[boxcigsnick]

"...does anyone know why the almonds pkg i bought said that there were 3 net carbs per serving and the jar only 2 net carbs per serving when it is just almonds? can almonds vary in carb value?"

Are you comparing identical serving sizes? One 2 TBS serving of whole almonds (according to my Atkins carb counter) has 1.4 net grams. 2 TBS almond butter had 5.6 grams. Obviously, when you grind nuts you can get more into that tablespoon...

Another issue with carb counts (like the rest of the counts on any label) is that some manufacturers will round up. What might be 2.8 grams of carb in reality, can be rounded up to 3 on the package. If it was 3.49 grams, they can round down to 3 grams (legally). The difference isn't something I worry about... life is just too precious and time too short to worry about miniscule differences. I just go by my Atkins carb counter and call it good.

I keep almond butter in the fridge indefinitely. So long as it's cool, the oil shouldn't go rancid before you can eat it. That's what you have to watch out for... if you smell it, you can tell if it's rancid. It will have an "off" or "old" odor to it. It will also taste weird. Smell your liquid oils, as well. Old, rancid oil smells bad... and not like something you'd want to put on a salad, believe me.

Once thing about refrigerated almond butter... it's really hard to spread. Scoop out your serving a while before you intend to eat it and let it warm up. Or, if you're like me and you like it plain on a spoon, eat it cold... it's wonderful that way!

Tril