Is Better 'n Peanut Butter better?

by Nicole Weston, Posted Mar 14th 2007 @ 9:05AM

The high fat and calorie content puts many people off of eating too much peanut butter as adults, while those same people, as children, might have gulped the stuff down by the spoonful or eaten sandwich after sandwich without a second thought. Peanut butter, depending on the brand, has about 200 calories and 17 grams of fat per 2 tablespoon serving. By contrast, Better 'n Peanut Butter has 100 calories and 2.5 grams of fat per 2 tablespoon serving. But because it has "peanut butter" in the name and has fewer calories, can it replace the real thing?

Better 'n Peanut Butter is a low fat, all-natural peanut spread. It is made primarily of peanuts (as de-fatted peanut flour and natural peanut butter), tapioca syrup, water, dehydrated cane juice, rice syrup and various thickeners and flavorings. It is thick and spreadable, like regular peanut butter, but has a sight elasticity about it that the "real" stuff would never have. Taste-wise, no one would mistake it for regular peanut butter because it is very sweet. That being said, however, it does have a good consistency and a nice texture. The flavor isn't bad, and it is peanutty, but it just doesn't have that savory stickiness that makes peanut butter so addictive. So, Better 'n Peanut Butter isn't likely to step into peanut butter's shoes any time soon, but it isn't a bad product by any means and is a great option for dieters/weight-watchers who can't have regular peanut butter very often.

It is sold at Trader Joe's and other supermarkets around the US.

Filed Under: Raves & Reviews, Light Food, Ingredients
Tags: Better 'n Peanut Butter, Better'nPeanutButter, light food, nuts, Peanut Butter, PeanutButter, seeds

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

3-14-2007 @12:09PM Vesna http://ulysses.blogware.com said... As usual, a supposedly superior version of a natural, whole food involves adding a lot of highly processed ingredients.

As usual, when the the naturally occuring fats are cleared away, a bunch of sugar is stuffed in.

As usual, when converting a real food into a lowfat shadow of itself, the result is high-carb.

As usual, a product fabricated of high-tech ingredients like ultra-processed peanut byproducts, flavorings, texture simulators and so forth, has the gall to call itself "better" than something that involves only peanuts, a little salt, and a smashing device.

As usual, it's doesn't taste as good.

"[I]sn't a bad product by any means"? It is a bad product, by various means.

"[A] great option for dieters/weight-watchers"? Sure, if you want to stimulate insulin production and http://www.mercola.com/article/carbohydrates/lower_your_grains.htm
store the calories as body fat.
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3-14-2007 @2:20PM Red said... Have you heard about PB2?
Its a powdered peanut butter. You just add water (or any other liquid really) and stir. Its extremly low in cals and fat,(54 cals per 2 tbsp) and after "Hungry-Girl" raved about it, sales for the stuff went literally nuts.

I have not tried it but have heard its good. You could also use it in recipies, such as curries, satays, smoothies, icecream, or like reg. PB.

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3-14-2007 @3:13PM alice radley said... Why can't people just eat real peanut butter, but in smaller amounts? Filling PB with sugar and tapioca makes no sense at all! Processed garbage is not proper food.

www.kilgoreskitchen.blogspot.com
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3-14-2007 @7:31PM Joe said... I actually like this product quite a bit. I'd say I like it better than peanut butter.

My girlfrind has dietary conditions where she can not digest foods that are high in fat. She is actually able to eat this product where only the smallest amount of peanut butter would do.

Since I sometimes cook and eat with her; I have gotten used to eating lower fat foods. It certinly does digest easier, for me, than regular peanut butter. Also as I said before I find it good tasting.

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3-14-2007 @10:30PM Sean said... Citing mercola should be a bannable offense. I was appaled to see a Time magazine article cite him just the other day even if it did preface it by saying what a fringe character he is.

That being said I'll stick with almond butter myself. There is however nothing "wrong" about using procesed ingredients or altering "natural" foods to change its nutritional profile. At a very basic level, that is all we're doing when we heat something; making it more digestible by changing its chemical makeup. If science can make a product better (and I'm not saying this peanut butter necessarily is) then why not endorse it?
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