Kevin February ended yesterday, and that means we’re in meteorological spring. It’s not technically spring yet, but better weather’s on the horizon for those of us in the northern hemisphere. Hopefully the worst of the nightmare winter we’ve had is behind us.
Here’s hoping.
Anyhow, we’re in a new month, and that means a month of unofficial holidays. Today is Peanut Butter Lovers’ Day. Idk about any of you, but peanut butter was one of the things we always had in the house when I was a kid. Only the creamy kind. Everyone else hated the chunky kind, except me.
I mean, we even had that bear-shaped jar, or whatever it was supposed to be, that Skippy put out as a promotional item that turned into a coin bank after you got through the last of the stuff inside. I know we had at least one in the house, maybe two.
Unfortunately they got lost to the ages, and I’m guessing the move from around that time may have had something to do w/ it.
No worries though. If I’m ever so inclined, I can hit up eBay and get one for cheap after we move at the end of this month. There’s a buttload of ’em there right now anyway.
Back then, none of us knew our way around nutrition, so with something as high-calorie as peanut butter is, you can pretty much guess how well that worked out.
Over the years, it wasn’t out of the norm for me to sit in front of the TV with that jar of peanut butter, and eat it by the spoonful sometimes. Especially that peanut butter and jelly combo stuff. The grape would always be in the house, since that’s the only type that existed to them, but I loved the strawberry variety.
When I started my weight loss this time around, I ended up having to call a moratorium on peanut butter for at least the first year. It wasn’t until I’d gotten to the two-year mark where I started re-introducing peanut butter into my recipes.
This time around, I learned to limit it drastically in order to make it fit within my calorie budget. Before I started losing the weight, I would have the jar in my room sometimes, and yes, I’d eat it by the spoonful. Not anymore. I saw someone recommend no longer keeping food in your room, and that worked for me. If I wanted it that bad, I’d have to get off my butt and go into the kitchen for it.
Now? I use it in recipes, almost never as a main ingredient like the PBJ sandwiches I used to have as a kid. One of my favorite recipes to use it in is muddy buddies. I’ve heard them called “puppy chow,” or “people’s puppy treat,” also. I call ’em muddy buddies, and lately this recipe for butterscotch buddies has been on repeat for me. I finally got a container from Wally World that I’m 99% sure is big enough to keep it in, and if it is, it’ll be a huge upgrade from the paper bag lined with wax paper folded up in the cupboard.
If the new house has a shelf in the kitchen big enough for it, even better! After the move, I’ll make some mint ones, but since it’s peanut butter lovers’ day, it definitely wouldn’t work for those.
For those with peanut allergies, I haven’t yet tried a muddy buddy batch with Sunbutter, but from the times I’ve had that stuff, I’ve loved it every time. It’s often out of my price range, so hopefully next chance I get, I’ll be your guinea pig, try it out, and report back.
Over to you, readers. What are your favorite peanut or other-nut butter recipes? Drop ’em like they’re hot below!
