Have You Tried: Powdered Peanut Butter

Have you ever entered a contest/lottery/sweepstakes and then forgotten about it?  I assume I won’t win so I usually forget that I enter them.  Recently, I was reading Jenna Braddock’s blog at Fresh Food Perspectives and filled out her giveaway form for a jar of Tru-Nut Powdered Peanut Butter.  I was so excited about the product (gluten-free and non-GMO and pea-nutty), that I went on Amazon and bought a jar, thinking that I wouldn’t be lucky enough to win it.  Boy was I wrong – I won!  Jenna contacted me and asked me what flavor I wanted; Peanut, Chocolate, or Cinnamon.  Because I already bought the chocolate peanut butter, I had her send me the original peanut butter.  I couldn’t wait for my goodies to arrive.

Powdered peanut butter is a new item popping up on supermarket shelves.  Essentially, peanuts are pressed into a powder, while the peanut oil is removed.  There are pros and cons to this fun food.  The delicious peanut-flavored powder has fewer calories than regular peanut butter, while still containing the flavor and the protein content of traditional peanut butter.  On the other hand, the oils that are removed contain good fats, such as mono- and polyunsaturated fats, and vitamin E that our bodies need, while also helping you to feel fuller for a longer period of time.  While there is not a high sugar and sodium content, sugar and salt are added back to the powder (just like the traditional version), therefore it is not a whole food, like eating peanuts straight from the shell.   The take home message is this: Tru-Nut powdered peanut butter and its counterparts on the supermarket shelves is a versatile and nutritious food, but it should not completely replace peanut butter or whole peanuts in your diet.   Now on to the good stuff…

When my packages arrived, I couldn’t wait to try them.  First up, the smoothie.  Two tablespoons is about 45 calories and 1.5 grams of fat, so I used one tablespoon to replace the carob powder in my morning smoothie.

Morning Tru-Nut Peanut Butter Powder Protein Smoothie

Serves 1

8 oz almond milk

1/2 cup frozen strawberries

1 heaping tablespoon rice protein powder

1 tablespoon Tru-Nut Powdered Peanut Butter

1 banana

Blend all ingredients together in a blender or in a cup using an immersion blender.

I wanted to use the Tru-Nut in its traditional form too, so I mixed it with water.  For every two tablespoons of powder, you will need to use one tablespoon of water to make a paste.  Since I have a gluten intolerance, I couldn’t put the spread on a sandwich, although it was the perfect consistency.

So instead of peanut butter sandwiches on bread, I made peanut butter sandwiches on bananas!  I sliced the banana into 1/2″ discs and topped half with the Tru-Nut butter and topped the peanut butter with the rest of the discs to make sandwiches.

You can take this one step further to make a delicious dessert:  Insert a toothpick into the sandwich and make sure to get all the way through to the other banana disc.  Dip the sandwiches into melted chocolate and place them onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Remove the toothpick and freeze for two hours or until set and are ready to be devoured!

Can’t wait until the sandwiches freeze to enjoy them?  That’s okay, you can eat them at room temperature.  If you really love peanut butter so much that you would dip peanut butter into more peanut butter, you can mix two tablespoons of the chocolate flavored powder with two tablespoons of water to make the powder the consistency of icing.  And dip away!

I ate the chocolate peanut butter on apple slices.  It was like eating cookies (go with me on this, I don’t eat cookies that often, so this is a close second).

Beyond smoothies, on fruit, and in sandwiches, this versatile powder can be added to cookie dough, sauces (think peanut sauce for chicken satay), and hot cereal.  Any way you use it, it’s bound to be pea-nuttylicious!

So, are you going to try it? If so, click on the links below!

xo

B