[eFDMBwKH]

Since it is not induction friendly and I accidentally posted it to the induction people (been hanging out in the induction forum for so long but now i plan to move on to OWL very soon)

Is peanut butter even allowed? I briefly re-read the listed food items in my Dr. Atkins New Revolution book and see that nuts are allowed but nowhere does it say PB, unless I'm blind. So if we can have PB how much on OWL is one to have daily? and what is the equivalence between the # of nuts we can have in a day that equal 5 net carbs and the PB?

I am on the border between Induction and OWL and I have admittingly had some of the PeterPan Splenda Peanut Butter to keep me from gravitating towards something totally bad for you, during my terrible cravings during my TOM. I figured that since I am almost switching over completely to OWL i didn't do too much damage right? Thanks in Advance!

[boxcigsnick]

The first rung of the OWL ladder is more veggies... you can add 5 net carbs of veggies the first week. That would bring you up to 25 total, with 17 - 20 of them from vegetables. If you're still losing, the next week you can add 5 more carbs from the next rung, which is fresh cheeses (like cottage cheese) as well as more aged cheese. At this point you're up to 30 a day... 17 - 20 from veg, 5 from fresh cheese (the other 5 to 8 carbs can be "spent" on things like cream, olives, avocado, cheese, etc). Third rung, third week... seeds and nuts. At this rung you can add 5 carbs a day for a total of 35 a day. Here is where PNB comes in. There's some disagreement about peanuts and pnb... some people believe that because peanuts are actually legumes that you don't get to add them in until the 6th rung.... legumes. Techinically, that might be true. BUT, if you look up nuts in any of the Atkins books you'll find peanuts and peanut butter listed with the other true nuts. I think that Dr. Atkins felt that they were nut-like enough to put them there... so that's how I eat them, as NUTS, not legumes. He said that his first choice for nuts are macadamia and that's what I try to stick to. They also only have 0.9 carbs per serving.

One serving of nuts is 2 TBS and carb count varies by nut. For peanuts, 2 TBS is 1.8 net carbs. 4 TBS (1/4 cup) would be 3.6. Peanut butter (natural, no sugar added) is 2 TBS for 4.8 net grams. That's two LEVEL tablespoons.... barely enough to bother with. lol Be sure to measure it or you might be eating two to three TIMES the carbs you think you are. The nut list is on page 399 in my book. The OWL ladder is on page 171.

Speaking of the ladder... Atkins said we could skip rungs, BUT we shouldn't skip that week. If you skip the fresh cheese rung stay at 25 carbs (with extra veggies) for two weeks. Then move on to the next rung and add 5 carbs a day from that rung. At that point you would be up to 30 carbs while on the 3 rung, instead of 35 carbs. He explains it quite well in the book.

[eFDMBwKH]

Thanks again Tril - i think I'm done with the PB for a while anyway, too (which is a good thing atkins wise, lol) It made me feel really sick today and I don't know if it was PB in general or because it was the PB with splenda). I saw the rungs in the book as well and need to read fully again OWL anyway to prepare myself for the next move (scary ;p) as i've been so comfy in induction - but I've been on since the end of march and am obviously yearning for more options lol thanks!

[joanasevilyboaz]

A good substitute for peanut butter is freshly ground almond butter. Yum! And so good for you, too! I get it ground at the store from almonds with no additives at all, and keep it in the frig. Then I eat a tablespoon at a time for a snack.

[ThomasMannfanny]

omg, once i start eating peanut butter i cant stop!!!

[eFDMBwKH]

OMG got some almond butter and i have been won over! it was the only one i could find at the military commissary and im guessing b/c it was organic is why it was as $$ as it was. it was $7 for only 8 oz! im picking up a food processor, bag of raw whole almonds and gonna make it myself probably cheaper that way LOL

[retrahdggd]

OMG got some almond butter and i have been won over! it was the only one i could find at the military commissary and im guessing b/c it was organic is why it was as $$ as it was. it was $7 for only 8 oz! im picking up a food processor, bag of raw whole almonds and gonna make it myself probably cheaper that way LOL

Cool! That sounds awesome. Let us know how you make it and how it turns out. =-)

-June

[boxcigsnick]

$7 is cheap for a jar of almond butter! I've spent as much as $12 for it. LOL

I keep mine in the fridge... it goes rancid faster than pnb.

Tril

[eFDMBwKH]

im going to try 2 cups of raw almonds roasted for 20 min. in the oven set at 300 degrees. Then im going to let it cool to room temp. I will then put it in my new food processor until it turns to almond butter they say you can add 1/4 tsp pf salt for flavor and 1 tsp of an oil of choice - im going to use evol - if it balls up. if it turns to almond powder keep processing until it turns to that desired almond butter consistency -store in air-tight container and place in fridge - i am trying it now as we speak waiting for almonds to finish roasting and will keep you guys posted

[eFDMBwKH]

ok i made it and let me tell you it tasted even better than the store bought one. i roasted them for 20 min in the oven and instead of letting them cool i put them in semi-warm because ifigured they'd chop up in there better. i did have to add several tsp of evoo (oops before in my post i put evol and meant evoo lol) i don't remember quite how many i put in but i want to say about 8. i had to process it for a good 8-10 min because i like to stop every couple min and let the motor kind of cool down for a min. the 2 cups yielded an 8 oz jar. and was the perfect consistency 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?
oh plus i added 2 little packets of splenda to the last time i processed the almond butter to add just a little sweetness to it. YUM

[eFDMBwKH]

does anyone know how long the almond butter will last in the fridge? thanks!

[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

[EvaQWmrm]

how do you guys eat a tablespoon of anything for a snack.



Tablespoon is like a bite......

[joanasevilyboaz]

I keep a small plastic container of fresh almond butter in my little fridge under my desk at work. I keep a measuring tablespoon in my drawer and have a tablespoon every now and then. Kyp, you're right, it's really just a bite, but it has lots of calories, so I try to limit myself. I think it's a good idea to have it along with veggies because eating fat and protein at the same time as your carbs reduces the impact of the carbs on your blood sugar.

I've never had almond butter go bad, but I only get about four to six ounces at a time, and it's so yummy, I finish it off within a week.