HOMEMADE PEANUT BUTTER LOVE.

I've written about my love for peanut butter before.  And well, I still love it.  A lot.  There's something about the gooey, stick to your mouth texture and sweet yet salty peanutty flavour that is just so addictive.  And since I'm a loyal consumer of the all natural, 100% peanuts brands, I also love to fool myself into thinking that it's always perfectly healthy and just the right thing for me to eat, at any moment.  Or all the moments.

As I polished off yet another jar of the beloved peanut butter and added it to my grocery list, I paused for a minute.  Why had I never tried making peanut butter myself before?  As I was well aware, it's just made of peanuts.  I could easily buy a bag of peanuts!  Better yet....if I made it myself, what other flavours could I add to it?

I am going to get to the description of making it, but like a mystery novel that you just can't put down, sometimes you just have to skip to the end first.  Amazing.  Pure, delicious, amazingness.  Smooth and creamy, with the best flavour I have ever had in a peanut butter before.  Okay, now back to the beginning.

For those who love simple and traditional, a pure peanut butter will certainly fit the bill.  About three cups of unsalted, roasted peanuts, and a half teaspoon sea salt go into a good quality blender for about 10 minutes, and out comes a perfectly smooth, beautifully flavourful peanut butter (it will get very clumpy before it gets smooth but just keep blending!).  It's way better than store bought.  I thought my love for peanut butter could not get stronger.  Oh, but it did.

And then, peanut butter and I took our relationship to the next level.  After scooping half of the simple peanut butter into a jar and into the fridge, I gave a little extra attention to the remaining half, still in the blender.  I added 1 teaspoon of honey and the seeds from one half of a vanilla bean.  Blend until combined, and taste.  Slightly sticky sweetness from the honey, real vanilla, and sea salt create a complex layer to a classic peanut spread.  It's breakfast, dessert and snacking all rolled into one.  It's the grow old together and still want to hold hands kind of love.

Whether you choose to go the classic peanut butter route, try a new flavour twist on the traditional snack, or even do a little of both with one batch, you'll be impressed with the pure, rich, peanut flavour.  It's pure peanut butter love.

THE PEANUT BUTTER YOU DIDN'T GROW UP WITH.

I have a slight obsession with peanut butter.  I put it on everything.  Toast, crackers, bananas, and oatmeal just to name a few.  Not to mention, I also eat it straight up, out of the jar.  With a butter knife.  I'm so glad I have blinds on my windows at times like those.

I always eat the 100% natural, all peanuts, only peanuts kind of peanut butter.  I know it's clean and healthy, and good for you...well, in moderation that is.  Perhaps not when I'm scooping it out with my butter knife and licking it clean.  But, I just can't help it.

So when I started noticing something called powdered peanut butter with the brand name PB2, popping up in recipes and blogs, I was intrigued.  I know it sounds a bit strange, but after a little research I found out it's pretty simple.  The powder is made by pressing the oil out from the peanuts.  It's done through a chemical free process, and the result is a  natural and preservative free powder that has 85% less fat calories.  That's insane!  That could literally mean, that I could eat 85% more peanut butter, right? Pure delight ensued.

The instructions are simple.  For a spread, just mix two tablespoons of PB2 with one tablespoon of water.  Voila!  You've got a skinny pants friendly, all natural, preservative free peanut butter.  Even better, there are so many other opportunities for a little PB love with this stuff.  Pop some into your blender with banana and milk for a yummy smoothie, add a few scoops when baking your favorite muffins or bars, or even mix a little in with your morning yogurt and granola.

After thinking about all the peanut buttery foods that I could make, I couldn't wait to try it.  Sadly, I found out that while it's available in stores in the U.S., it is not easily available in Canada.  The biggest and most popular manufacturer seems to be PB2, but not only is there a hefty shipping charge to deliver to Canada, plus who knows what for duty charges, but their direct site was also sold out on a lot of their products.

YES, I said products!  That's because, they didn't just stop at regular old powdered peanut butter - they also offered CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER!  Mind blown.  Saliva glands, literally, going wild.

After some serious online hunting, I found a Canadian website that would deliver a jar of PB2 and a few samples of Chocolate PB2 to me (and likely also to you, if you click here and order).  There is a delivery charge, and the product isn't super cheap to start with, but at least you know it won't be stuck at the border.  I got mine in just a few days.

The results?  Pretty good!  The powder smells deliciously of your usual peanut butter, and after you mix it with water it resembles a smooth style peanut butter, although maybe a bit thinner than usual.  The taste is peanut buttery goodness, just like you would expect.  I would say that it's not quite as full a flavour as a jar of all natural full fat peanut butter, but then that's not too surprising given that it's a much lighter version.  There is also some added sugar and salt, and I can taste that a little bit.  You also have to go an extra step to mix it up (no knives in the jar this time) but that actually helps out with portion control.  And one serving is just 45 calories!

I tasted tested mine by itself, and also on crackers.  Then I busted out the blender.  Oh my!  So delicious.  I would never put peanut butter in my smoothies, since there are so many other healthier things to go in there...but now I'll put PB2 in there!

I think the true strength of this product is in the baking and cooking possibilities.  It's good on its own, and I'll likely order more when I'm out - but I'm not ready to toss the jar of my standard PB from my fridge either.  I think a nice balance will keep me fitter, with a bit of extra peanutty love in my foods.