Natures’ Promise Soynut Butters

I love peanut butter. And love is not a word I throw around. Rarely a day passes without peanut butter in my life.  A tablespoon or two of gooey peanut bliss is the perfect travel-ready sandwich filling, or instant appetite taming snack, thanks to heart-healthy fat and ample protein. While I occasionally enjoy almond butter as a change of pace, peanut butter is my number 1.

But despite my allegiance to the humble peanut, I have philandered.

Perhaps it was the word chocolate on the label, perhaps it was the 10 grams of protein per serving. Perhaps it was my empathy for those with peanut or tree nut allergies that led me astray… no, it was the word chocolate on the label.

Soynut butter, as the name implies, is simply made from ground up soynuts (roasted soybeans). Soynut butter has always been there, keeping Sunbutter (made from sunflower seeds) company on the shelf.  And I never bought either.

I thought of them as a second class peanut butter substitute. But a couple weeks ago in Stop & Shop, I spotted jars of Nature’s Promise soynut butter I didn’t recognize: Sea salt, Cinnamon-sugar, and Chocolate varieties. Someone’s getting creative over at Nature’s Promise, I thought. They looked worth a try. I picked up the chocolate and cinnamon-sugar varieties, and they are both really good! I like the chocolate one more, and I think the cinnamon sugar one could use a bit of extra sweetness (I’m thinking it will be perfect with a drizzle honey on toast), but these are both awesome food finds.  In addition to the just-plain-yummy factor, and good source of healthy unsaturated fats, these have even more protein than other nut butters.

(I’m on my second jar of the chocolate already. It’s addicting, I tell you. Like Nutella meets PB. ) Also check out my new favorite snack: PB and Chocolate Soynut butter together. This is so good it should be illegal.

Added 6/7/09 (Because mc asked):

Nutella (2T) 200 calories, 11 g fat (2 g saturated), 23 g carbs (20 g sugars), 2 g protein.