Peanut Butter!
Peanut butter (and other nut butters) are hailed among the health-food world as both bane and blessing. On the one hand, it's a tasty condiment packed with protein and healthy fats and oils. On the other hand, it's full of calories and is really easy to eat too much. Plus, as I've learned recently, you have to be careful what you buy.
At our local natural foods store, they carry two kinds of nut butter: peanut and almond. Almond butter, if you've never tried it, is a phenomenal flavor. It's especially good with "Rice-mellow" (a vegan fluff-like product made with rice syrup) on bread. But I digress. At $12/lb, I don't buy it often. Their ingredients are as follows: peanuts (almonds), salt. That's it! So I was rather surprised when I looked at the "natural" peanut butter I had in my kitchen and saw the ingredient list: peanuts, sugar, palm oil, salt. And that's nothing compared to the ingredients on regular peanut butter! Partially hydrogenated oils, vegetable oil, high fructose corn syrup, and other ingredients I can't pronounce. Why add so much to such a simple snack?
Shelf life and convenience. Sure, these two things are important! "Regular" peanut butter is made to last longer, so they add preservatives. This is why you don't have to refrigerate it when most "natural" peanut butters ask you do. Emulsifiers are added so that you don't have to stir the pb every time you go to eat it. Natural peanut butter will eventually separate into oil and peanut paste. The extra oil is usually added to make it easier to spread. Sugar is added for sweetness, obviously.
Since embarking on my healthy eating journeys, it never ceases to amaze me the things we unwittingly put into our bodies. I bought the "natural" peanut butter at the store (the one with four ingredients instead of fourteen), and was shocked at how much like peanuts it tasted, instead of trying to taste like Reese's without enough sugar. Then I thought, why not go all the way? Just peanuts and salt? Sure! I was floored. And in love. Definitely in love.
Of course, the problem lies, again, how to get my peanut butter fix without spending a ton of calories? One tablespoon has 95 calories, and who eats just one tablespoon? I don't... Well, here's your answer! At least one answer, that is.
Peanut Butter Meringue Cookies
Ingredients:
2 egg whites, room temperature
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 C sugar
1/2 C smooth peanut butter (I use all natural, for real)
Directions:
Beat the egg whites with the salt until frothy, then add the sugar slowly. Beat until stiff peaks appear (takes forever; about 20-30 minutes!). Fold in peanut butter until well mixed (works well if you warm the pb up a bit so it's a little melty).
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a foil lined cookie sheet (not greased). Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool completely on foil, then peel off and enjoy!
Nutrition Info per cookie (from www.sparkpeople.com): Total Calories: 40. Total fat: 2g. Total Carbs: 5g. Total protein: 1g. Total fiber: 0.2g
At our local natural foods store, they carry two kinds of nut butter: peanut and almond. Almond butter, if you've never tried it, is a phenomenal flavor. It's especially good with "Rice-mellow" (a vegan fluff-like product made with rice syrup) on bread. But I digress. At $12/lb, I don't buy it often. Their ingredients are as follows: peanuts (almonds), salt. That's it! So I was rather surprised when I looked at the "natural" peanut butter I had in my kitchen and saw the ingredient list: peanuts, sugar, palm oil, salt. And that's nothing compared to the ingredients on regular peanut butter! Partially hydrogenated oils, vegetable oil, high fructose corn syrup, and other ingredients I can't pronounce. Why add so much to such a simple snack?
Shelf life and convenience. Sure, these two things are important! "Regular" peanut butter is made to last longer, so they add preservatives. This is why you don't have to refrigerate it when most "natural" peanut butters ask you do. Emulsifiers are added so that you don't have to stir the pb every time you go to eat it. Natural peanut butter will eventually separate into oil and peanut paste. The extra oil is usually added to make it easier to spread. Sugar is added for sweetness, obviously.
Since embarking on my healthy eating journeys, it never ceases to amaze me the things we unwittingly put into our bodies. I bought the "natural" peanut butter at the store (the one with four ingredients instead of fourteen), and was shocked at how much like peanuts it tasted, instead of trying to taste like Reese's without enough sugar. Then I thought, why not go all the way? Just peanuts and salt? Sure! I was floored. And in love. Definitely in love.
Of course, the problem lies, again, how to get my peanut butter fix without spending a ton of calories? One tablespoon has 95 calories, and who eats just one tablespoon? I don't... Well, here's your answer! At least one answer, that is.
Peanut Butter Meringue Cookies
Ingredients:
2 egg whites, room temperature
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 C sugar
1/2 C smooth peanut butter (I use all natural, for real)
Directions:
Beat the egg whites with the salt until frothy, then add the sugar slowly. Beat until stiff peaks appear (takes forever; about 20-30 minutes!). Fold in peanut butter until well mixed (works well if you warm the pb up a bit so it's a little melty).
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a foil lined cookie sheet (not greased). Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes. Let cool completely on foil, then peel off and enjoy!
Nutrition Info per cookie (from www.sparkpeople.com): Total Calories: 40. Total fat: 2g. Total Carbs: 5g. Total protein: 1g. Total fiber: 0.2g