Jem Specialty Nut Butters

Nut butters are all the craze right now and quite frankly, I was starting to feel like I was not that excited about them anymore.  During Expo West, nut butter people were everywhere and I avoided them like the plague, that is, until I saw the Jem Specialty Nut Butter booth, which completely changed my perspective.

So what caught my eye?  First, I noticed that they are both raw and organic. Second, that they are made with superfoods increasing their nutritional value. And third, their unique flavors were intriguing.

Take the more conservative Chocolate Hazelnut Spread. As soon as you try it, you realize it is so much better than other chocolate spreads. Why? Let's start with the ingredients. They are using raw sprouted hazelnuts, coconut palm sugar, raw cacao nibs, and vanilla, then stone grinding them at low temperatures to create a high quality product. I dipped my strawberries in it for a perfect combination of sweet and rich.

The Maqui Camu Super Berry Almond Butter will have you mmming at the first taste! The ingredients are so pure: raw sprouted organic almonds, maqui berry, camu camu berry, lucuma, and coconut palm sugar. So let's break it down. The maqui berry is a small purple berry that grows in Chile and is loaded with antioxidants--specifically well-known for anti-aging flavonoids and anthocyanins. The camu camu berry is high in vitamin C, and loaded with antioxidants, bioflavonoids, amino acids, and beta carotene. Lucuma is a sweet fruit grown in Peru, Chile, and Ecuador that has iron, niacin, calcium, beta-carotene and fiber as well as a maple-like flavor. You can really taste the lucuma in this butter. Its sweet berry undertones went really well with the apple slices I paired it with.

Lastly, there is the Coconut Cardamom Almond Butter. What can I say, I'm just cuckoo for cardamom right now. If you love the strong taste of cardamom typically found in Indian dishes, you will absolutely do somersaults over this nut butter. I really liked it with dried apricots, but I bet it would pair well with most dried fruits.

There was one other that I tried at the show that was amazing as well -- Cinnamon Maca Almond Butter! Need I say more?

All of the spreads have been blended in such a way that they are just velvety to the touch -- not gritty at all. They contain healthy fats and are gluten-free, vegan, non-GMO, low glycemic, and fair trade. It appears that they are only sold in a few places in California, Oregon, and Massachusetts so if you are unlucky, like me, and don't live in those states, you can order some here. They retail for $10.99 to $16.99 per jar and would make a great gift [to me]. (Just send me an email and I'll send you my shipping address!) But, seriously, this was one of my favorite items at the show. Jem Specialty Nut Butters are pure perfection.

Full Disclosure: Although the products were provided to me for free to review, that, in no way, influences my veracious opinion.