Chia Peanut Butter

I have a peanut butter problem; I love it a little too much. I constantly try to find ways to justify its ever-present existence in my daily diet. Just a year ago I ate Jif, then reduced fat Jif, then I learned a few things about processed foods and switched to natural peanut butters that contain just peanuts and salt. All these butters have been creamy, but in the last few months I've played with crunchy butters. It seems more hearty and meal-like. Much like a crack addict, I've also had different vehicles on which to get the peanut butter to my mouth. With the Jif I used either a slice of toast (maybe not even whole-grain bread), or a big spoon. Lately I've either had peanut butter on sprouted bread or on a low-glycemic index cracker.

I think about peanut butter all the time. I hoard it. Especially now, with the peanut shortage affecting my supply. My local grocery store has been out of my favorite brands for 10 days. I'm freaking out.

I admit I have a problem. But it has been tempered some by a few tricks I've learned along the way.  Onto the really good ideas! I wanted to increase the health benefits of my peanut butter by adding chia seeds so I was sprinkling it into the divots of my Ry-Krisp crackers.  The little seeds fell out, and I never seemed to get enough chia. So lately I've been mixing the seeds directly into the jar as I'm mixing the oil with the butter.

Really Good Idea bonus #1: See the container next to the larger bag of chia?  Makes it a heck of a lot easier to control the flow of the slippery seeds when it comes from something smaller.

Now that I've added more protein and essential Omega-3's to my beloved snack, it's time to address the salt issue. You can buy buy all-natural peanut butter at your local co-op; that's next on my list.  You can also buy peanut butter with no salt added; the ingredients are just peanuts. You can make your own, which is probably the best option in controlling what you ingest. If you aren't quite there yet (like me), you might head to the store to discover that the shortage still prevails and the only feasible options either contain maltodextrin, or don't contain salt. I love salted peanut butter, but I love my health a little more so opted for the no-matodextrin, no-salt option. But it didn't taste quite right, so I added my own salt.

This is NOT a really good idea, but I'm a big fan of enjoying the food I allow myself so I went ahead and tossed some in. The really good idea that come from this is that I am controlling the amount of salt in my food. It's all about choices and options.

Yield: It's up to you.  I mix as much chia (3T at least) into a jar of peanut butter.

Really good idea bonus #2: Store your stirred peanut butter in the refrigerator and you won't have to stir every day!

What's your favorite healthy guilty pleasure?


I thought of this really good idea all by myself, but it really wasn't that much of a stretch as chia is everywhere now. A simple google search brought up a plethora of options.