Make the switch to natural peanut butter

Do you know the peanut butter and jelly song? It goes something like this:

Peanut, peanut butter—Jelly!

Peanut, peanut butter—Jelly!

First you take the peanuts, then you pick em’, pick em’,

pick ‘em, pick ‘em, pick ‘em.

Then you smash ‘em, smash ‘em,

smash ‘em, smash ‘em, smash ‘em.

Then you spread ‘em, spread ‘em,

Spread ‘em, spread ‘em, spread ‘em…

Really and truly, that sums up what peanut butter really should be – 100% peanuts, smashed and then spread.

 I used to crave peanut butter. I suffered from Jiffy Lust. Apples and bananas? The perfect vehicle for having some peanut butter and all that creamy goodness.

But wait. What most people think of as peanut butter has so many added ingredients, including sugar and hydrogenated oils, that it’s really not filled with any goodness, is it? Hydrogenated oils are bad for us. They are fake, man-made fats that our bodies don’t know how to process. Hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils start out as a healthy unsaturated fat. Then they’re put through a process that saturates them with extra hydrogen molecules, changing their chemical structure. They raise your “bad” cholesterol and lower your “good” cholesterol. (See my June 1 post on hydrogenated oils for more.)

If you want to eat healthier and maybe eliminate a craving, switch to 100% peanuts. My kids didn’t even notice. Just be sure to read the labels before you buy, and understand some of your buying options.

Lyman Orchards grinds its own peanut butter, which tends to be pretty thick and chunky. Whole Foods has the least expensive freshly ground peanut butter that I’ve found around here and isn’t quite as thick as at Lyman Orchards. Stew Leonard’s and Trade Joe's are other options.

At the grocery store, I like Teddie. It’s made in Everett, Mass. It comes in several varieties. I opt for the all-natural peanut butter, which is only peanuts.

Sometimes peanut butter is 100% peanuts but with salt added. It's up to you which you choose (salt or no salt), but I'd stop there and not get one with any other added ingredients.

Be sure to read labels. Sometimes palm oil is added for creaminess and to eliminate the need to stir the peanut butter. It’s fat that, in my opinion, is not needed to be added to peanut butter. In addition, the growing of palm trees for palm oil is often done unsustainably. It’s causing the destruction of rain forests and loss of habitat for the orangutan and many other species.