Are Nut Butters Considered A High Protein Snack?

Are you looking to lose some weight, get toned, and fit better into your wardrobe? There are many Americans out there whose diets are looking much healthier, filled with less saturated fats, more high-quality carbohydrates, and lower intakes of added sugars, a Harvard research study says. 

But there are still many improvements to be made. If you are looking for a great way to improve your diet, eating a high protein snack in between meals is a great way to do it. Read on to find out why having a high protein nut butter is such a great way to reduce your overall calorie intake and get healthier. 

You Might Be Reaching for High Sugar Snacks to Satisfy Your Hunger

When you are watching your diet, you might have to remove many different items from it to ensure you don't end up eating too many unhealthy foods. For example, maybe you have a habit of eating some chips or crackers in the 3 pm slump to keep you going. Or maybe you gobble down whole sandwiches because you are starving in between your meals.

Whatever your reason might be, if you don't plan properly, you will end up consuming snacks or other items that aren't healthy or have too many calories in them. This could blow your efforts out of the water. 

If you have a high protein nut butter snack option at hand, you are less likely to reach for other unhealthy, sugary options.

Proteins Are More Satiating and Keep You Satisfied for Longer

The great thing about nut butter is that even though most people think they are mostly fat, they also have a lot of protein in them. For example, if you consider a serving of 2 tablespoons of nut butter, it will have 200 calories in it on average. 80% of those calories will come from fat, 14% from protein, and 6% from carbohydrates.

Both fats and proteins are highly satiating. That is, they make you feel fuller faster.

Fats and proteins are also slow to digest. Unlike sugars that are almost instantly absorbed into your bloodstream, fats and proteins are slowly but surely digested over time.

This means that neither does your body get that quick insulin rise and dip which can make you reach for sugary snacks or exacerbate your other cravings. But it also means that you will feel fuller longer and you won't have to snack on something else to tide you over until dinnertime. 

There Are Many High Protein Nut Butter Options Out There

Nuts are considered to be some of the most complete foods out there. They are chockful of lots of fats and protein, and they also have many other vitamins and minerals that you might need.

Nowadays, the grocery store is filled with so many different nut butter options that you would be remiss if you didn't try them all. Of course, we are all aware of the traditional nut butter, that is, peanut butter. But you also have almond butter, macadamia butter, and cashew butter. 

If you are on a keto diet, then there are many keto nut butter options out there as well. You can open up your horizons quite a bit by looking out for the many delicious nut butters on the market now.

Some Advantages of Nut Butter as a Snack

If you are still not convinced, then let's look at some other advantages of snacking on nut butter during the day, rather than on chips, crackers, hummus, or celery sticks.

They Are Low in Carbs and Sugar

As mentioned earlier, nut butter is high in proteins and fats. But this means that they are also low in carbs and sugars. 

If you are on a strict no-sugar diet, or if you are trying to watch your sugar intake in general, then using nut butter is a great way to do it. Not only will you feel full because of all the fats and protein in it, but you will also feel good about not consuming unnecessary simple sugars. 

There Are Many Nut Butter Snack Ideas

If you are the kind of person who needs variety in their snacking options and gets bored easily, nut butter is a great addition to your meal prep list. You can mix and match nut butter with a wide variety of other snack options.

For example, you could eat nut butter with a slice of whole wheat bread if you are eating carbs. Or you could dip your veggies into nut butter for a more wholesome snack. Finally, you could even eat nut butter by adding it to your daily smoothie to make it more satisfying and filling.

One delicious option is spreading nut butter over slices of apples or bananas - absolutely heavenly. Or you could add nut butter to your oatmeal for a fiber-filled breakfast or snack.

Don't hold yourself back when it comes to nut butter recipes. The nut butter of today is more versatile and can be used in a wider variety of ways.

They Are a Fast and Portable Snack

Do you have a busy and stress-filled life where you barely have any time to breathe let alone do any meal prep? Are you rushing around from one appointment or chore to another without a second in between?

If that's the case, then you are going to appreciate nut butter as a snack option even more. Nut butter is easy to eat, quite portable, and quick to prepare. 

There's a reason why mothers everywhere prepare peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for their little ones' lunch boxes. 

Next time you have only a few minutes in between meetings or appointments, whip up a quick sandwich for yourself using whole wheat bread and peanut butter. You can easily pack these sandwiches into a Ziploc bag and carry them around with you to eat on the go. And you don't have to worry about them going bad throughout the day, even if it's quite hot in your car.

If you have a bit more time, you could cut up some vegetables and carry these along with a little container of nut butter - there are many brands out there who offer these portable little nut butter squeeze packs. You could even add nut butter to your smoothie and carry that around with you to drink in between drop-offs and pick-ups. 

The problem with too many people is that we are not good at planning our snacks and meals. That's why we end up grabbing fast food on the go, to satisfy our hunger.

But with nut butter snack options prepared beforehand, you won't have to drop into McDonald's or KFC to fill your empty stomach. 

They Are a Great Source of Fiber

Do you spend a lot of your days feeling 'hangry'? Do people around you know to stay away from you in certain moments because you are likely to blow up on them? 

The main culprit here is low blood sugar. And eating chips, crackers, or other high sugar snacks aren't going to help assuage that. 

That's why high protein snack ideas like nut butter are so crucial here. With a high protein nut butter, your blood sugar will stay pretty stable and you will feel full and satiated. This can prevent you from feeling that low blood sugar dip that causes that angry and hungry feeling.

If you have a kitchen in your office or if you have a desk where you can store snacks, why not have a jar of peanut butter or some other nut butter handy? They don't go bad quickly and you can eat nut butter directly from the jar using a spoon when you don't have any veggies or bread to go along with it.

A few tablespoons of nut butter and your body will already start feeling better about the world. It will allow you to think clearly and you can then go and find some more suitable snack options if necessary. Or you can keep working and be more productive as you aren't famished and obsessed with finding something to eat.

A Healthy Diet Toolkit Needs a High Protein Snack Option

No matter where you are in your healthy living, healthy eating journey, adding a high protein snack into your day is a great idea. If you are looking for delicious nut butter recipes, then you need to check out American Dream Nut Butter today!

We have myriad kinds of peanut butter, cashew butter, and almond butter. Our products are always gluten-free, low-carb, low sugar, high protein, and free of any artificial sweeteners.