Peanut Butter Alternatives
BY: Andrea Nakayama
DATE: 2011-01-18
This month: peanut butter alternatives
If you have a kid, you are a kid, or you know a kid, you’ve likely heard of peanut allergies. You’ve also probably attended a school, a camp, or a party that’s a designated “peanut-free zone”. One question I often hear is when did the whole anti-peanut thing happen? I know. We all grew up eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches without a second thought.
About 1.5% of the population suffers from peanut allergies. Peanuts are by far the most common cause of anaphylaxis. (Anaphylaxis is a full-blown allergic reaction to a protein resulting from a previous exposure to it. It can affect the skin, respiration, the gastrointestinal tract, the heart, or the central nervous system. Some of you have likely experienced this!) Though peanuts are a less allergic food among children than milk or eggs, and only slightly more allergic than wheat, the general reaction tends to be more severe.
So why so many peanut allergies?
The answer is complex. There are underlying immune issues, the health of the digestive system, and the inability of the body to process a naturally occurring fungus that inhabits the peanut. That fungus produces a poison called an aflotoxin. Aflotoxins are a known carcinogen that can be quite a bit more toxic than DDT. That allergic reaction is a way for the body to tell us that it just can’t handle some aspect of that food. It’s the tip of the iceberg.
Peanuts are actually part of the vegetable family. They’re not a nut, but a legume! Peanuts grow in the ground, not on trees. Peanut butter was one of my last guilty pleasures. Yes, there are many benefits to peanut butter. They’re high in protein (including the amino acid tryptophan) and a good source of B vitamins.
So why the guilt? Well, peanuts and their butters are difficult to digest ~ especially for anyone with a delicate digestive system or a compromised liver or gallbladder. They contain a high number of oxalates, which are naturally occurring chemical compounds found in certain plants and humans, but which can interfere with the body’s ability to absorb calcium if eaten in excess. But it was those aflotoxins that were haunting me.
And then, my son tested positive for a peanut sensitivity (different from an allergy). The household prohibition of peanut butter was what finally thwarted my habit of surreptitiously eating peanut butter from the jar like others might dig into store-bought icing.
Luckily that doesn’t relegate us to boring and protein deficient jelly sandwiches! There’s always almond or cashew butter. But there are also so many exciting nut and seed butter options available. A local Portland company makes one of my favorites, a Hazelnut Hemp butter that, to me, tastes like a healthy Nutella. The inclusion of the hemp seeds brings a nice omega-3 balance into the mixture. I also like to use seed butters. I’ll use tahini (sesame seed butter) in place of peanut butter in an Asian sauce for noodles or stir-fry, and sunflower butter in cookies and bars. It’s the sunflower butter that finally gave me the old satisfaction I would get from peanut butter. (Confession: I will eat it off of a spoon right from the jar.)
Below you’ll find some of my favorite peanut butter replacements as well as a perfect recipe for Pretend Peanut Butter Cookies. And if you choose to go peanuts, choose carefully. Look for organic peanut butters that only contain peanuts and don’t have additives like hydrogenated oils and sugars.
If you’re looking to curb some surreptitious habits of your own, don’t forget to check out the next TrulyFood seasonal cleanse. . . Revitalize: A Winter Cleanse.
Nut Butter Options:
(Click on each entry to be taken to on-line ordering information and ask your local stores to stock these brands.)
Wilderness Poets nut and hemp butters
Local Portland Company
read labels carefully on other Maranantha products as they sometimes contain sugar
or make your own!
include the honey or not
P r e t e n d P e a n u t B u t t e r C o o k i e s
m a k e s a b o u t 2 0 s m a l l c o o k i e s
i n g r e d i e n t s :
3 t a b l e s p o o n s w a t e r
1 t a b l e s p o o n g r o u n d f l a x s e e d m e a l
1 1/ 4 c u p s B o b‘ s R e d M i l l G l u t e n F r e e A l l - P u r p o s e B a k i n g F l o u r
1 t e a s p o o n b a k i n g p o w d e r
1/ 2 t e a s p o o n s a l t
1/ 2 t e a s p o o n x a n t h a n g u m
1/2 c u p o r g a n i c coconut oil
1 c u p coconut sugar
1/ 2 c u p s u n f l o w e r s e e d b u t t e r
1/ 2 t e a s p o o n v a n i l l a e x t r a c t
preparation:
P r e h e a t t h e o v e n t o 3 7 5 F a n d l i n e 2 b a k i n g s h e e t s w i t h p a r c h m e n t p a p e r .
I n a s m a l l b o w l , c o m b i n e t h e w a t e r a n d f l a x s e e d m e a l . A l l o w t o t h i c k e n f o r 3 t o 5 m i n u t e s .
I n l a r g e b o w l , w h i s k t o g e t h e r t h e f l o u r , b a k i n g p o w d e r , s a l t , a n d x a n t h a n g u m .
I n t h e b o w l o f a s t a n d m i x e r , c r e a m t o g e t h e r t h e coconut oil , coconut sugar, a n d s u n f l o w e r s e e d b u t t e r . S c r a p e d o w n t h e s i d e s o f t h e b o w l , t h e n b e a t i n t h e f l a x s e e d m i x t u r e a n d t h e v a n i l l a . S c r a p e d o w n t h e s i d e s o f t h e b o w l a g a i n . S t i r i n t h e d r y i n g r e d i e n t s u n t i l t h o r o u g h l y c o m b i n e d .
U s i n g a s m a l l i c e c r e a m s c o o p , d r o p t h e d o u g h 2 i n c h e s a p a r t o n t o t h e p r e p a r e d s h e e t s . P r e s s t h e c o o k i e s d o w n w i t h t h e t i n e s o f a f o r k ( d i p p e d i n coconut s u g a r ) i n t h e c r i s s - c r o s s p a t t e r n c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f p e a n u t b u t t e r c o o k i e s .
B a k e t h e c o o k i e s f o r 1 0 t o 1 2 m i n u t e s o r u n t i l t h e e d g e s a r e g o l d e n a n d t h e t o p s n o l o n g e r l o o k w e t . T r a n s f e r t h e b a k i n g s h e e t s f r o m t h e o v e n t o c o o l i n g r a c k s a n d c o o l f o r 1 0 m i n u t e s , t h e n t r a n s f e r t h e c o o k i e s d i r e c t l y o n t o t h e r a c k s t o c o o l c o m p l e t e l y .
S t o r e t h e c o o k i e s i n a n a i r t i g h t c o n t a i n e r a t r o o m t e m p e r a t u r e f o r u p t o 5 d a y s , o r f r e e z e f o r u p t o 3 m o n t h s .
adapted f r o m A l l e r g y - F r e e D e s s e r t s
In the News
Listen here for a short interview with Dayna Cakebread, mother of the amazing Stella (also my client) about Stella’s journey from a rare form of Leukemia to health with the help of good foods. This is the stuff that truly inspires.
By: Andrea Nakayama, FxNA Founder & Functional Medicine Nutritionist
Functional Nutrition Alliance provides the comprehensive online Functional Nutrition training in the Science & Art of the Functional Nutrition practice. Learn to address the roots of your clients’ suffering with client education, diet & lifestyle modifications.