Peanut Butter Matches Made in Heaven

I believe peanut butter goes well with many partners—sweet, savory, crunchy, smooth, even spicy (as proclaimed by the wings recipe in my last post). But to keep it not only tasty, but healthy, picking the PB partner in crime requires just a little conscious thinking. Here to relieve the pressure from your own mind, I give you my list of the tastiest things to pair with your favorite nutty spread in a healthy snack:

low-sodium popcorn

Yes, I said it. Saltier than the peanut butter but light and airy, a few cups of light, air-popped popcorn are the perfect balance for two tablespoons of melted, all natural peanut butter, drizzled over top. Pour a bit directly into the bag, shake, and repeat until you have as much on as you’d like. Messy? Yes. Worth it? Hell yes.

fruit

If you knew me personally (which you can, if you visit my About Me page), you would know that I’m a fruit fiend. You would have seen this partnership coming from lightyears away. Melting the peanut butter slightly helps spread the love—and even the thickest of PBs—with whatever fruit strikes your fancy. I would choose strawberries, bananas, or pineapple, but the salty/sweet/juicy combination is killer with any of your favorites.

oats and almond milk

My favorite breakfasts have the power to drag my butt out of bed faster than any alarm clock. Try making overnight oats with one cup of rolled, quick-cooking, whole grain oats, 1/3 cup of unsweetened almond milk, and a tablespoon of melted peanut butter. To heat it up for the colder months, make the oats with water as the directions say to, but add a bit of extra water and cook a little longer for fluffier oats. Drop a tablespoon of PB onto the top and let it melt before you stir it in. Either way, the protein pumps you up while the carbs keep you going—even for that early meeting or class.

ice

Okay, so that partner proclamation was admittedly more of an attention-getter than a viable standalone pairing, but it’s partially true. Blended with unsweetened almond milk, low-sugar protein powder, and a handful of ice cubes, peanut butter adds some nutty flavor to the usually very drab protein shake. Throw in some plain greek yogurt to make it even creamier (you may want to add some extra water to balance it out if you do this), or whatever slightly-aging fruit you have sitting around. Top it with any kind of chopped nut or all-natural granola, and you have a perfect post-workout meal.

 

The Inaugural Peanut Butter Post

I have no intention of trying to keep up a serious image with a blog about a condiment. While my own emotions may occasionally creep into my writing, you can mostly expect light-hearted humor and random jabs at other food items I deem “lesser beings.” So let’s kick this off with some of my favorite partners-in-crime of peanut butter. You didn’t think pb&j was the extent of the combination possibilities, did you?

Photo Cred: http://www.allrecipes.com

My personal favorite is the king of sandwiches, the grilled peanut butter and banana. Especially in a panini maker (a la college cafeteria), the peanut butter becomes perfectly melted around the sweet bananas. This is a great way to mix up your non-meat lunch options, cue the timeliness of Lent. If you’re the type of person to let your bananas grow brown with spots and then sigh as you toss them out, this is also a way to disguise them into a concoction where they are still put to delicious use!

Photo Cred: http://www.adashofsass.com

I’m a big believer in the importance of a balanced breakfast, but I wouldn’t call myself Tony the tiger and say sugary cereal is the way to go. If you’re cuckoo for cocoa puffs but trying to learn to love healthier options, oatmeal is the place to start. Whole grain, steel-cut oats without added sugar. Think of the types you put into oatmeal raisin cookies that come in that huge round container. 3/4 of a cup of those, cooked as instructed, with a tablespoon of peanut butter and a little natural cinnamon is the way to go.

Photo Cred: sweetandcrumbly.com

 

 

 

 

I promised you food porn, but I didn’t say it would all be healthy. You’ve got a few balanced options, so here’s the splurge: peanut butter and fudge swirl brownies. You can’t go wrong with peanutbutter+chocolate, so anyrecipe will probably do the trick. I would personally choose a solid fudge brownie recipe from my grandma’s cookbook, and wait for them to cool before topping them with “frosting”—melted chocolate and peanut butter, slightly swirled. Drool.