The Unique Sandwich Spread That Has Just As Much Protein As Peanut Butter

A good sandwich can be a great standby when you don't feel like cooking or when you have little time to prepare a healthy lunch. Sure, you can stack several pieces of processed ham or roast beef between two slices of bread, but MD Anderson Cancer Center says the nitrates, nitrites, and amines in these types of meat can increase your risk of cancer. Still, you'd like a little protein at lunch to help you feel full at dinner — but more often than not, you've got nothing else but what's left in your cupboard.

Your favorite peanut butter and jelly sandwich could give you some protein, but why not replace your peanut butter with soy nut butter? Two tablespoons of chunk-style peanut butter with salt has 7.7 grams of protein, while there are 8 grams of protein in two tablespoons of Wowbutter soy nut butter. Admittedly, there is not much difference in the amount of protein, but soy nut butter has other health benefits that might make you consider the swap.

As more people are looking for plant-based proteins, soybean protein might be a healthy way to go. Many plant proteins are considered to be "incomplete," meaning they don't have all the essential amino acids that your body can't make. However, soy protein has a similar amino acid profile to the proteins found in milk, according to a 2023 article in PharmaNutrition.

High cholesterol can contribute to cardiovascular disease, but soy protein can help reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol and triglycerides. When the walls of your blood vessels become thick with cholesterol and other clogging substances, soy protein can reduce pro-inflammatory proteins and increase anti-inflammatory proteins to reduce any damage to your arteries.

The soy protein in soy nut butter might also be good for your blood pressure. Although many of the studies are conducted in the lab, nutrients in soy protein can inhibit the angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) responsible for constricting blood vessels. Eating more foods with soy protein can also reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome, which is linked to conditions such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.

Using soy nut butter on your sandwich will boost your intake of important vitamins and minerals. Although individual brands vary, two tablespoons of soy nut butter will provide 239 milligrams of potassium, similar to what you'll get from that same amount of peanut butter. Soy nut butter provides almost twice the amount of iron as peanut butter. What's more, the iron in soyfoods is absorbed more effectively than what research had previously assumed, according to a 2016 article in Nutrients.

Peanut butter falls way behind soy nut butter in terms of calcium. Soy nut butter offers about 10% of your daily recommended amount of calcium every day. Even though many plant-based foods have phytate and oxalate that typically limit your body's ability to absorb minerals, your body can absorb calcium from soy similar to that of milk.

Like peanut butter, soy nut butter is also high in calories and fat. However, just 2 out of the 18 grams of fat are saturated fat. You'll get more than 10 grams of monounsaturated fat and more than 4 grams of polyunsaturated fat in soy nut butter.