In a nutshell, nut butters are any creamy spread made from crushed nuts. These include peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, and macadamia-nut butter. On the South Beach Diet, natural nut butters with no sugar added are the best choice, but processed nut butters can also be used as long as they don't contain trans fats and/or a lot of sugar.

How to Use Nut Butters
As with peanut butter, other nut butters are also a rich source of high-quality protein and monounsaturated fats. That said, like peanut butter, nut butters can be diet busters if you overdo it. When adding nut butters to your daily diet, you can choose to treat it as a protein (including it in a recipe or on its own as part of a meal) or enjoy it as you would a nut (eating it as a snack). Try to limit yourself to one serving per day, and avoid eating whole nuts on the same day. Your Meal Plan allows for 2 tablespoons daily of any nut butter beginning on Phase 1.

Where to Find Nut Butters
Peanut butter and some other nut butters can now be found in many grocery stores, but some of the best can be purchased in specialty groceries and health-food stores. You can also make your own by grinding up whole nuts in your food processor (it will take about 15 minutes to get creamy). Natural nut butters should be stored in the refrigerator to prevent spoilage. If the natural oils separate from the solids, simply stir them together before use.

Enjoy nut butters as dips for vegetables like celery or asparagus on all Phases. On Phase 2, use as a sandwich spread on whole-grain or whole-wheat bread or pita.

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