Though I have a number of other food allergies, I consider myself to have won the jackpot in NOT being allergic to nuts. There are a number of people who are either sensitive or anaphylactic to tree nuts and/or peanuts, and that really does suck because nuts are an excellent source of vital nutrients, fat, and protein. For this review I decided to try two nut butters and an alternative nut-free spread, none of which I had tasted prior to now. I will not be covering the old-fashioned soft drinks with Will and Kenny because I cannot have anything which contains any alcohol, even if that amount is very small. And moving onward we have--
Betty Lou's Just Great Stuff Organic Powdered Peanut Butter:
If there is one thing that any reader should know about me, it's that I'm a complete whore for anything containing peanut butter. I love it in my milkshakes, on my waffles, even in my homemade chili-- and now, thanks to Betty Lou's, I have it in convenient, snort-able form for when bolting a tablespoon or two just isn't quick enough.
Boasting a significantly reduced fat content (85% in fact), BL's Powdered PB is also Gluten-Free, non-GMO, and contains no preservatives-- in fact, the only ingredients are Organic Peanuts, Organic Coconut Sugar, and Sea Salt. It is prepared by mixing 2 tbsp of the powder with 1 tbsp of water (less water if a thicker consistency is desired).
The back of the label really plays up the fact that the product is made with Coconut Sugar, stating: Coconut Sugar is produced from the sap of the coconut palm flower, and does not taste like coconut. This 100% organic, sustainably harvested natural sweetener has a lower glycemic index than cane sugar and contains essential vitamins and minerals. Checking into this claim, I found that coconut sugar, as opposed to brown or refined white sugar, contains higher concentrations of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Chlorine, Sulfur, Boron, Zinc, Manganese, Iron, and Copper. It is also considered to be safe for diabetics and can be used as a traditional sugar replacement at a 1:1 ratio.
When mixed with water, the resultant spread does have the look, smell, and taste of natural peanut butter, but slightly sweeter and with a hint of fruitiness. The suggested proportions for mixing the powder and water produce a very thin spread, so if you want it to be analogous in thickness to traditional peanut butter, I would suggest using less liquid. The flavor is light and disappears from the palate rather quickly, which in some cases (i.e. using the powder to make a sauce for a dessert) would cut the richness from a popular peanut butter treat, but in others (i.e. making a peanut butter sandwich) would create an underwhelming experience.
To sate my curiosity, I put some of the powder into a glass of organic milk and was pleased to find that it made for a yummy treat, though the powder did not dissolve completely. However, that didn't bother me at all.
From here, I wanted to taste a type of nut butter that I'd never bothered to try, so I picked up--
Artisana 100% Organic Raw Walnut Better with Cashews:
I sort of hated walnuts when I was a kid-- the shells were hard work for me to open, the flesh looked like brain matter, and the flavor was bitter. In essence, walnuts formed the trifecta of "no-frigging-way-I'm-eating-that-not-ever-nawthanks-'k-bye". At some point in my twenties I started to like them-- perhaps it was my palate maturing; perhaps I was replaced with a Pod Person. No matter-- the important part is that I eat them now and I'm lucky to do so. Walnuts are rich in Omega and other essential fatty acids, as well as fiber, certain vitamins, and protein. Despite how much I now like them, I had yet to try a walnut butter, so I grabbed this one at random from the Wegman's Nature's Market when I chose the other two products for this review.
The spread comes packaged in a little pouch, meant as one serving, and only contains walnuts and cashews. To use it, one simply need smush the contents of the package around until it softens, rip open a corner, and squeeze the walnut butter onto the desired walnut-butter-vehicle. In my case, I didn't put the product on anything-- wishing to avoid affecting the actual flavor.
What I'm going to say about it probably seems counter-intuitive, but I mean it in the best way possible; this walnut butter is remarkable in how very unremarkable it is. It does what it should: satisfies and tastes like walnuts. The cashew flavor was mild and barely noticeable, letting the happy walnutty flavor shine right through. There were no added sweeteners, nor anything done to alter the flavor; the spread was just plain delicious and honest.
And now, in consideration of those with nut allergies, we have--
NoNuts Golden Peabutter:
I was pretty eager to try this one out, since I had no clue what the flavor would actually be. In the case of many "replacer" foods, the separate ingredients can add up to something that tastes a completely unexpected way. Pertaining to this particular item, there is only one thing listed in the ingredients that I can definitely pick out from the profile for exactly what it is: Icing Sugar. If that sounds weird, it is-- and also it isn't.
The peabutter consists of brown peas, canola oil, icing sugar (contains cornstarch), palm oil, mono- & diglycerides, and citric acid; it's safe to say that the icing sugar is there to provide both sweetness and a peanut-butter-like consistency. What you get is more akin to the lovechild of Jif and Duncan Hines frosting. That doesn't make it bad-- just slightly different than I was expecting.
The spread has a mild, sweet smell (but you can certainly sense the icing sugar) and an attractive golden color. This combination of ingredients has coalesced into a complex flavor profile, with a warm nuttiness and an interesting first wave of sweetness and brazil nuts-- but the aftertaste, sadly, is where the icing sugar dominates, and I've forgotten the safe-word apparently because the assault of bitter-sweetness on my tongue will not relent. It has seriously been over an hour and I can still taste it. Combine this with some pretty unimpressive nutrition stats, and I would say that I'm not super-fond of NoNuts Golden Peabutter, though I certainly wanted to be. That being said however, if I were unable to have peanuts and treenuts, and I wanted a product which could offer a similar taste to a nut butter and that is manufactured in a facility which is completely nut-free, I would certainly use NoNuts Golden Peabutter for the occasional fix.
Betty Lou's Just Great Stuff Organic Powdered Peanut Butter:
If there is one thing that any reader should know about me, it's that I'm a complete whore for anything containing peanut butter. I love it in my milkshakes, on my waffles, even in my homemade chili-- and now, thanks to Betty Lou's, I have it in convenient, snort-able form for when bolting a tablespoon or two just isn't quick enough.
Boasting a significantly reduced fat content (85% in fact), BL's Powdered PB is also Gluten-Free, non-GMO, and contains no preservatives-- in fact, the only ingredients are Organic Peanuts, Organic Coconut Sugar, and Sea Salt. It is prepared by mixing 2 tbsp of the powder with 1 tbsp of water (less water if a thicker consistency is desired).
The back of the label really plays up the fact that the product is made with Coconut Sugar, stating: Coconut Sugar is produced from the sap of the coconut palm flower, and does not taste like coconut. This 100% organic, sustainably harvested natural sweetener has a lower glycemic index than cane sugar and contains essential vitamins and minerals. Checking into this claim, I found that coconut sugar, as opposed to brown or refined white sugar, contains higher concentrations of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Chlorine, Sulfur, Boron, Zinc, Manganese, Iron, and Copper. It is also considered to be safe for diabetics and can be used as a traditional sugar replacement at a 1:1 ratio.
When mixed with water, the resultant spread does have the look, smell, and taste of natural peanut butter, but slightly sweeter and with a hint of fruitiness. The suggested proportions for mixing the powder and water produce a very thin spread, so if you want it to be analogous in thickness to traditional peanut butter, I would suggest using less liquid. The flavor is light and disappears from the palate rather quickly, which in some cases (i.e. using the powder to make a sauce for a dessert) would cut the richness from a popular peanut butter treat, but in others (i.e. making a peanut butter sandwich) would create an underwhelming experience.
To sate my curiosity, I put some of the powder into a glass of organic milk and was pleased to find that it made for a yummy treat, though the powder did not dissolve completely. However, that didn't bother me at all.
From here, I wanted to taste a type of nut butter that I'd never bothered to try, so I picked up--
Artisana 100% Organic Raw Walnut Better with Cashews:
I sort of hated walnuts when I was a kid-- the shells were hard work for me to open, the flesh looked like brain matter, and the flavor was bitter. In essence, walnuts formed the trifecta of "no-frigging-way-I'm-eating-that-not-ever-nawthanks-'k-bye". At some point in my twenties I started to like them-- perhaps it was my palate maturing; perhaps I was replaced with a Pod Person. No matter-- the important part is that I eat them now and I'm lucky to do so. Walnuts are rich in Omega and other essential fatty acids, as well as fiber, certain vitamins, and protein. Despite how much I now like them, I had yet to try a walnut butter, so I grabbed this one at random from the Wegman's Nature's Market when I chose the other two products for this review.
The spread comes packaged in a little pouch, meant as one serving, and only contains walnuts and cashews. To use it, one simply need smush the contents of the package around until it softens, rip open a corner, and squeeze the walnut butter onto the desired walnut-butter-vehicle. In my case, I didn't put the product on anything-- wishing to avoid affecting the actual flavor.
What I'm going to say about it probably seems counter-intuitive, but I mean it in the best way possible; this walnut butter is remarkable in how very unremarkable it is. It does what it should: satisfies and tastes like walnuts. The cashew flavor was mild and barely noticeable, letting the happy walnutty flavor shine right through. There were no added sweeteners, nor anything done to alter the flavor; the spread was just plain delicious and honest.
And now, in consideration of those with nut allergies, we have--
NoNuts Golden Peabutter:
I was pretty eager to try this one out, since I had no clue what the flavor would actually be. In the case of many "replacer" foods, the separate ingredients can add up to something that tastes a completely unexpected way. Pertaining to this particular item, there is only one thing listed in the ingredients that I can definitely pick out from the profile for exactly what it is: Icing Sugar. If that sounds weird, it is-- and also it isn't.
The peabutter consists of brown peas, canola oil, icing sugar (contains cornstarch), palm oil, mono- & diglycerides, and citric acid; it's safe to say that the icing sugar is there to provide both sweetness and a peanut-butter-like consistency. What you get is more akin to the lovechild of Jif and Duncan Hines frosting. That doesn't make it bad-- just slightly different than I was expecting.
The spread has a mild, sweet smell (but you can certainly sense the icing sugar) and an attractive golden color. This combination of ingredients has coalesced into a complex flavor profile, with a warm nuttiness and an interesting first wave of sweetness and brazil nuts-- but the aftertaste, sadly, is where the icing sugar dominates, and I've forgotten the safe-word apparently because the assault of bitter-sweetness on my tongue will not relent. It has seriously been over an hour and I can still taste it. Combine this with some pretty unimpressive nutrition stats, and I would say that I'm not super-fond of NoNuts Golden Peabutter, though I certainly wanted to be. That being said however, if I were unable to have peanuts and treenuts, and I wanted a product which could offer a similar taste to a nut butter and that is manufactured in a facility which is completely nut-free, I would certainly use NoNuts Golden Peabutter for the occasional fix.
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