Sunday, June 24, 2012

Adventures in Healthfulness

Untitled by kristaleigh
Untitled, a photo by kristaleigh on Flickr.

I am a HUGE peanut butter fan. Seriously. Ask any runner, and they will tell you that peanut butter is sort of a superfood--wheat toast with peanut butter is many a a runner's breakfast of champions. BUT--as with all things, peanut butter is only good in moderation. While high in protein, it's also pretty darn high in fat. So I decided to try out this "Better'n Peanut Butter" that I found at Trader Joe's.

In terms of straight numbers, this stuff is, indeed, better than peanut butter. It has far less fat per comparable 2 tablespoon serving (2g vs ~18g), and less calories, too (100 vs ~190-200). But I have to tell you--while this is a peanut-based product, it does not taste like peanut butter. I might even venture to say that if you're going into this expecting peanut butter, you will probably not like it. It's sweeter than your standard PB, and just has an overall different flavor. However, it's not bad--and if you can treat this less has a peanut butter cover band and more as a peanut butter tribute band, I think you'll be pleased. Overall, I would buy this again--but it's definitely worth noting that (at least in Arizona), this stuff is not comparable to PB when it comes down to the dollahs (and really, doesn't it always?). My standard jar of generic Kroger PB runs around or under $2 depending on sales; the Better'n Peanut Butter was $4.99 at Trader Joe's (for reference, TJ's standard peanut butter offering runs ~$2.50).

What are your favorite healthy food substitutes?