peanut butter, good or bad?

whittrusty

That depends on the brand. Watch them closely -- most of them have hydrogenated oils in them, which simply is no longer necessary. I buy Skippy Natural because it tastes like my old favorite Jiff but its not made with the hydrogenated oils that Jiff is.

And the labeling is misleading. I was walking through Sam's Club the other day and saw the new Jiff label that said something along the lines of "no partially hydrogenated oils!". Excited to see my old favorite reformulated, I turned the jar around and learned that while the label was technically true (there were no partially hydrogenated oils), there were plenty of FULLY hydrogenated oils. Hardly something to be excited about when there are healthier options. I know the natural stuff is also healthy, but I like the texture and flavor closer to the Jiff I grew up with and for me, that's Skippy's Natural (which isn't at all like the "natural" stuff that you have to mix together).

For the days that I have had plenty of healthy fats and don't need the extra calories, I opt for PB2 -- a powdered peanut product that you mix with water to return to a peanut butter like texture. The company makes peanut oil and the PB2 is simply the peanut with the oil squeezed out (and some salt and sugar added, like regular peanut butter). The texture is fine for a PBJ sandwich and is GREAT in peanut butter chocolate protein shake. Plus it's only 45 calories for a two tablespoon serving instead of 190 but still has the good stuff of the peanut (minus the oil).

For those of you that may have the urge to defend hydrogenated oils in any form, we'll just have to agree to disagree on the notion that any of them are good for you. Both of my parents died early from heart disease and I have had numerous in-depth discussions with their cardiologists on the subject of hydrogenated oils. Between that and my experience hydrogenating liquid oils in my chemistry class (we actually added a hydrogen atom to an oil that was fluid at room temperature to make them thick enough that they stuck to the inside of the tubs they previously flowed through), I'm thoroughly against the danged "products" be they partially or fully hydrogenated.

Stepping off my soapbox. :drinker:

They have a Jif Natural that only has Peanuts and salt. It tastes amazing.