Thanks to a follow from @nutshotsays on Twitter, this brought my attention to the healthy peanut butter brand. When I say healthy, I mean peanut butter made from literally just 100% peanuts – no added salt or sugar which you usually get found hidden in most brands, plus no nasty stabilisers like Palm Oil, additives or anything artificial.
Like Marmite, peanut butter is one of those things you either love or hate – thankfully, I fit into the former category so spotting these guys was a joy. As part of my daily fitness and food routine, I’ve been incorporating more natural protein into my diet in the form of The Good Hemp Nutrition Fit Shake in the morning after a workout, or having an Upbeat high protein drink. Since peanut butter is a great source of natural protein, this was great news as another way of getting a protein (and healthy fats) boost.
I researched a little more on their website, to find they do two varieties of peanut butter: Chunky (crunchy) or Creamy (smooth) – this is where I can’t decide which sub-category I fall into, I think both have their uses in different things so I’ll skip having to choose! The fact that this brand is bold, colourful and vibrant, is currently the fastest growing peanut butter in the UK, contains simple ingredients and is affordable for the quality of the product was greatly appealing; I needed to get some Nut Shot in my life!
The brand kindly sent me a tub of each variety following conversations on Twitter and my desire to feature them on my blog and experiment with recipes. I was immediately struck by the ‘freshness’ of the contents and the delicious natural taste of both – who needs added salt and sugar when it tastes so good as nature intended it to? This is what makes Nut Shot stand out from the crowd in the market. Other benefits of these little pots of goodness are they are cholesterol free, gluten free, high in fibre as well as protein plus suitable for vegans and vegetarians – a winner for most diets!
One thing I wanted to make specifically with Nut Shot’s Chunky peanut butter were quick, easy no-bake high protein ‘bites’, so after searching round, I was inspired by Hannah Mills’ Protein Amaze Balls recipe and adapted it slightly. Here’s my adapted recipe below:
Ingredients:
- 250g plain cottage cheese
- 3 tbsp Nut Shot Chunky peanut butter
- 1 cup Perkier Fruity Berry porridge oats
- ¼ cup Good Hemp Nutrition Fit Shake protein powder
- 1 tbsp cocoa or low fat hot chocolate powder (I used Weight Watchers brand)
- 2 tbsp Groovy Food Company agave syrup
Get making:
Simply mix everything in a large ball using a metal spoon, give it a good stir then divide into 10 and roll into balls. Line plastic boxes with foil, put the balls inside and freeze for 40 minutes. Simply thaw for 40 minutes before eating or store in the fridge for up to seven days. Healthy, squidgy and bloody tasty high protein bites at your convenience!
Here are some more ways I’ve been using Nut Shot peanut butters:
Smooth:
- Chopped apple and/or bananas with fat free vanilla yogurt and drizzled with peanut butter for a super healthy, filling breakfast.
- Mix a little Nutella into some Total 0% Greek yogurt with a spoonful of peanut butter as a delicious topping over fruit for a cheeky dessert.
- Healthy sweet popcorn: cook 60g corn kernels in ¼ tsp of oil, meanwhile mix 1 tbsp peanut butter, 3 tsp agave syrup or molasses and 1 tbsp hot water together then pour over the popcorn when ready.
- Add to a smoothie before blending – you can go crazy, perhaps some of the best combinations are with banana and natural yogurt, or berries and vanilla yogurt.
- Mix peanut butter with cottage cheese or fat-free soft cheese for a delicious, high protein dip for raw apple or celery.
Chunky:
- You can try any other the above recipes with Chunky or Smooth and vice versa, depending on preference for texture!
- For a filling snack after a good workout, one of my favourite combinations is plain rice cakes topped with Quark (fat-free soft cheese), peanut butter and slice banana – delicious!
- Add into a stir-fry with soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce, lime, onions, garlic, ginger, loads of stir-fry vegetables, chicken or prawns and serve with noodles.
Other recipes:
Try my fellow health and fitness friend Hannah’s Healthy Peanut Butter Cookies, plus try nutritionist Nic’s No Bake Healthy Cookie Dough Bites or her Frozen Banana and Nut Butter Chocolate Bites.
Want to try Nut Shot for yourself? You can buy these awesome tubs of protein goodness online on the website, or from major retailers including Booths, As Nature Intended and Win Naturally!.