Kokova Magazine

During the November Shotengai pan-Asian Street Market in London, we met Shay and sampled her Nutty Belly Gal collection of nut butters. We were so impressed we bought four jars to review. They are great stand alone eats, toast toppers, or for use in cooking sauces. Every jar clearly lists all ingredient and calorie information, alongside some suggested serving ideas. Fuss-free, no drama, nut butters.

Dark and Handsome

Ingredients: Hi-oleic peanuts, organic agave, organic cacao nibs, organic cocoa powder, organic coconut oil, sea salt.

We would like to say that we spent a long time on the review for this one, but we would be lying. We took a spoon and tried it, then tried some on plain crackers, then took the spoon again, and simply emptied the whole jar, from the spoon, over several days. Seriously good nut butter and highly recommended.

Grandma's Mince Pies

Ingredients: Hi-oleic peanuts, raisins, currants, aged brandy, muscovado sugar, sunflower oil, lemon, cinnamon, nutmeg, sea salt.

This is Christmas in a jar. If you like mince pies - you should love this. We are not quite sure how we are going to eat it, as it is becoming another 'eat off the spoon' item but some warm brioche toast will certainly benefit from a spoonful or two.

Tokyo Nights

Ingredients: Hi-oleic peanuts (93%), sesame seeds, organic agave, sea salt, sesame oil, seaweed.

This jar is very unassuming. First flavour notes will have you thinking it is just a regular jar of quality nut butter. But as the flavour progresses you will get the seaweed coming through, especially at the end. This is the perfect sauce for our courgette noodles that we usually pan fry with a peanut butter sauce. Or again, toast is an excellent base for this creation. Feeling adventurous? Use it as a marinade too.

Trip to Chinatown

Ingredients: Hi-oleic peanuts (85%), sunflower oil, chilli flakes, organic agave, sea salt, sesame seeds.

This little beauty is best left to last if you are trying all the varieties. The sichuan chilli oil gives it a definite kick, but it is so expertly blended with the other ingredients it remains mild and flavoursome, rather than adding heat. We are looking forward to experimenting with this one in some of our meat dishes, if I can stop people dipping spoons into the jars!

Nutty Belly Gal makes another two varieties of nut butter: First Dates and Perfect Matcha. Both are equally as good as the four we have mentioned and definitely worth a try. We purchased our own jars from Nutty Belly Gal for this review, which was not sponsored or affiliated in any way with the brand. We simply stopped by the stand in the market and found quality products we wanted to buy. Products that do not contain palm oil, are vegan, and taste great!

Check out the range now at Nutty Belly Gal.

*Hi Oleic peanuts contain a higher amount of oleic acid compared to standard peanuts. Oleic Acid is a monounsaturated fatty acid, known as a good fat, reducing the amount of LDL (bad cholesterol) whilst boosting the levels of HDL (good cholesterol).