One of my favorite snacks when I began college was apples and peanut butter. I ate if for breakfast, as a snack, and on- the-go. Little did I know, mainstream peanut butters are filled with preservatives, palm oil, and are high in saturated fats— and not the good kind.
On a trip to my local Royal Blue, I discovered Julie’s Real nut butters and granolas. Their nut butters are all natural and made with whole foods of the highest quality ingredients. They use fresh nuts, real vanilla beans, organic honey, cacao nibs, and unrefined coconut oil. There’s no extracts, powders, or flavorings.
After falling in love with their peanut butter, I discovered their granolas. I love a good granola on top of my smoothies or açaí bowls, but so often they are full of grains and sugars and aren’t as healthy as they may seem.
On top of it all, all of Julie’s Real products are gluten-free, paleo, peanut-free, dairy-free, soy-free, and non GMO certified. How could you say no to this? After trying all of their products, here’s my roundup of my favorite Julie’s Real nut butters and granolas.
Nut Butters
1. Cinnamon Vanilla Bean Cashew Butter
My absolute favorite of Julie’s Real is their cinnamon vanilla bean cashew butter. Did I mention Julie’s Real uses actual vanilla beans and not vanilla extract? I’m a sucker for vanilla and this cashew butter is super creamy and delicious. I love warming it up and drizzling it on my chia seed pudding or on some baked sweet potatoes.
2. Coconut Vanilla Bean Cashew Butter
If you like coconut than you’ll LOVE this cashew butter. With fresh coconut flakes, the Julie’s Real coconut cashew butter adds a hint of the tropics to your smoothies and fruit. I love some good coconut and always add this to my more tropical smoothies.
3. Cinnamon Vanilla Bean Almond Butter
The cinnamon vanilla bean almond butter is one of Julie’s Real’s classics. If you like your nut butters on the chunky side, this almond butter is for you. A little bit grittier than their cashew butters, the cinnamon almond butter gives a nice crunch to your favorite snack.
4. Caco Espresso Almond Butter
I might be a little biased because I’m not a fan of coffee or chocolate, but if that’s your jam, then don’t miss on their cacao espresso almond butter. With ground up coffee beans and cacao, this almond butter is full of rich coffee and chocolate flavors. Skip that morning cup of jo’ and just slab some espresso almond butter on your toast.
Granolas
The inspiration behind Julie’s Real began when Julie Fox’s husband, Mike Fox, was diagnosed with Barrett’s Esophagus. The couple reevaluated their health and chose to eliminate grains, dairy, processed foods, and refined sugars from their diet. Julie was committed to helping her husband deal with good health, and she made the commitment to make him good food. Mike has a sweet tooth so Julie began making nut based snacks like almond butters, cashew butters, and grain-free granola.
1. Cinnamon Vanilla Bean Grain-Free Granola
By now, you’ve probably guessed that I love anything cinnamon and vanilla so makes sense that the cinnamon vanilla bean granola is my favorite. The best part about their granolas? They come in small snack packs that are perfect for on-the-go.
2. Cacao Coconut Grain Free Granola
The next time you’re making a smoothie or an açaí bowl at home, top it with Julie’s Real cacao coconut granola. The mix of the cacao and coconut gives a chocolatey tropical twist to any bowl. Or just munch on it on the way to class — you won’t be disappointed.
Next time you’re in your local Royal Blue, Central Market, or Whole Foods, grab a jar of Julie’s Real nut butters and some granola snack packs. Their commitment to whole, natural ingredients truly shines in the quality of their products. Throw some of their nut butters on some toast and grab a snack pack of granola for the road and you’ll be thanking me later.