Natural Peanut Butter

My husband & I recently got the chance to visit Blackberry Farm in Tennessee (WONDERFUL place, by the way!). They make a lot of food there, especially jellies & peanut butter. You can even order online! We didn't buy the peanut butter, but did get to taste it while we were there. It was great!! Ingredients? peanuts & salt. that's it!

Here's their shop link for the peanut butter: http://www.blackberryfarmshop.com/shop/item.aspx?itemid=257

We've had several of their jellies too. Oohhh they are goooood!! :)

Due to lack of time I've not read the other responses...Smuckers creamy peanut butter is AWESOME..they even sell organic. Me and my kids all love it!

We use the stuff from Trader Joe's, but the Skippy Natural is good too. It has no HFCS and it tastes really good.

I agree with Skippy Natural. It is the same cost as their less desirable peanut butter, which is quite a surprise. When they get used to that, Smucker's makes a really great peanut butter that does not separate as much as many of the others do. Smart Balance is also really good, but I find that it doesn't taste as good to kids as some of the others do.

Costco Kirkland brand Organic peanut butter is great and my kids love it. We also like skippy natural.
L.

My kids will eat Skippy natural... but also my hubby's favorite.. Smart Balance.

Skippy Natural taste good and doesn't get the pool of oil on the top. My son loves it.

We love Naturally More. It is sweetened with honey and also contains flax seeds, flax seed oil, wheat germ and egg whites along with the peanuts. The flax seeds and flax seed oil are a great source of omega fatty acids. I even use it in my chocolate chip peanut butter oatmeal cookies and the whole family loves them. If your daughter may be turned off by the crunch of the flax seeds, Smuckers makes an organic/natural peanut butter sweetened with honey. Peanut butter sweetened with honey is sometimes easier to take then the pb made only with peanuts. Good luck on your search!

My son likes the Trader Joe's brand, surprisingly. He has rejected all other brands. I do take out some of the oil. It is like 20% of the jar. Yuck! I am not a peanut butter fan though.
S.

Why not make your own? Buy some peanuts in bulk (even organic if you like) and grind them in your food processor our blender. You can do this by the cup/handful and your pb is always fresh and you know what's in it.
For creamy PB add some peanut or other veggie oil. For crunchy add a few peanuts when you're almost done processing and give it a few pulses. You are even in control how much salt and sugar (if any) go in or add some choc chips for a special treat.
Bulk nuts keep well in the freezer (keeps them from going rancid).

Your mom may have peanut butter that is literally only peanuts. You can make this kind yourself in a food processor or the machine they have in the store for making it. Peanuts only peanut butter is rather bland. So if you really mean natural, look on the label and be sure it contains salt. I think that even natural peanut butter also has other natural ingredients such as a sweetener. What they do not have is preservatives.

A comment about agave. Please research this ingredient. It is much better than high fructose corn syrup. It is made in an entirely different way. I is processed in a way similar to sugar from a natural food, agave. It is "all the rage" because it is natural and does not contain any other ingredient than agave and it does not spike blood sugar levels as sugar does. Also, you need to use less to achieve the same degree of sweetness as sugar gives. Thus it contains less calories/serving.

I don't remember why high fructose corn syrup is now considered unhealthy but I will look it up. There is disagreement about whether or not high fructose corn syrup is unhealthy. Moderation seems to be the key. HFC is currently found in excess in many processed foods. Whether or not it is unhealthy requires complex knowledge.

In a few minutes I found these sites. There are sites that dispute the healthy use of agave but not because it's the same as or similar to high fructose corn syrup HFC is made when the molecular structure of corn starch is chemically changed. Agave does contain fructose which is a healthy, natural sweetner. It is made by heating the agave plant to release the syrup. Sugar is made by heating sugar cane or sugar beets to release the syrup. Also, fructose is what sweetens our fruit. Fruit is a necessary part of a healthy diet. We do not stop eating fruit. If one believes all food should be raw then neither sugar or agave sweetener is acceptable.

In summary: HFC is made by changing the starch to fructose. In sugar and agave, fructose is the natural ingredient already present in the initial food.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-fructose-corn-syrup...
http://www.dvo.com/agave-nectar.html

My son's absolute fave is the "grind your own" from Whole Foods.

You can essentially grind just a couple of tablespoons to bring home to taste test.

I like Wegman's organic and my kids do too. It seems to me to be easier to stir than Trader Joe's.

Skippy natural doesn't need to be stired but it does have sugar added to it. Smuckers natural is great a tip for the oil mixing store the can upside down until use and it is a lot easier to mix and it is not oily on the top. Also after opening keep in the frig.

We are on this same search, so I will be checking out some of your answers. :) I had thought we found a good one, but come to find out that anything sweetened with agave is really no more healthy than something sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. Agave has been all the rage because it is different than sugar and does not spike insulin levels, but in truth it is so processed and refined that it is actually worse than high fructose corn syrup. Just thought I'd pass that info along for when you are checking labels. I think I'd rather go with regular sugar, but hope to find something tasty with no sweeteners at all.

I also use and LOVE Skippy Naturals!

I vote for Smuckers because it is salted. Many natural peanut butters are not, and I think that salt improves the taste immeasurably.

It took some getting used to, but once I made the switch, I'll never go back! Natural is way more delicious than processed peanut butters. Kids can be tricky though... good luck!

We love MaraNatha peanut butter (creamy, with salt). All my kids love as do their friends. I have never had a kid not like it - and lots of their friends are picky eaters.
Also, it is organic which is important since nonorganic peanuts contain high levels of pesticides.

You can make it really easy and when the kids help, they seem to love it. If the peanuts don't seem sweet enough you can add some sugar and it will be ok. But it wont taste like the store bought kind, just so ya know.

Trader Joe has organic and my kids like it. Also, if you get a chance to go to Whole Foods, you can make your own peanut butter. Just push a button to make peanut butter or almond butter. It doesn't get more natural and fresher than that.

I started giving my daughter Smucker's All Natural Peanut Butter when she was about 18 or so months. I made the switch from regular peanut butter, and she was fine eating it. Not sure how old your daughter is, but I recommend you make the switch and just be patient with it. Maybe start by adding more jelly? In my opinion, the all natural stuff tastes so much better than the processed stuff out on the market. Good luck!

if you have trader joes near you try their organic creamy or crunchy PB. It's great and affordable.