Peanut butter is junk food, isn't it?

grandevampire

PB in Switzerland was brutally expensive. When we lived in Zurich my husband would order it from an American store over there. It was much easier to have it sent from the States. I used to travel with pb all the time. Now I always travel with natural almond butter.

Same in France, just make it yourself! EDIT: (Both, the almond butter and the peanut butter. Procedure is the same: dump pack of nuts into food processor. Process for 5 minutes.)

Hoosier96

I don't see anything wrong with all-natural (just blended peanuts) in moderation (a couple TB). Yummy!!

justal313

someone made the suggestion of buying the natural peanut butter that you have to stir, but dumping off the oil and not stiring it.

i didnt try it but they said it still tasted good but was hard to spread (not a problem for us spoon people lol). No idea what the fat content would be at that point tho, but less obviously.

If you are that afraid of fat then don't eat Peanut Butter, but pouring off the oil diminishes the power of the peanut....




Americans consume enough peanut butter each year to coat the floor of the Grand Canyon, according to Kansas State University. Peanut butter, invented in 1890 as a meat protein substitute, is made from ground-up peanuts. Peanuts are not nuts at all, but legumes. Peanut butter offers a nutrient-rich addition to your snacks, meals and desserts.
Protein
A 2-tablespoon serving of peanut butter contains 7 grams of protein. Your body uses the amino acids found in protein to build and repair muscle tissue. In addition to building metabolism-boosting muscles, protein-rich foods like peanut butter keep you feeling fuller for longer. The protein in peanuts, like other plant proteins, contains an incomplete set of amino acids, so you should have a glass of milk with your peanut butter sandwich to complete the set, recommends sports nutritionist Nancy Clark.
Healthy Fats
Peanut butter contains the same ratio of saturated to unsaturated fats as olive oil, says Harvard Medical School. The poly- and monounsaturated fats in the spread lower your risk of developing heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
Potassium
Excess sodium in your diet puts stress on your cardiovascular system, but potassium can counter the negative effects of sodium. Peanut butter brands with added salt contain two times more potassium than sodium, and unsalted varieties are even more heart-healthy, says Harvard Medical School.
Fiber
A 2-tablespoon serving of peanut butter contains about 2 grams of dietetic fiber. While not the most fiber-rich of foods, peanut butter can help supplement your fiber intake from other foods. Fiber helps regulate your digestive system by promoting healthy bowel movements, and, like protein, fiber keeps your hunger at bay between meals.


Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/245438-health-benefits-of-peanut-butter/#ixzz2TYuA7Km2

cwolfman13

The peanut butter I eat is natural...just peanuts...not even any salt added. It's very healthy. I don't by Jiffy or Peter Pan or whatever as they add a lot of other **** that is completely unnecessary.

NovemberJune

I love peanut butter! I think the key is moderation.

What about **** Clark or **** Van *kitten*?

Nope.

LOL that's just sad.

Yup, like the others have said, good peanut butter is pretty affordable here in the US You can get junky for cheaper, but the good stuff isn't too expensive.

Jimaudit

My wife and I use PB2 in our protein shakes. We use Smuckers all natural PB for our daughter (who loves PB popsicle's--teaspoon of PB) and for the occasional on the run PB and J.

Would like to try and make my own....maybe will hit up Wholefoods this weekend.

cmeade20

I've been buying the all natural kind the last year or so, once I realized it wasn't any more expensive than the Skippy peanut butter I had grown up on I figured why not. I actually like it better.

jen4relient22

As I mentioned on the other concurrent PB thread (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/991009-peanut-butter), you can just make your own by food processing raw peanuts. Goodbye to any ingredient worries from the store-bought varieties that do indeed contains loads of questionable and unnecessary crap. This reduces your question to whether or not peanuts are junk food (and I don't think they are in any way).

this is what i do! i love having some peanut butter with a banana for dessert, and definitely don't think this is junk food since it doesn't contain any added crap.

LuHox

It can be. most brands are. Just check the ingredients Natural peanut butter isn't so bad, and if you put it on celery or apples it's officially not junk food, lol. That's my rule, anyway.

I love this kind, which has flax seed in it:


Then there is Laura Scudders Natural Peanut butter whose label claims the ingredients are peanuts and 1% or less of salt.

MelsAuntie

Cashew butter...hard to find, but makes the most amazing mousse ever.

okcat4

I suggest making your own in small batches in the food processor, then you control the salt and oil. store in fridge, pick your nuts: almonds, peanut, cashew, etc. YUMMMMM !

GrendlStig

I eat Brad's organic peanut butter every day! The ingredients are: Organic Peanuts. That's it, and it's great! I've lost 15 of 25 pounds and, yes, it is high in calories, but it's also high in protein. You have to eat the right amount per serving - 2 tbsp is the typical serving size, which is about the size of a ping- pong ball. Natural peanut butter is really soupy at room temperature, so I refrigerate mine and it turns extremely thick. In that state, it takes awhile to work off the roof of your mouth. Which means it takes longer to eat - yum...

jen_zz

My wife and I use PB2 in our protein shakes. We use Smuckers all natural PB for our daughter (who loves PB popsicle's--teaspoon of PB) and for the occasional on the run PB and J.

Would like to try and make my own....maybe will hit up Wholefoods this weekend.

Wow PB in protein shakes.. that sounds yum! Maybe I could try putting a tbsp in my chocolate protein shake breakfast tmr..

Matt24442

peanut Butter is the best food that has ever existed.

Actually, It's not even food, it's a way of life.

wacarr

I eat PB2. It is super crushed peanuts into a powder. If you want it to be creamy instead of powder you just add a tiny bit of water. I LOVE peanut butter. PB2 though is only 45 calories for 2 tbsp instead of the normal PB

FootballGamer58

must be jelly cause jam dont shake

pixish

I see all these posts from North America listing peanut butter as a healthy, calorie-dense food.

I reckon some is. In Australia, **** Smith and Sanitarium is peanutty, and correspondingly expensive. The cheaper brands are cut with palm oil or bad transfats, and counts as junk food to me - high calories for not many nutrients.

Is all the peanut butter in the US the good kind? Or is most junk food?

Edit Ah haha, the common diminutive for the name "Richard", as used by one of Australia's most successful entrepreneurs, is banned.

Fellow Australian - only buy the ones that are 100% peanuts. We switched to organic peanut butter with no additives/other ingredients and when we tasted the 'normal stuff' (Think Kraft/Homebrand) - all we could taste was salt and sugar. Basically it's like cookie dough! Sanitarium does an ok priced peanut-only peanut butter which I think it located in the health food section in coles, rather than the peanut butter/condiments section.

So - 100% peanuts peanut butter = good and healthy

Average peanut butter = junk food

Katerbels

There is a local place here that makes their own all natural nut butters and they are all AMAZING and contain only nuts and a little salt, unless you get their flavored ones...they even make their own version of Nutella that is the best thing ever. I love peanut butter, I'd eat that over any kind of meat any day of the week! It's great when I haven't eaten enough calories for the day, just spread a little on a banana and I'm in heaven. It's not junk food unless you melt it and pour it over ice cream. Which is also delicious.

hfox9707

I love trader joe's organic peanut butter salted and unsalted!

jennifershoo

In the USA, typical budget peanut butter is mostly peanuts and sugar. No trans fats, and just enough (<2%) hydrogenated oil to give it a smooth texture.

Peanuts are plentiful and relatively cheap in the US. Most commercial peanut butters here are (mostly) just peanuts, salt, and/or sugar. However, unless you buy the "all natural" varieties, most of them have a little bit of hydrogenated oils (no trans fats, though) added so you don't have to stir.

Unfortunately both of these statements are incorrect. Though the trans fat is listed as 0 on the nutrition facts label, if there are partially hydrogenated oils in the ingredients, the peanut butter DOES have trans fat. There is a loophole in the labeling law that allows for a serving size of less than half a gram of trans fat to be listed as 0. It's a lie, but one that makes uninformed consumers much, much more likely to buy the product.

Exactly! Hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils ARE trans fats. It's the same thing.

jennifershoo

Buy the real deal! Only one ingredient: peanuts