Better than PB&J

Peanut Butter and Jelly, what better comfort food is there? Well, what better cold comfort food is there? Particularly one that transitioned from childhood to adulthood? But let's face it, as we get older, we tend to focus on the healthfulness of the food we put into our mouths. Well, I've updated my PB&J, and I'd thought I'd share with you how to do that too. And if teaching your kids healthy eating habits is important to you, you might want to try this with them too.


First, drop the store bought peanut butter and make your own. It's a lot easier than you think. And it's fresh, delicious and you control how much salt and sugar are in it.


Homemade Peanut Butter: I love salted peanut butter and sodium isn't a health issue for me. So I buy the roasted and salted peanuts from Trader Joe's. One bag equals two cups of peanuts and will make a whole jar of peanut butter. Pull out and dust off your food processor. With the large blade, turn the food processor ON and slowly add your peanuts. You will notice that they chop into a medium grade powder. To make your peanut butter creamy (and avoid overheating your motor), slowly add peanut oil. You can use canola oil, but I recommend peanut oil for its flavor. For the creaminess I like, I use 3 teaspoons per cup of peanuts. If you add slowly, you can adjust this when the peanut butter hits the consistency you like. Now, for sweetness. I prefer honey to cane sugar and artificial sweeteners. Yes, honey adds calories. But so does sugar and the flavor of honey is incomparable. I use orange blossom honey but good 'ole fashioned clover honey works well too and is probably what you have on hand in your pantry. Start off with 2 tablespoons and adjust to taste. Again, I prefer mine less sweet than traditional store peanut butters. Then you just transfer the peanut butter to a glass sealable container and try not to eat it all in one sitting!


As for making your Better PB&J, I recommend substituting fresh fruit for the jelly. I use sliced strawberries, blueberries, raspberries... you get the idea. Use any fruit that you love and have handy. For the kids, have them help slice the fruit and then arrange it on the bread in patterns or as a funny face. They will have fun, eat fresh fruit, and learn that healthy eating is easy and delicious.

Enjoy!

I'm back!

Well, I've been on a blogging hiatus for a very long time. I needed a break and a change of direction in my life. After battling my weight since I was a kid, I've come out the other side. No, I'll never be Twiggy, but I'm okay with my body and my appearance. So this blog is going to be more about making everyday living better. Neat ideas that I'm using to make my daily life better. Hopefully some funny, on-point observations about everything under the sun will pop up too. So... welcome back and let's get the show on the road, again!