STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

shopgirl82 · Chanel

Natural PB recs.

sweater girl · BCBG

I do think you will get used to it...I buy only natural/organic and when I taste Skippy or any of the other sweetened versions now it tastes awful to me...way too sweet like a Reeses. I'm a crunchy girl so it's hard to for me to recommend the best creamy taste but you might start with a brand like Teddy which I believe is natural but not organic...IMO it doesn't taste as "hard core" natural as say an orgranic brand like Trader Joe's brand or similar...

Maddie · Coach

I like Adam's peanut butter, though I think it might be a regional thing.

nicoley · Coach

Ive never tried this, so I can't give a recommendation, but I know Ive always wanted to try grinding my own from fresh Peanuts at whole foods. And if you have a whole foods near me, you know you can always try anything on their shelves, so even if you dont want to grind your own there, at least you can try whatever kind you think you might want to buy.

luckylily · Gucci

Maddie wrote:

I like Adam's peanut butter, though I think it might be a regional thing.

Ditto. Adam's is the only PB I eat. I grew up eating the stuff everyday, so brands like Skippy and Jiff taste like plastic to me.

Cricket · Gucci

I can't remember if it's "Organic" or just "All Natural", but we ate Laura Scudder's growing up and it's very good.

blubirde · Chanel

I'm personally not a fan of natural peanut butter (too much trouble to mix it all together) but have you tried whipped pb? It only has 2g of sugar per serving (2 tablespoons) and is trans fat free. It has lower calories and fat than reduced-fat. Once I got used to the consistency - it's lighter and airier than reg. pb - I loved it. Here's the nutritional breakdown:

Calories 140 / % Daily Value*
Total Fat 12 g / 18%
Saturated Fat 2.5 g / 13%
Cholesterol 0 mg / 0%
Sodium 105 mg / 4%
Total Carbohydrates 5 g / 2%
Dietary Fiber 2 g / 8%
Sugars 2 g
Protein 6 g
Calcium 0 mg

Note: A dash indicates no data is available.

Here's the nutritional breakdown of a natural pb:

Calories 210 / % Daily
Total Fat 16 g / 25%
Saturated Fat 2.5 g / 13%
Cholesterol 0 mg / 0%
Sodium 120 mg / 5%
Total Carbohydrates 6 g / 2%
Dietary Fiber 2 g / 8%
Sugars 1 g
Protein 8 g
Calcium 0 mg

Here's the breakdown of a natural, organic pb:

Calories 204 / % Daily Value*
Total Fat 16 g / 25%
Saturated Fat 2.5 g / 13%
Cholesterol 0 mg / 0%
Sodium 0 mg / 0%
Total Carbohydrates 7 g / 2%
Dietary Fiber 2 g / 8%
Sugars 2 g
Protein 8 g

Of course, there could be differences I'm not noting in the nutritional breakdown but I've found the whipped pb to be a good alternative to reg. or reduced fat pb and natural, actually because I don't care for it.

-- Edited by blubirde at 16:54, 2006-05-05

fairywings · Dooney & Bourke

I personally don't like the taste of natural peanut butter either. I just don't think that it's sweet enough. How about almond butter? I have a local natural food store that makes almond butter and it is fantastic. I prefer it so much more than peanut butter. It's not crunchy, and it's so much sweeter than any natural peanut butter that I've tried. Price is the same as peanut butter. And I believe that it is great for you.

Michibanana · BCBG

Skippy has their own version of natural peanut butter now...I'm not sure what's different about it other than that it has no hydrogenated oils - hence, no trans fats. It's not available in all grocery stores, but if you can find it, it's really good. I can't really eat regular peanut butter now.

Aurora · Marc Jacobs

I buy Better than PB and its not too bad. It does have a different taste than regular pb but when i eat it on a sandwich I can't tell the difference.

dot · Marc Jacobs

has anyone tried the honey roasted peanut butter that you grind yourself at whole foods (i'm sure other natural markets have it too). i am seriously addicted to it!

Drew · Gucci

dot wrote:

has anyone tried the honey roasted peanut butter that you grind yourself at whole foods (i'm sure other natural markets have it too). i am seriously addicted to it!

Yes, and I like it too. I prefer organic though and since they don't make a honey one in organic I mix it myself and it's just as good.

shopgirl, why don't you buy the full fat natural peanut butter, pour the extra oil on top down the drain and mix a little honey in with the peanut butter instead. It will make it sweater and yes, once you get used to the taste you will eventually prefer it.

roxy · Nine West

I'm really late chiming in on this thread and have been out of the stylethread loop for some time... but you might like Whole Foods Kids brand. I eat the crunchy kind, but have tried both. It's organic, naturally sweetened, and somehow doesn't separate in the jar the way the *adult* kind does. How they do it without hydrogenated fats... I have no idea. Maybe the palm oil is an emulsifier?

Ingredients: organic dry roasted peanuts, organic cane sugar, organic palm oil, sea salt.

Seriously, once you start eating the natural stuff, the traditional brands taste starchy and pastey in comparison. Bleah.

wicked · Coach

I only eat natural pb, the sugary-hydrogenated oil kind is gross to me. I buy Teddy, Smuckers, or the Trader Joes brand. The gring your own is a bit too natural for me. And like Drew, I pour most of the oil off.