Peanut Butter Love

We.Love.Peanut.Butter.Period.

However, I hate all the sugar they put in it! We usually buy organic brands, they at least do not contain refined sugar and hydrogenated oils. A Favorite of ours is Maranatha brand. You'll pay a pretty penny for this jar of yummy goodness, but at least the ingredients are as follows:

Organic Dry Roasted Peanuts, Organic Palm Oil, Organic Cane Sugar, Sea Salt.

Compare that to a commercial brand, such as, Jif or Peter Pan and you get:

MADE FROM ROASTED PEANUTS AND SUGAR. CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: MOLASSES, FULLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OILS (RAPESEED AND SOYBEAN), MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, SALT. (JIF)

Peanuts, Corn Syrup Solids, Soy Protein, Sugar, Salt, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oils (Cottonseed and Rapeseed)Minerals (Magnesium Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Iron Phosphate, Copper Sulfate)Vitamins (Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid) (Peter Pan Reduced Fat Version)

Can I get a... ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

First off, it was hard for me to locate online the ingredient lists, especially for the Peter Pan brand. Like they have something to hide maybe? And if 'choosy' moms choose Jif... then oh my. What does choosy mean again?

Throwing this out there.... maybe parents will be offended... BUT most kids LOVE peanut butter right? PB and J, a well loved, kid friendly/favorite lunch (don't even get me started on commercial jelly and wonderbread- or commercial wheat bread for that matter. Or some organic wheat breads for another matter....ok, focus Dana, focus!). Do any of us parents really know what these ingredients are in our child's Peter Pan peanut butter??? Let me let you in on my knowledge. Take out EVERY SINGLE INGREDIENT, MINUS THE PEANUTS, and you should feel good about feeding this to your child. I once heard someone's very bold statement that feeding a child unhealthily should be considered child abuse. This sure pissed a lot of people off! But think about this, if we do not know what is in the food we feed them, or know what these ingredients do to their/our health, can we argue this accusation? 'Food' for thought.

So! Here is my solution. A frugal, healthy and easy solution. Seriously. $2. Five minutes. You can do that for your little munchkin, can't you?

Homemade Peanut Butter

3 Cups Peanuts

3 Tbsp Coconut Oil

Combine in blender. Blend for a minute or two, then scrape with a spatula. Repeat. And Repeat again.... and again... until your desired consistency. Store in fridge. Makes about 2 cups.

Add raw honey for a sweeter peanut butter.

And eat that yummy goodness straight from the spoon and bask in your healthy treat.