I used to hate it, though I’m not sure why but I confess that, these days, while I spread some on slices of warm toast for Maya, my daughter, the odd teaspoon of thick, crunchy Whole Earth peanut butter finds its way into my mouth.

I just like the nutty, salty taste. It doesn’t contain added sugar, it’s organic and as I don’t add salt to our food, I let us off this bit of saltiness. The creaminess feels utterly indulgent but I know that, contrary to popular belief, if the peanut butter is good-quality with a high nut content, it can be a healthy staple to have in the cupboard. I avoid inferior brands, though, which have less peanut content but more salt and sugar.

I use Whole Earth peanut butter on toast and also crumpets, which I had for the first time in ages last weekend, after a wintry bike ride. And although it seems to me an amazingly gluey and hard-to-swallow combination, Maya also likes it on rice cakes.

A couple of tablespoons will also work well in vegetable casseroles — think of the delicious Malaysian dish gado-gado, which is simply lots of cooked vegetables in a peanut sauce. But you could also try a teaspoon popped into porridge with a chopped banana on top for breakfast, or add it to biscuit mixtures (see the recipe to the left).

I imagine that many of you will be wondering about the fat. Isn’t peanut butter just a spoonful of trouble? In fact, like peanuts, peanut butter is a great source of heart-healthy mono-unsaturated fat, which can help to reduce levels of bad cholesterol and protect our arteries from clogging up.

Peanut butter (and peanuts) do not contain any cholesterol, are 25 per cent protein, contain vitamin E, which is good for circulation, and B vitamins.

When it comes to glycaemic index statistics, peanuts have a low rating, so the energy they provide is pretty long-lasting. Which is why popping a little peanut butter on porridge or toast makes for a gold-star breakfast.

The peanut is not, in fact a nut, but a member of the legume family, along with peas, beans and lentils. Admittedly it does contain a lot more oil and fat but, like them, it is a good source of both soluble and non-soluble fibre, which keeps our blood fats good and our guts moving in the right direction.

The word “butter” can make dieters freak, but there isn’t actually any butter in peanut butter, which is why this creamy stuff is a good sandwich filling for people with high cholesterol. And bearing in mind that a tablespoon of peanut butter, which is quite a lot, contains only about 90kcals — the same as a medium banana — this puts things in perspective.

So why not try my peanut flapjacks? They’re a delicious nutty biscuit, good for a midafternoon energy boost, and they’ll last for a couple of weeks in an airtight tin.

Peanut flapjacks
Makes 8

225g butter
50g soft brown sugar
50g runny honey
50g unsalted peanuts
50g crunchy peanut butter
350g porridge oats
25g flaked almonds

Preheat the oven to 150C (300F). Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the sugar, honey, peanuts and peanut butter. Cook for 1 minute, stirring, then remove from the heat and mix in the oats. Turn into a greased and lined 25cm x 15cm (10in x 6in) tin and press the mixture down firmly. Sprinkle with the almonds and bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the flapjacks are a pale golden colour. Leave to cool for 5 minutes before cutting into rectangles.

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