Almond Butter: A Cautionary Tale

This stuff will burn a hole in your wallet.

I had bought a jar of ridiculously expensive almond butter from my local Key Food about 6 months ago (Yum brand maybe??) after hearing raves and raves about it from friends and enemies alike. And, it was ok. I put it in my oatmeal, and the flavor was kinda lost, I made almond butter toast and it was pretty good. I wasn’t floored and wondered what the hype was all about. Why would people pay $8.00 for something that doesn’t taste as good as a $2.50 jar of peanut butter? Idiots. Well, that jar lasted about 4 months in my fridge. Because it was so expensive, I rationed it intensely. Using it up bit by bit. I mean, it wasn’t even that good anyway, so it wasn’t that hard in the first place. Little did I know…

Finally, after what felt like about a year of digging out my daily ration of almond butter, I finished that less than stellar jar about a month ago. I wasn’t planning on buying anymore, had just discovered Honey Roasted peanut butter (yes-it is amazing as it sounds…I wish I had some and a spoon right now. I would smear it all over my body. Well-that’s a little far) and was really enjoying that. I didn’t need another nut butter in my fridge. Currently, there are 5 different nut butters in my fridge. We like our nuts. Anyway, almond butter wasn’t something I thought I needed. Peanut butter-yes. Definitely a necessity. Almond butter-no, especially not at $8 a pop and for something that wasn’t amazing. However, one afternoon I was picking up something at Whole Foods (oddly enough I think it was the shortening for the Oreos) and wandered into the baking/nut/nut butter aisle which tends to be my favorite. I noticed a Whole Foods brand of Almond butter that was a)chunky and b)2 bucks cheaper than the frou frou brand at Key Food. a) I MUCH prefer chunky nut butters over smooth-always have. Love love love big chunks of nuts among the creaminess. I had never seen chunky almond butter!!! And it was cheap(ish)?? I had to buy it. And buy it I did.

The next day, I opened up the jar to make a almond butter and honey sandwich on my fav Ezekiel Sesame bread. When I opened that jar, it was the most amazing thing. HUGE chunks of almonds among creamy deliciousness. Like, a quarter of an almond chunks. I was floored. I ate a little spoonful while making my sandwich. Holy mother of god. This stuff was worth the $5, hell, it was worth $20, maybe even $100. And that sandwich? I’m drolling thinking about it now, it was that f-ing good. However, as much as I loved it, it was still pricey. And for someone living on a tight budget, it is not so wallet friendly. But it is so good!! Like, go into convulsions good.

That jar lasted 3 weeks. Don’t forget the previous jar lasted 4 months, and my jars of peanut butter, which I eat every day, last about 2 months. A $5 jar of nectar-of-the-gods almond butter, 3 weeks. I don’t even know what I ate it all on!! No clue where it went. But I do know every bite was worth it and heavenly. After I finished that jar, I told myself that I wouldn’t buy anymore, at least for the next few months. However, when I was at Whole Foods this past weekend, somehow a jar ended up in my bag. No clue how that happened. I swear.

So, be cautious. It is expensive stuff. Really really expensive. But soooooo worth it. Tread carefully into the world of high quality almond butter-it will make you happy but it will put you on the streets cause you won’t be able to pay your rent cause your gorging on pricey almond butter. I warned you.