I was just in Trader Joes and have seen many people posting about almond butter. Is it more like a treat or a daily staple to your diet? What do you eat it with/on?

Is it worth the $4.15

I definitely suggest trying it Even if it's on the pricier side, you'll know if you want to include it as part of your diet

I used to eat it daily on bagels/bread for breakfast. I measured it, and it was no biggie eating it daily since I was losing weight the whole time I eat it much less since then, ever since I took a break, I just don't enjoy it as much for some reason Because I ate so much of it, I would switch it up with different types of nut butters - I personally also really like cashew and hazlenut Delicious!

For me, it's very much a treat, especially since it's $15 a pound freshly ground (which I love). It's cheaper in the jar (though still extremely expensive compared to peanut butter).

However, being so expensive, I treat it like gold, and use it sparingly and eat it VERY, VERY slowly to savor each decadent morsel. I like it spread thinly on apple slices.

I LOVE almond butter...I eat it off a spoon (measured, of course). I eat it almost everyday. It's so healthy.

Since folks mentioned that they put it in their oatmeal - I've been doing that this week with raisins or banana's .... yummy.

But, mostly I like it off the spoon...sitting down and enjoying it.

I eat it every morning on whole wheat natural toast. it fills me up until snack time. It was recommended to me my nutrisionist (sp?). It doesn't have enough sugar taste for me as a treat.

It is one of the good nuts that you should eat daily, so I would say it is a staple item.

It is delicious! But for me, a treat since I am a nut-butter freak! ps: Trader Joe's is AWESOME!

Maybe treat isn't the right word, as when I have it, I tend to eat it every day until it's gone. Indulgence might be a better word. At $15.00 a lb, it's not something I keep in the house regularly. I think of it more in the way I do shellfish . While, I ADORE king crab legs, they're not on my weekly or even monthy menu (maybe once or twice a year actually).

Almond butter is in the house more often than lobster and less often than indulgent varieties of produce like white nectarines, ugli fruit, fresh pineapple...

Cost, nutrition, calories, and the extent of my love for them (or ability to control myself with them) all go into the decision on what comes into the house and how often.

Oh and I didn't see the cost in the original post. If I could find a 10 to 16 ounce jar for $4.15, I'd probably keep it in the house always. I've never found it for less than $8 per pound. The freshly ground tastes so much better than the jarred, that I'd rather buy it fresh (at $15 per pound) than pay $8 a pound for the jar. However, if it was $4.15 a pound, I'd probably buy the jar a lot more often.

mmmm, I like to make my own, almonds are super expensive. I don't eat it daily but I wouldn't consider it a treat. I measure carefully when I do eat it because nuts are so calorie dense. I like it on apple slices too.

Thank you all for insight/suggestions.

One more question, is it more sweet like a peanut butter replacement or savory?

I'd consider most nut butters (natural, with no added sugar) as rather neutral. They're good in both savory and sweet applications, but are rather neutral on their own. On fruit or with a fruit spread or jam, they're great, but to add flavor to a sauce or stir fry, good too.

This reminds me of a conversation I had with a Hmong woman who owns my favorite Thai restaurant. Peanut butter is added mostly to savory, not sweet dishes in her experience, so she is "creeped out" by the peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches her kids like. The idea of eating peanut butter with jelly is sort of like us making a gravy or mustard and jelly sandwhich.

She uses an american brand of peanut butter in her Thai dishes, but it is a brand with no added sugar.

never tried almond butter, but it sure sounds yummy.

kaplods, the analogy about the gravy sandwich was pretty neat. I hadn't thought about it that way....

All of you made me so hungry I went to our natural foods store and got some almond butter and some natural peanut butter! (A result of another thread). It's sooo expensive, but I am all about decadent, expensive, healthy treats so I figure it's all good.

The concept of mixing sweet and savoury tastes isn't so odd - think of sweet and sour! Or turkey with cranberries and gravy.

I love cheese and jam sandwiches!