Good quality nut pastes and butters can be spread on grainy crackers and bread, scraped onto celery or vegetable sticks, added to smoothies or used in salad dressings and marinades.

What makes a nut paste a good choice is what is not added to it. Try to select nut pastes and butters without added sugars, additives and preservatives. When looking at a nut paste or butter, check the ingredients list. The fewer ingredients you find, the better.

Our top picks include:

• Aldi Almond Spread

• Aldi Peanut Butter: Crunchy and Smooth

• Bega Simply Nuts Peanut Butter Range

• Coles Organic Peanut Butter: Crunchy and Smooth

• Coles Roasted Almond Butter

• Coles Wellness Road Nut and Seed Spreads and Tahini

• Macro Nut Spread Range

• Macro Organic Peanut Butter

• Macro Organic Tahini Spreads

• Mayver’s Nut Pastes and Nut Butters

• Mayver’s Original Super Spread

• Mayver’s Tahini

• Naturals By Melrose Nut Spreads

• Noya Nut Butter Range

• Nutty Bruce Smooth Almond Butter

• Pics Peanut Butter

• Plenty Peanut Butter: Crunchy and Smooth

• Sanitarium Natural Peanut Butter

The above criteria is taken from our Weight Loss Surgery Shopping Companion. This comprehensive guide steps you through over 30 food categories and explains EXACTLY what to look for on the nutrition information panel in each category. And if you don’t have time to read the food labels, we list our TOP PICKS in each of the categories, highlighting over 180 specific products.

You can get a copy in our Book Bundle, which also includes our Protein Planner, Meal Plans and our Single Serves, Fifty in a Flash and One Meal, Many Ways recipe books for only $85 ($110 value)! Find out all about it here.