Here’s the first installment of my adventures with peanut butter. Sure, I have a growing boy at home, but there’s more to the story. I’ve been making peanut butter sandwiches for a local food pantry for a year. Now, I’m going to hand out jars of peanut butter when I see a need on the streets. Hope you love the adventure!
For now, let’s just talk about peanut butter. Next time, we’ll get into some adventures.
Peanut Butter as an American Institution
Peanut butter is one of the best all-around foods. It’s convenient, inexpensive, nutritious, and delicious. Those reasons are probably why peanut butter sandwiches are the most popular plant-based sandwiches in the US according to USDA data. (If you’re curious, the popularity of cold cut sandwiches, burgers, and hot dogs outweighs the popularity of peanut butter sandwiches).
How Much Peanut Butter Are We Talking About?
Americans consume an average of 4.4 pounds of peanut butter per year. That’s more than 60 2-tablespoon servings, or 4.5 16-ounce jars. For a family of four that consumes the average amount, that comes out to 18 jars of peanut butter per year, or about 1 jar every 3 weeks.
If you’re a peanut butter-loving household, I bet you have far more than that! Schoolchildren could easily eat 5 peanut butter sandwiches a week for the duration of the school year, or about 35 weeks. That adds up to 105 sandwiches, or more than 7 jars of peanut butter. That’s before adding in snacks and PB sandwiches on vacation!
How Much Peanut Butter in Peanut Butter Adventures?
My household goes through far more than 18 jars of peanut butter a year. My son eats some, but not that much (and to be fair, a lot of his peanut butter consumption is at breakfast at my parents’ house!).
I estimate we go through 150 jars a year! That’s because I make sandwiches every week for a local food pantry. I use 3 jars most weeks, or enough for 30-40 sandwiches. I’m definitely doing my part to support the peanut butter industry!
Now, I’ve started carrying around a jar of peanut butter to give away to people who seem to need it. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people in my neighborhood who are grateful for something that is so affordable to me.
How to Make Peanut Butter
Peanut butter is magical to me. Just put peanuts in a blender, and puree them until they turn into thick, sticky peanut butter. For a more spreadable texture, add 1-2 spoonfuls of oil. For flavor, add salt. It’s so simple!
Peanut butter that you buy in stores can range from 100% peanuts to having ingredients like sugar, salt, and solid fats from hydrogenated soybean oil or tropical oils like palm oil. You’ll pay for the privilege of having natural, organic peanut butter with nothing but peanuts, but if you look around, there can be compromises, like peanut butter without hydrogenated oils.
Of course, there are all kinds of variations on peanut butter. Flavors of peanut butter include cinnamon, cocoa, and white chocolate. For decades, there’ve been jars of peanut butter and jelly stripes to make sandwich-making easier.
A Convenient and Nutritious Food
Peanut butter needs no refrigeration. It’s ready to eat. It’s cholesterol-free, low in saturated fat, and high in healthy monounsaturated fats. It’s a source of plant-based protein, and it has dietary fiber. At about $2 per 16-ounce jar for a store brand of peanut butter, it’s remarkably inexpensive. I’ll go into cost comparisons with other foods in another post.
Healthy Ways to Use Peanut Butter
A peanut butter sandwich on whole-grain sliced bread is one healthy choice for peanut butter. Here are a few variations on classic PB sandwiches.
- Peanut butter on whole-grain tortilla or wrap, wrapped around a banana
- Diced stewed (or microwaved) apple or pear with cinnamon on PB and whole-grain bread or toast
- Peanut butter on half a whole-grain bagel, with pear slices
Peanut butter is good for way more than sandwiches.
- Dip celery, carrots, apple slices, or pear slices into peanut butter.
- Blend frozen banana chunks with peanut butter and cinnamon, cocoa powder, or voila extract.
- Thin out creamy peanut butter to make a sauce for an Asian-inspired dish with whole-grain spaghetti
- Add peanut butter to oatmeal or whole-wheat pancake batter, or top whole-grain pancakes or waffles with peanut butter instead of butter.
- Top oatmeal, yogurt, or cottage cheese with peanut butter and fruit.
For a healthier dessert, stuff dates with peanut butter – just watch the calories, since they add up fast!
More Ways to Enjoy Peanut Butter
If you’re looking for a treat without worrying about nutrition, there are any number of ways to enjoy peanut butter.
- Classic PB&J sandwich with white bread, peanut butter, and grape or strawberry jelly. Honey is another option.
- Peanut butter cookies or peanut butter oatmeal cookies.
- Peanut butter bars and peanut butter cheesecake.
- Peanut butter frosted brownies or cake.
- Energy balls with peanut butter, oats, sugar, honey, or powdered sugar, and cocoa powder.
- Peanut butter-filled pretzels
- Peanut butter milkshakes and smoothies with added sugars.
- Peanut butter pie, with or without whipped topping blended in or on top, and on a chocolate, graham cracker, or standard pie crust
I’m excited to keep using peanut butter and giving it away. I’ll keep you posted on how my peanut butter adventures go!
How do you use peanut butter?