Peanut butter is one of the most common foods you can find in many people’s kitchens. However, it might not always be fresh peanut butter. So stick with me (pun intended) and I’ll explain what I mean by that.
Peanut butter is loved by children and adults alike. It goes well in a variety of different recipes including cookies, pancakes, breads, dip for apple slices, and of course it’s one of the main ingredients in the ubiquitous peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Peanut butter is great all by itself as well. Just grab a heaping spoonful and you’ve got yourself a quick snack that you can eat on the go.
You can also make “butter” out of other nuts as well, but for now we’ll stick with the ever popular peanut.
Continue reading because I’m going to share 4 very important reasons I feel everyone should cut out the processed peanut butters and switch to the natural stuff.
Fresh Ground Peanut Butter is Cheaper Than You Might Think
Fresh pressed or natural peanut butter is probably going to cost a lot less than you might think. If it hasn’t occurred to you that there are other options besides forking over money for the name brand varieties of peanut butter found on the shelves next to the jellies and jams, you should do yourself a favor and do some scouting around.
Think about saying goodbye to the prepackaged processed brands and all the extra ingredients that have no business being in the peanut butter. Many of them are downright bad for you. We’ll get to that later though.
Most grocery stores have health food sections that contain a handy little machine that grinds peanuts into peanut butter. Just grab a container and fill it up.
Here in Alaska where I live, it’s only $2.19 a pound (0.45 kg) at the grocery store we go to nearly everyday. That’s a small price to pay for the health benefits that come along with eating fresh peanut butter.
If you think about it, in most cases you’re going to end up paying more per pound for the name brand containers of peanut butter than you will for fresh pressed peanut butter from the health food section.
Fresh Peanut Butter Just Tastes Great!
We buy natural peanut butter for our son Nathan and he absolutely loves it. For a long time now, it’s been a staple of our pantry, and all joking aside, he would eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for every meal if we let him.
While there are definitely chunky varieties of peanut butter available for purchase, most prepackaged peanut butter is smooth and it’s not hard to tell that whatever goes into the containers isn’t fully peanut butter.
The additional ingredients alter the consistency and the taste, and most store bought peanut butters contain extra sugar which just increases the desire to eat more peanut butter.
And we all know that the big goal of the 21st century is getting children to eat less sugar. A great way to start is by eliminating processed peanut butter and stick to natural peanut butter. The kids will love it just as much if not more.
It’s Super Easy to make Fresh Peanut Butter at Home
It could be that you haven’t ever considered making your own peanut butter at home, or didn’t know it was actually an option. Don’t worry, it isn’t as hard as you might think. In fact, it’s quite easy.
All you need is a food processor and you’ll be ready to go. Once you start grinding the peanuts, they’ll begin to turn powdery before becoming a little clumpy.
Before long, the peanuts will form a ball that begins moving around the food processor. Eventually, at about 3 minutes the ball shape will go away and the peanut butter will start looking creamy.
Don’t stop yet though, it’s important to let the peanuts continue grinding in the food processor for at least another minute to release as many oils as they can. This is what you want so the peanut butter will become creamy and delicious.
Otherwise there’s a risk of the peanut butter becoming dry and crumbly. Usually salt is added as well as a little sugar or honey to sweeten the peanut butter up a little.
The whole process only takes 4 – 5 minutes and you’ll have peanut butter that you can keep on a shelf or in the fridge for weeks. The oil from the peanuts allows it to have a naturally long shelf life.
It’s Just Plain Healthier for You
If you grab a jar of most name brand peanut butters, you’ll notice a long list of additional ingredients that simply don’t need to be there. I understand it’s for stability and shelf life, but I think we can all agree that partially hydrogenated oils are not what we should be putting in our bodies.
For those that might be unfamiliar with exactly what partially hydrogenated oils are, they contain trans fat which raises LDL (“bad”) cholesterol while lowering HDL (“good”) cholesterol. They were designed and implemented because of their ability to allow food items to have a long shelf life.
It really makes me upset that companies still add them to their products. We know that foods containing partially hydrogenated oils are bad for you, but the industry doesn’t care. The bottom line is money, and the health of people don’t seem to matter.
Don’t forget about the monoglycerides and diglycerides found in many common brands of peanut butter as well. These things are absolutely bad for our bodies. Just like the hydrogenated oils mentioned above, they contain dangerous trans fats and when consumed, trans fats lead to diabetes and heart attacks.
Fresh ground peanut butter is nothing but peanuts and perhaps a little salt. There are numerous benefits that come from eating fresh peanut butter also. Here are a few of them:
Both processed and fresh peanut butter are very high in protein, but avoiding the processed peanut butter and simply sticking to naturally ground peanut butter is a great choice for packing in extra protein for when you need an extra boost of sustained energy.
Peanut butter is a good source of fiber and it’s also packed with antioxidants. Antioxidants are believed to protect cells against the effects of free radicals, which are molecules produced when the body breaks down food or when exposed to radiation or tobacco smoke.
Lastly, peanut butter is high in magnesium and potassium and it helps lower cholesterol as well as fight diabetes.
As you can see, peanut butter is a naturally healthy food that packs a ton of benefits in every bite. So do yourself a favor and stick to the fresh ground peanut butter in the health sections of your local grocery store.
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