of sugary Peter Pan peanut butter (which is still awesome), so plain, unsalted almond butter was kinda gross to my typical middle schooler palate. Plus, what the heck was that weird grainy texture from the almond skin?
Cookie dough cereal with banana, chia, hemp, and pepita sunseeed butter
Thus, I stayed away from almond butter for a good while. I was perfectly content with my roasted peanut butter goodness (I made the switch from Peter Pan to the kind with just peanuts). Other than that, change was never my strong suit.
Overnight oats in a coconut peanut butter jar
Then I started seeing bloggers such as Amanda eating almond butter on the daily, Julianna bringing spoonfuls of it from her dorm to the dining hall (GENIUS. I’m gonna be that person in college.), and just everyone gushing over this peanut butter imposter convenient and healthy food.
Hot oatmeal with mangoes, banana, and sunflower seed butter
So I decided one day at Trader Joe’s: I’m gonna take the leap of faith and try almond butter again. I tried it. I liked it, but I didn’t love it, so I tried to “get rid of it” by using a big half cup of the stuff in these granola bars.
Greek yogurt with banana slices, banana muffin, chia, hemp, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pepita sunseed butter
But my dad loves almond butter, so he would eat a lot of it with muffins and toast, which prompted me to keep buying more for him.
Oatmeal cookie dough smoothie (which has a big spoonful of almond butter in it!) blended with spinach + Greek yogurt for dipping
The more I bought it for him, the more I started to add it to my toast and bananas…But it was still the “inferior” nut butter. I always secretly wished I was having another nut butter instead of that one.
Self-explanatory
Then one night, I needed a quick, satisfying snack before bed, so I grabbed a spoonful of almond butter. “Hm, this is really good.”
Greek yogurt with the works + almond butter
That spoonful of almond butter has become a very regular snack for me lately, and now I can’t seem to keep my spoon out of the jar. Almond butter has also found its way onto many a muffin…
Banana muffin with almond butter
Now, I’m hooked. I ♥ almond butter.
Not as much as peanut butter, but it’s up there now. I’ve talked about it before, but I think it’s amazing how much my taste buds have changed in the past two years. Could be growing up, could be food blogs, probably both.
Happy Wednesday, everyone!
So tell me:
Do you like almond butter? What is your favorite way to eat it?
What is your all-time favorite nut butter?
How have your taste buds changed in the past few years?
Daily Moves and Grooves 
I must admit, while peanut butter takes the crown, I am a huge fan of almond butter- crunchy almond butter! I find it pairs really well with overly sweet things like sweet oatmeal or pancake topping- with salt of course!
As if dining halls had almond butter!!!!
Yes— slightly salty, roasted almond butter is the perfect compliment to super sweet things. Which means it’s the perfect compliment to ME.
I’d have to agree: peanut butter is where it’s at. But back when I went through my extreme no-bad-foods-allowed phase, I treated peanut butter as the devil and steered clear from it at all costs (worst decision EVER). Almond butter became my saving grace; I ate that stuff like it was the only thing keeping me alive, and I learned to love it on eeeverrrything. Rice cakes, bananas, muffins, oatmeal, toast, scones, you name it, I spread it!
Almond butter is like, life’s condiment. 😉
I’m pretty sure my love of almond butter is crazy obvious by this point. I had my first taste of it at 24, and I don’t think I’ve gone a day without it ever since. Roasted and slightly salted is my favourite, but some of the flavoured ones like Justin’s vanilla or maple are pretty epic every now and again too. The only thing I still need to do is try making my own… I’m just afraid I’m going to set my food processor on fire!
I still need to try Justin’s almond butters! I’ve made my own peanut butter several times and I’m happy to report that the food processor has not combusted. 😀
I loooove almond butter, but sometimes I’m too cheap so then I just go for peanut butter 😉 there are some great ones made locally here in Richmond so I try to buy those when I can!
Hihi, this is a very cute love story! I haven’t tried almond butter until now, yet it’s everywhere on the web (healthy living web that is) it’s just so expensive here. Peanut butter is in fact the only nut butter I’ve ever eaten and I love it (healthy version of course). This weekend I’m going to be at my parents who own a blender and I want to make some nut butter (for the first time!) Hope it’ll turn out good!
Greetings from Germany! Ann
I love making my own peanut butter! I’m sure yours will turn out delicious. Best part is eating it right after you make it 🙂
I was like you too, but sometime in the last few years AB surged ahead of PB and now it’s like crack. Have you ever tried making your own?! It gives your food processor a workout but it is SO worth it!
I’ve tried making my own peanut butter before, but not almond butter yet! I might just have to do that sometime.
I LOVE almond butter! It is the best! AB stuffed dates are the way to go. Or split a banana and spread it with AB.
I also love it with scrambled eggs…yum! 🙂
I have indeed tried banana with AB— so good. Scrambled eggs and AB is a new one! But it sounds strangely delicious… 😉
Haha I love it! I’ve had a similar relationship with almond butter as well–I tried it a few times when I first started reading ‘healthy living’ blogs, but wasn’t a huge fan. I think it was the natural sweetness of the almonds, actually, that turned me off. Fast forward to last summer, and I started buying chunky almond butter, which I absolutely fell in love with! Don’t ask me why, my taste buds are weird 🙂
My favorite nut butter? I guess I have different ‘favorites’ based on the application–I like sunflower seed butter on toast/muffins/banana bread, peanut butter and coconut butter in oatmeal and smoothies, tahini drizzled over ‘hippie’ bowls….gosh, I just love all of them!
My goodness, don’t even get me started on how much my tastebuds have changed! Sauerkraut, kombucha, Brussels sprouts, anything with ginger, even coffee–I never would have eaten ANY of these three years ago, and now they’re daily staples in my diet 🙂
I just started buying crunchy almond butter, and it is amazing! I still need to get on coconut butter though (especially for that cool magic shell effect).
I used to hate brussels sprouts too, but now they’re probably one of my favorite veggies!
I truly do love (is that an appropriate word to use when describing food??) almond butter, though peanut butter is equally as tasty to me. And sunflower seed butter, though I don’t buy it very often since it tends to be pricey. Cashew butter is also delicious, but again–can we say incredibly expensive?? Even whole cashews carry a hefty price tag, which is why my frugal self refuses to spend so much money on them to make homemade cashew butter. A shame, really, since soaked cashews can also be used as the base for so many creamy vegan sauces, puddings, mousses, etc…My taste buds have definitely changed over the years (if that is scientifically and biologically possible; at least it SEEMS as though they have)–I used to dislike certain vegetables, tomatoes, and coconut-based products, but now I happily eat them on a regular basis. I am not a terribly picky eater as long as the food is vegan; however, there are a few foods that I just can’t stomach. For example, I highly dislike guavas, paw-paws, and other similar tasting fruits. There is something about the taste that makes me nauseated after a few bites. Anyway, I hope you have a great day!
I’ve been wanting to try that raw cashew cream for sauces and such! I think it’s really our brains that become accustomed to different flavors…sort of like how we become accustomed to different tastes in music, fashion, etc. 🙂
Hope you’re having a great day too!
I grew up eating PB and j sandwiches and i was just ehh about them. Fast forward a decade when I started reading blogs and I discovered the whole nut butter world 🙌 a whole new world opened up to me!
I’d have to say Barney butter is my number choice of almond butter! With bananas!!👍👍
My tastes have definitely changed! I think if you would’ve given a younger me greek yogurt I would’ve spit it out! Now it’s Greek yogurt all day everyday!
Ok I’m craving almond butter like no body’s business right now 🙈🙈🙈
Have a great day Alison!
I used to dislike plain Greek yogurt too, but as you can probably tell, I can’t get enough of the stuff now 😉
Hope you’re having a lovely day too, Katie!
Its ironic. You know what is?..maybe the fact that you had easy access to almond butter all along, yet took quite awhile to develop a “fondness”. And I was pretty much in love from the first jar transported from the Cape *sob* . At least I’ve got my Peanut and Macadamia ❤ . You basically live in the land of diverse nut butters, amIright!?
Ah yes, we probably have TOO many nut butters here (if that’s possible)! Macadamia butter sounds interesting!
yesss almond butter ❤ ❤ haha i knew you'd come around someday! i definitely was a crazy one bringing spoonfuls of it into the dining hall.. but only 2 more weeks and then i (finally) get to live in an apartment and eat all the almond butter my heart desires! haha 🙂
Thanks for the almond butter inspiration 😉 That’ll be me next year bringing nut butter of all kinds to the dining hall haha!
I do like almond butter, but I love peanut butter more. It does have a fun texture though. 🙂
Agreed— peanut butter still has my heart 😉
Mmm you have me craving almond butter now; I gotta restock! I was the exact same way, very skeptical of almond butter at first but now i looove it! 🙂
Almond butter? It’s okaaay. Oh, wait, we’re talking about almond butter ;)?! It’s one of my pantry essentials and one of those items I can’t risk running out of. This wasn’t always the case, though. I remember buying my first jar years ago – still in shock for how much I’d just spent and wishing I’d just gotten cashew butter instead – and being disappointed. Not one to waste food I ate it with everything to ‘get rid of it’ – and was a convert. I’m all about white almond butter, though, which I’ve heard is hard to find over there.
Fellow almond butter convert 😉 Hmm I have not heard of white almond butter! How is that different from regular?
White almond butter is made from blanched almonds and tastes very creamy, mild and decidely sweeter than roasted. To me, it actually is the ‘regular’ kind because I’d eaten it for years when I first tried the roasted kind. (:
Okay so I don’t even know what to comment because everything is positively AMAZING. Like every. single. thing. Be still, my heart.
I LOVE almond butter, and my favorite way to eat it is on top of hot oats, or with a banana and dark chocolate chunks. Also, all nut butters are equal in my eyes. 😉 No judgement here!
Have a lovely day!!
Wow, I admire your practice of nut butter equality 😉
Hope you’re having a lovely day too, Jess!
While I like almond butter, peanut butter is still my fave. Probably because I grew up with it! I’d like to eat more almond butter but it’s so dang expensive! Once I get a vitamix I’m going to make my own 🙂 My grandpa told me he used to get samples from the school that they didn’t want, and he said he’d get POUNDS of almond butter for FREE. Seriously.
Free almond butter?? I want some!!