yes, thank you also for the whipped PB recipe. I think I'll try it once I get some natuarl PB...Thank you!

I grew up on natural PB, so I didn't have any trouble going back. I try to understand how you all feel when you try the natural for the first time. But I have to say that if you wait until you're in Phase 2 before trying the natural (and you make sure that you stir it up first--Kara's right about the microwave trick!), you'll probably find that it has a lot more natural sweetness than you thought when your taste buds were still used to the intense sweetness of everything with tons of sugar.

Here's the thing, Cathbro. Even if you're okay with getting a little sugar in your PB, how do you feel about putting High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) in your body? It's not easy for your body to process. If you have to have PB with sugar, why not pick a brand (probably in the organic section?) that has regular sugar or molasses or such?

Even more importantly--think about the fat! Peanut Butter (the natural kind) has so much fat in it that it was reclassified from a "protein" to a "fat" for the food pyramid. Natural PB has GOOD fats, so as long as you stick to a serving, you'll only be getting a couple hundred calories. But Jiff/Skippy/et. al. have added fat in the form of trans fat, which is deadly. Literally. I'll have to re-bump the discussion back up, but a couple weeks ago, we were having a talk here about trans fats and someone mentioned that she'd read that every little bit of trans fats you put in your body affects your heart like a grain of sand would affect a fine watch. It's little, but it has a huge effect. That's helped keep me on the straight and narrow when it comes to trans fats. Other than the small amount that occurs naturally in plants and meat, I have totally banned them from my diet. I sometimes play "fast and loose" with saturated fats but I just won't eat trans fats.

Here are the ingredients for the Skippy Natural--it's another example of the "read the label" issue. Just because the label calls it something (like natural) doesn't mean it is (I understand that you knew this already, SkinnyDogMom. ).

The "Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil" is pure trans-fats and it's the third ingredient! That would scare the dickens out of me. I don't want to make this about the Skippy (and I have tons of respect for SkinnyDogMom, who's done a great job--she knows what she's doing for her own body--I just don't want anyone to make the choice to try the Skippy without knowing all the facts), but rather about the fact that, IMHO, the worst thing about regular PB isn't the sugar. It's the trans-fats!

I find that stirring the PB is much easier with a small jar so even though the bigger jars are cheaper, we get the smallest ones. We've found that they are really cheap at our local Wal*Mart. If you want, you can even buy a PB stirrer at the Smucker's site!

If you're looking for sweetness in a natural PB, try Adams. I don't like it myself because I find it's very sweet. It's made from a different kind of peanut (can't remember what) which is why it's sweeter. It's also a bit stickier than Smucker's (which is "Laura Scudder's" brand west of the Rockies).

I love ingenuity--good going on finding recipes for making peanut butter the way you like it, SkinnyDogMom and StacyLynn!

Okay, here's the thread with the trans fat discussion.

The one that I quoted (about the grains of sand) is here. It was ADAGIRL who posted it.

If you ahve an A&P MAsters Choice is my favorite! natural Also I ahve a organic natural in my fridge no oil (i'll check the brand) its a bit solid but 30 seconds in the micro will fixi that
Try mixing in a little cinamon!!

I looked on the back of Jif and it says trans fats 0% Why are they not forced to list it? This is the first time in my life I have read labels and I am lost.

that's very interesting. Thank you for pointing all that out. When I go to get the natural stuff, I'll keep my eye out for it! Trans fat isn't created naturally. Its a man made thing. its sooo bad for people...

Hi, all! If you follow the link above for the discussion on trans fats (buried in a discussion on whether coffee creamers are okay), you'll find tons of info on them. Here's the reason why something can say, "0% Trans Fats" and still be chock-full o' them:


tdiprincess, while you're totally right that the problems we have with trans fats are a result of man-made ingredients (i.e. oxygenating oils so they are solid at room temperature and have a longer shelf life), there are some naturally occuring trans fats. They are minimal and if they're the only ones you get in your diet, it's unlikely to lead to serious illness or death. In the second article I linked to in the Coffee Creamer discussion, there's this quote:

Note, they're negligible (i.e. hardly worth mentioning), but it's good information to know.

Cathbro, learning to read labels can be a little tricky, but with time and practice, you'll be a pro! Here are some websites with info to help you learn more:

Easy to read, concise information on reading labels from InMamasKitchen.com.

The FDA's guide to reading labels.

This info is really good, but keep in mind that it's from Bodybuilding.com, so you'll want to follow the SBD guidelines and your own knowledge as far as what foods are good for you.

Information on reading labels from Healthy Eating Advisor

I couldn't watch this at work, so am not sure how good it is, but here's a link to a YouTube video about reading labels.

Hope that helps!

I forgot about that. I remember learning that in my Anat. and Phys. class in college....thanks for reminding me

Peanut butter is a main staple in our house. We have started going to Whole Foods to get the 'ground yourself' peanut butter. It is really good (a little more expensive) but you can deffinitly tell the difference. They also have honey nut butter, almond butter, cashew butter. All kinds, they rotate them around but they always just regular peanut butter. Hope this helps~

Thank you for all the great info!

If you can find the "grind your own" peanut (and other nut) butter stands, do that. It tastes so much more rich than smuckers. My family prefers almond or cashew butter over peanut butter.

Here is a tip, if you store natural peanut butter upside down, the oil will integrate with the solid peanut butter and make it easier to spread.

Also, most shelf stable peanut butters (Jif, skippy, etc.) contain HFCS. A big no-no if you want to be healthy. If you like sweeter peanut-butter, blend natural peanut butter with splenda (honey would be preferable, but also a no-no on SB) Splenda is much better than cheap, bad-for-mammals, HFCS.

Edit: I guess I should have read the thread better....most everything I said has already been mentioned. whoops!