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Is Jif Natural Peanut Butter Healthy?

August 24, 2021   42 Comments

Is Jif Natural peanut butter healthy? You would think that “natural” would be the best choice.

Is Jif Natural Peanut Butter Healthy?

I have been looking at peanut butter for a while now because it is not a simple product see: What is the healthiest peanut butter?.

Peanut butter, in my humble opinion, should be ground peanuts and not much else. Jif is a brand that has been on the shelf since 1958 (hopefully not the jar that bought). It is well known with the slogan, “Choosy mothers choose Jif”.

I am a very choosy mother so I not only check out Jif but all the varieties of Jif. It is amazing to me how many choices exist within the Jif brand of peanut butters. How are you supposed to know which is the best?

Natural Jif is not actually peanut butter. It is peanut butter spread with 90% peanuts and added sugar and palm oil. I don’t think adding oil to peanut butter is a great idea. The sugar added is 2 grams per serving of two tablespoon so that is not that big of a deal but it isn't necessary. I think that when you look at other peanut butter choices you can find ones that are healthier - and have 100% peanuts!

Simply Jif is peanut butter! It has a small amount of sugar, oil, and salt added but at 1 gram of added sugar - that is not bad. Simply Jif is healthier than Natural Jif because it has less sugar and is 20% more peanuts. This is the best choice of the Jif brand since it is actually peanut butter.

Reduced Fat Jif is not peanut butter. It is peanut butter spread made with 60% peanuts. The second ingredient is “corn syrup solids” then “sugar” then “pea protein”. Yes, the fat is reduced but there is 100% more sugar added than Simply Jif. I do not think adding sugar and reducing fat is a healthy way to eat.

This is my favorite peanut butter - Teddie Brand - which I find at Costco and my local grocery store. It does cost more than Jif (about 50%) but it is peanuts and a little salt. I don’t want any oil or sugar added to my peanut butter and I don’t mind stirring it before I spread it on my toast.

Peanut butter without any sugar added does take some getting used to but once you do it - you will love the flavor and the health benefits. Peanuts are a great source for nutrients in a compact form.

Do you buy Jif? Which variety is your favorite? Have you tried peanut butter without any sugar added?

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42 Comments:

I buy peanut butter which only contains one ingredient - peanuts. It took me a bit of label reading to find one but if you live near a Wegmans one of their store brands, Just Peanuts, contains only dry roasted peanuts. It took me awhile to get used to natural peanut butter but now I like it much better than others with added ingredients.

Trader Joes Peanut Butter. Simple as you can get

Crazy Richards Pb is the way to go. Just peanuts!

Crazy Richards brand is just peanuts. There is no need for added sugar or salt. I find this brand at my local grocery store and it does cost more but it is worth the price to have a healthier product and not have sodium and added sugar Reading the label carefully is a must to be sure any “Natural” foods do not have unwanted added ingredients!

I like to go to Fresh Thyme and just grind my own! You know exactly what your getting and they offer peanut and almond butter choices. Its fresh and the flavor of fresh ground PB is the best! Plus, no stirring needed!

I buy Smuckers Natural, it says just peanuts on the label. I also like to get it at the health food store from the machine that grinds the nuts into peanut butter for you--nothing added, just the peanuts. So good and creamy.

To be really sure what you are getting, make your own peanut butter. It’s really very easy. Places like Good Foods have loose peanuts, salted and unsalted, so you can get whatever you would like. I also use Big Lots large cans of regular and honey roasted and mix them so as not to have too much sugar, but a good flavor. A Ninja works fantastically, peanut butter in minutes, and for some reason it does not get oily on the top like the ones you buy. I do keep mine in the fridge but don’t think it is really necessary.

I have a vitamix so I make it as I needed. Nothing better than warm peanut butter

Teddie is the best!! I can’t figure out why its’s never mentioned in PB ratings articles that I’ve seen😕

I grind my own at Fresh Thyme. Almond butter, cashew butter, honey roasted peanut butter. You have a choice of fresh peanut butters.

Simply Jif is my new comfort food. When I’m craving cookies, a teaspoon of Simply Jif on a half piece of Oroweat whole wheat works. If I want nut protein, I usually go for walnuts instead of peanuts.

I, too, love the Trader Joe's brand and it comes in 4 varieties - creamy and chunky salted or no salt. And who needs all those calories from the oil? I simply pour it off, stir up what's left, and eat. Once it is refrigerated, if it's too firm for you (not the case with TJs), it can be microwaved for a few seconds to soften it.

THANK YOU SNACK GIRL I ALWAYS THOUGHT ABOUT BUYING JIF.

I NEVER DID. AFTER READING ALL THE ABOVE I HAVE TO SAY I AM STILL CONFUSED ABOUT WHICH PRODUCT TO BUY? I AM BEYOND MAKING MY OWN, THOSE WERE GREAT DAYS. GOOD FOR THOSE WHO DO. I WONDER IF THERE IS A LIST OF THE BEST TO WORST? SKIPPY WASN'T MENTIONED?

I THINK I CAN GUESS WHY? THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR INPUT.

WISH I COULD ADD TO THIS. HAPPY DAYS TO ALL OF YOU. BE SAFE,

BLESSINGS, anneippi

I use either Teddy or Crazy Richards brands. They are a little more but worth it. Both are as close as you can get to natural peanut butter without things like added sugar.

Crazy Richard’s. Only peanuts.

Question - how does PB2 (powdered peanut butter/just add water) compare to all of the above?

Thank you for this post. I’m at a hotel and saw little packs of peanut butter as an option for breakfast. I read the ingredients: peanuts, sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oil (rapeseed, cottonseed and soybean), salt, molasses, monoglycerides. Yuck!! I decided to go with something else because your post inspired me to look at the ingredients. Thank you!!!

This is my favourite, and it is made in Canada: https://www.adamspeanutbutter.ca/En/Home. The best peanut butter, with only two ingredients (peanuts, salt), and it comes in glass jars. (I have a thing about plastic, in that I don't like it, and don't like purchasing food that comes in it.) It is also a bit pricier, but they often have coupons that come with a purchase, so you save on your next purchase. And there will always be a next purchase with me!

In my Cardiac Nutrition class I teach(dietitian here), I always say “there ain’t anything Natural about Natural Jif”. My go to is Kroger Natural Creamy PB. Just peanuts and salt. Bonus is I can get it for $1 a jar on sale!! And please note PB doesn’t need to be Organic. That wonderful shell protects the nuts great. Oh and if you don’t like to stir your PB, store it upside down and voila! Just make sure the lids on tight! Thanks Snack Girl for helping spread the word on better choices!!

PB2 all the way

Crazy Richards is another brand of peanut butter that is just peanuts. Not bad tasting but it is not sweet. I will definitely be looking for Teddie when I go to Costco. I would love to try that one. My latest thing is slices of apples and peanut butter for snack or breakfast.

I like Simply Jif. Like you said, it’s real peanut butter, low in salt and sugar and best of all the taste is great! It has a nice peanutty flavor.

I agree with Carla D. above....I only buy peanut butter in glass jars, as I prefer not to buy food in plastic if I can avoid it. The Teddie organic peanut butter does come in glass jars.

Hi snack girl, I reread the above & I just realized when I do up to NH to Trader Joe's I'v never tried the "peanut butter" THANKS VIVIAN, It pays to reread & see some info that will "now interest you"! BLESSINGS TO TO "YOU SNACK GIRL"-- [HANG IN THERE not easy, time will pass, find someone trustworthy, look above!?] --& ALL ABOVE, BE HEALTHY & SAFE TO ALL LOVED ONES! ANNETTE G

I like love Smuckers Natural. Just peanuts and a little salt. That’s it.

My favorite peanut butter and almond butter is found at Fred Meyer and other stores that have a natural products section, and it’s just peanuts or almonds that you grind yourself into a container that they provide for free with a lid. Nothing but the peanuts!

Good grief, it is easy to fine 100% peanut peanuutbutter. I buy at Costco (Canada) 100 % peanuts. Palm oil is horrid and why add sugar or salt?

Carla D, I see from the link you provided that Adams peanut butter is made by Smuckers. I have bought Smuckers natural peanut butter here in the US--that just has peanuts and salt. I wonder if it's the same as Adams.

Here in Florida I buy Publix brand all natural peanut butter. I like having a bit of salt in it, but nothing more than that.

Also, I've found that if you store nut butter jars upside down, they can leak through the lid. I always put them in a little glass bowl. But you do have to wipe them down with a paper towel when you open them, to get the oil off. Lately I just pour the oil off at the start and use the peanut butter that is left.

They don't carry the Teddie brand at my Costco, must be a regional brand. I make peanut butter in my Vitamix.

I have been buying Smuckers Natural (which really IS natural) for years. It’s always available at any grocery store. In a perfect world, I would grind my own peanut butter but the world ain’t perfect and I’m too lazy.

@Amy, ha ha! Not only is the world not perfect, but who knows when was the last time those grinding machines were disinfected. I saw people using them at Fresh Market this afternoon, one after another.

My question is, how to get kids to EAT a healthier peanut butter? I fell for the JIF Natural scam when my kids were little, and now they refuse to eat anything else, healthy or not. They won't even eat an unhealthier brand at this point. I've tried tricking them by just giving them something different, and they figure out it's not JIF and refuse to eat it. In the end, they don't eat a massive amount of peanut butter anyway, so I figured it's not the hill I'll die on, but if someone has a suggestion, I'd love to hear it!

Stacy, the trick I used to get my 3 littles to give up blue box Mac and cheese so they’d eat my healthier version was to cut out all Mac and cheese for over a month, if not more. By that time they just missed Mac n cheese and were willing to try mine. Now they eat both. Good luck!!

Never seen Teddy brand, but I get TJ's or Crazy Richards. TJ's almond butter is really good also.

If you have a TRADER JOE'S nearby .... try THEIR brand. It is simply PEANUTS and SALT (there is an "unsalted" also). And ... $1.99 jar .... where others run $5-6.00 jar for what the call "natural"!!!

My go-to is Teddie Unsalted Chunky PB. Great taste!

Since we watch sodium at our house. I buy dry roasted no salt peanuts and put them in the food processor. Works for us!

I used to eat whatever brand peanut butter till I realized soy made my asthma act up. I switched to Teddies but now use other ones from a company that rescues leftover organic food from farmers.

I only buy all natural, unsalted peanut butter. I was raised on Jiff & I still love it to this day but I like anything containing sugar! I buy Trader Joe's unsalted chunky & stir it up. Yum !

Hi Lisa: right now, in my fridge I have Lucerne's Organic crunchy peanut butter and Santa Cruz creamy peanut butter from Safeway. I don't really have a fave, so I just look for types that contain only peanuts. As well as being unnecessary in peanut butter, palm oil is very bad for the environment. Sadly, it's in so many products, so it's hard to avoid without really careful label reading.

When my husband was hospitalized with HEART problems, a nutritionist was sent in to consult. She said ... "TRADER JOE'S peanut butter is the only one I want you to eat. Peanuts & salt ... nothing else." It sells for $1.99 in our local stores. Can find THAT in a regular grocery store! (Sadly, if you don't have one near you ... they DO NOT SHIP .. NO 'on-line' store.) We've moved, and are NOT near a TJ's any more. When we have visitors, I tell them ... "Your room rate is 6 jars of TJ's peanut butter!"

Natural Jif is 90% peanuts so it technically barely qualifies as peanut butter not peanut spread, despite what the label says.(Unless the FDA has recently changed the definition of peanut butter.

I get both Simply Jif (hard to find in Northern California) and Natural Jif. The latter has better flavor and tastes more roasted. Simply Jif is creamier.

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