So many people who have not been vegans in their lives, and who made a decision to become vegans, find that transformation a little tricky – like every change that we make in life, can have some challenging parts.

Vegans who have lived in families that were vegan are more habitual to the food choice that they are making. They are used to what they can or cannot eat, in their homes there are some food choices that are “normal”; and in this sense, they are used to buy, and eat a certain type of food.

But people who do not come from vegan families may have some problems when they crave for something that they have eaten all of their lives (before they have become vegans). They do not know what they can eat, and the problem comes from hidden “non-vegan” foods, that in a first glance are vegan, but in fact, they have some of the ingredients that are not vegan.

You know why this is important – because of meat products, sweet stuff and of course dairy products fall under the category of the strongest cravings there is. All of us crave something, and these three are the most common – rarely will you hear someone who says that he craves a bowl of rice, for example.

More commonly, you will say that you crave something incredibly sweet, and when you are a vegan, it cannot be just about anything. It needs to be vegan! And this is not an easy task.

Now, many vegans will say that they choose to eat cookies that are made out of peanut butter because it is healthy and vegan. They choose this more than chocolate cookies.

The most obvious choice may be for some cookie that is made with Peanut butter, and maybe some rolled oats. Both are very healthy, they are not too sweet, but they taste great!

One of them is one of the most famous of all, and it is not chocolate – they are Nutter Butters – the question is, are they vegan or not?

Made for peanut butter lovers

This is one of the brands that have been present on the market since the late 60s. Today, its owner is a company named Nabisco that belongs to the mother company named “Mondelez International”.

This is one of the bestselling cookies that have peanut butter as the main ingredient in the US, and around one billion is eaten annually.

Online you can find numerous recipes that include this amazing cookie, and in the USA it has a cult following and numerous versions, and additions.

Online you can even found the recipes to make your own Nutter Butter, and if you think about your diet, you can make it more or less diet.

You can substitute sugar with something else, etc.

Ingredients

A dream come true for so many vegans around the world is that they know 100 per cent that some item is vegan and safe to consume, but as usual, you just have to take care of the ingredients list. The same case is with Nutter Butters.

This is the cookie that is made out of sugar, soybean oil, enriched flour, rolled oats, corn syrup, salt, some form of leavening (like baking soda). Then, in it, we can find soy lecithin, and cornstarch and some artificial flavor like vanilla. Of course, in it, there is peanut butter.

About all other elements that we have found in the Nutter Butters are vegan, but some vegans also have a problem with the production of sugar, that can come from an animal source.

Are Nutter Butters Vegan? 

This has been one of the most favorite snacks for many, or cookie snack, but many doubt it is vegan or not? We must say that when it comes to store-bought cookies, like this one, the reason for worry is reasonable.

You either must trust the brand, or you must know all about the ingredients and the way of production.

We know that this may be very confusing for new vegans, and we understand why this is the case.

This has been one of the favorite cookies for so many, for those who do not like to eat chocolate ones, but who adore peanut butter – Nutter Butters are the ones that you will grab when you want a peanut butter cookie. It is also the favorite snack for those who do not want a cookie that is not overly sweet, and that has that salty side also.

Now, the main question is are they vegan, in a sense, that the cookies are made with milk, and often eggs. But the product itself does not have any milk, but the company explicitly declares that the product may have had a connection with dairy in the factory itself.

This may come as a problem for those who are vegans and do not want to risk and come in contact with milk. For those who do not have this problem, may freely eat this cookie!

For some vegans that are more in-depth in the veganism, this is not an option, they do not want to deal with it, but for others, they are ok to eat.

The good thing is that they do not have honey that is often used as a sweetener in cookies, and also lactose is not found in Nutter Butters.

In these cookies, the manufacturer uses a mixture of sugar and corn syrup that is high fructose.

We must speak of one more problematic aspect when it comes to these cookies – does the manufacturer uses palm oil that is used very commonly in the production of snacks?

They do not use it, and they opt for canola or soybean oil that is suitable for vegans – the problem with palm oil is not about its animal source, but the process of production, this is the aspect that so many vegans have problem with). They have a problem with the ethical part of palm oil production, not the oil itself.

Are Nutter Butters Healthy?

In that flour that is enriched, and that means that in the flour that is found in the Nutter Butter there are added Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, along with the reduced iron, vitamin B1 and B2 and Folic acid.

So, as you can see, with its amazing taste, you are in taking something that is necessary for your growth and development.

But, here we want to speak some more, about the main ingredient that is found in Nutter Butter – the peanut butter.

This spread is known to us as a treat, a delicious spread, of course because it is very tasty, but in addition, it has many health benefits, the most important of which is that it protects against cardiovascular disease.

We will remind you that this butter was invented by an American pharmacist in 1884 as a dietary supplement for his elderly patients. So, it was invented to help preserve health – and as a main part in the cookies Nutter Butters, and with addition to other, healthy elements, we could not say that it is not healthy.

Specifically, peanut butter contains a high percentage of fat (about 49%), but most of these fats are unsaturated fats, as much as 80%. This means that it affects the cholesterol in the blood by reducing the level of the bad, increasing the level of good cholesterol and increasing the presence of monounsaturated acids in the blood, primarily oleic. This prevents clogging of the arteries and protects against heart disease.

Numerous studies have shown that moderate consumption of peanut butter reduces the risk of heart disease by as much as twice – this means that you should not eat foods that have too much fat and that the moderation is the key. Maybe those who have oily skin should avoid eating them because it can affect their skin.

Also, this butter made simply from peanuts also balances blood sugar levels, thus protecting against type 2 diabetes, and its high-calorie content also prevents cultivation, of course when eaten in moderation. Two teaspoons of peanut butter a day will reduce the need for food and empty calories to grow. Peanut butter contains as much as 600 calories per 100 grams, but these are by no means empty calories.

It has about 25 per cent of protein that is there to help build muscle mass; then there are minerals (magnesium, copper, zinc, manganese, iron and potassium). Also, we can see vitamins – it contains vitamin E and B complex vitamins.

From a brighter side, the peanut butter contains easily digestible polysaccharides (complex carbohydrates), which has a positive effect on blood sugar.

Such butter has unsaturated fats that regulate cholesterol levels along with the polyphenols and antioxidants – preventive and protect against fungal and viral infections, gastric diseases, stroke.

And in the end, the peanut butter and subsequently Nutter Butters are filled with essential fatty acids – omega three and pantothenic acid, along with the Folic acid.

It’s just amazing how many health benefits this food has. In addition to protecting the heart and blood vessels, peanut butter strengthens bones, improves skin health (especially if it is dry skin), accelerates hair growth and prevents it from falling.

Summary

Having said all of this, Nutter Butters are suitable for vegans, in the sense of their ingredients – flour, sugars, peanut butter and plant oils are not from animals.

For those who are scared that they do not want to risk eating even a small and accidental splash of milk, then should avoid this sweet treat.

There is a small opportunity that this cookie has some micro part of milk or other dairy product – so, if you do not want to deal with this, do not eat them.

All of you others can freely eat this cookie can enjoy in its taste, their nutritive value, and make even some other sweets that were based on this cookie.

In the end, we would not speak some more about the health benefits of enriched flour that is filled with vitamins, and of course, the main ingredient, the peanut butter that is so beneficial for so many aspects (like cardiovascular diseases).