A Healthier PB&J

 

Organic crunchy peanut butter on a
100% whole wheat English Muffin
topped with Fresh Mango

A peanut butter and jelly sandwich is a go-to lunch. It's quick, it's inexpensive and who doesn't love them? Even people allergic to peanuts indulge by easily substituting the peanut butter with any nut or seed butter. 

Sadly, growing up in an Italian household, I wasn't introduced to the PB&J until I went off to college. But now I eat them regularly, usually at breakfast time. 

The question remains, is it healthy? As a nutritionist, I would say that the typical peanut butter and jelly sandwich is not a healthy choice. First, it's typically made with white bread. Second, many peanut butters come in plastic containers and contain sugar, hydrogenated oils, and salt. And if you've ever made jelly, you know the most popular recipes contain more sugar than fruit.

Here are 4 easy things to do to make this iconic sandwich healthier:

#1 Start with a bread that is made from whole grains. It's easier to find a whole grain bread that contains wheat so if you are gluten free, you will have to carefully read the labels. There are some good ones out there but many of them are full of overly processed starches and gums to hold them together. So if you aren't allergic to wheat, a bread like Dave's Killer Bread with 21 Whole Grains and Seeds OrganicBread is a winner. Check out www.daveskillerbread.com/products for more of their healthy breads. 

#2 Pick an organic nut butter that only contains the nuts and seeds. Just peanuts -  no oil, no sugar. Little or no salt. I like organic MaraNatha or Santa Cruz peanut butters.

#3 Only buy nut butters that are in glass jars. Peanut butter has a high fat content and the oils in the nut butter can absorb chemicals fro the plastic and become contaminated. The above peanut butters are both in glass jars.

#4 Substitute the jelly with fresh fruit! This will save you empty calories and needless sugar as well as adding healthful fiber to your sandwich. My favorite fruits to add are:

    *Sliced mangos, peaches, nectarines

    * Raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries

    * Sliced bananas, apples

     

Peach And Peanut Butter Smoothie With Chia Seeds

Peaches and peanut butter pair beautifully in this smoothie.

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Peach Season
We found some big, beautiful, juicy peaches at the market the other day. This morning we decided to blend some up into a smoothie.

Now peaches and peanut butter might seem an unlikely combination, but they pair beautifully. Besides being delicious together, the peanut butter balances the carbs of the fruit with some fat and protein which keeps you full longer. Almond butter will do the same thing so if you are allergic to peanuts, you can make that substitution. Using peanut butter, each serving provides 5 grams of protein.

I also add some soaked chia seeds to this recipe to improve the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids since peanut butter (and almond butter too) is far richer in omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3. This recipe provides close to a gram of omega-3 per serving. Chia seeds are also a good source of fiber and calcium. Each serving of this smoothie has 7 grams of dietary fiber!

And let's not forget the star of the show. Peaches are a great source of fiber and vitamins A and C, each large peach providing 3 grams of dietary fiber, 19% of your daily requirement of vitamin C and 11% of vitamin A.  

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Peach and Peanut Butter Smoothie
Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free
[makes 2 servings]
Requires a blender.

Ingredients
1 large banana (cut in 4 pieces, frozen)
1 tablespoon chia seeds
2 cups water, divided
2 large peaches, pitted and sliced with skin
1 tablespoon organic peanut butter
4 drops of stevia or other sweetener

Directions
The night before, cut the banana into 4 pieces and place in the freezer. If you plan on using frozen instead of fresh peaches, you don't have to freeze the banana.

About 20 to 30 minutes before you make the smoothie, soak the chia seeds in 1/2 cup of the water. Stir vigorously and set aside. Stir again from time to time until the chia seeds absorb most of the water.

Place the frozen banana, soaked chia seeds and all their liquid, the remaining 1 1/2 cups of water, the peaches, peanut butter and sweetener in the blender. 

Blend until smooth and serve immediately.

Nutrition
Per serving (2): 204 calories, 6 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 906 mg omega-3 and 1,546 mg omega-6 fatty acids, 5 g protein, 37 g carbohydrates, 7 g dietary fiber and 34 mg sodium.