Background
My name is Nick and I am the Peanut Butter Boy. I love any and all things peanut butter but my real passion is cooking and eating healthy. My goal is to make nutritious food taste good and I seem to have a knack for it. Over the years my cooking and recipes have significantly improved and has resulted in what you see here. To explore all of my creations, click here to view the Recipe Index.
Ever since I re-discovered peanut butter in college I’ve been happier and healthier than ever and now have a slight (major) obsession with peanut butter. All the recipes you find here are what I consider healthy, but keep in mind that the concept of “healthy” differs from person to person. But this style of cooking and eating has worked for me and helped me stay in shape along with a weekly exercise routine.
But other than being composed of 61.8% water and 38.2% peanut butter, what really constitutes the Peanut Butter Boy? Since “actions speak louder than words”, “pictures are worth a thousand words” and “sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me”, I’ve decided to give you a glimpse into the life of the Peanut Butter Boy in pictures rather than words (or stones).
Behind the Scenes
I’m a giant and my girlfriend is a smurf.
Don’t be fooled, I’m heavier than I look (peanut butter is dense).
I sink in water unless supported by at least 3 child-sized swim tubes.
I find inner peace when I meditate on peanut butter.
I have excellent aim when it comes to self-portraits but often forget to look.
I’ve been told on several occasions that I look like Christian Bale. Do I?
Fun Peanut Butter Boy Facts:
- I am over 6′3″ tall.
- I weigh as much as 72,574 grams of bricks.
- I weigh as much as 72,574 grams of feathers.
- My favorite peanut butter is probably one of these: peanut butter brands
- I don’t like almond butter.
- I love almonds.
- At any given time I have between 10 and 20 varieties of dark chocolate on hand.
- I am also a chocolate snob.
- My mother has always called me Charlie.
- My great uncle was the voice of Garfield from the cartoon TV series.
- My last name is Strand and means “beach” in Swedish.
- I am mostly Irish (25%).
- I’ll leave you with the Strand coat of arms:
That about sums me up. Any questions?
Very cool. I love the “a picture is worth a thousands words” concept.
“Doc”
I just discovered this blog and I cannot believe that I have found anyone who loves peanut butter as much as me! When I could hardly talk I would ask for peanut butter in a spoon by saying “M-uh-nim-uh-spoon.” I have found a lot of similar recipes that you use. I also do peanut butter and pumpkin! and add it to the most insane meat combos. I will be reading your site in the future for tips!
I know the feeling, I love finding new peanut butter addicts, I thought it was just me for a while. The only downside, it’s difficult for us to leave the country, pb just isn’t popular outside the States. You must share some recipes! ~ Nick
Nick, I’m your peanut butter girl.
I do not mean that in a sexy way….just on a professional pb lover to another pb-lover type of way.
Haha, thanks for clearing that up Lee. I was on my way to obtain a restraining order =) ~ Nick
have you tried http://www.ilovepeanutbutter.com and warm milk and peanut butter together?
I’m a big fan of Peanut Butter & Co. I make most of their flavors homemade too, check out peanut butter flavors. And do you mean mixing peanut butter into warm milk? I’ve never tried that before, how is it? ~ Nick
Man, I love peanut butter too, but 99% of the “recipes” you post are rediculous and quite disgusting.Where do you come up with such strange combinations??I’ll stick with plain old Peter Pan (creamy/crunchy)!
I’m so sorry to hear that you were born without an imagination! I suggest you try the recipes before you badmouth them, you might be surprised. ~ Nick
LOL that was a very funny description of your self it made me laugh out loud! =] I <3 PB too!
Hi there PBB!
I’m so happy I ran into your site.
Your stuff here blew my mind!:D
Thanks alot!
Andreas
PS: Strand actually means ‘beach’ in Sweden(as in Norway, where I’m from)
I knew it wasn’t quite right and “beach” definitely rings a bell. I’ve fixed it, thanks Andreas! ~ Nick
Hello.
First let me tell you you’re doing an amazing work coming up with tasty quirky recipes and you seem to have quite a following and rightly so.
I love pb too but over here [Europe] I can only get Skippy, Jif or Peter Pan pb. I would like to know the actual proportion of peanuts they use in such ‘big brand’ mass produced peanut butter. I know they use unhealthy oils and syrups too, but what about the peanut content? Their sites do not list such info but I trust you’d know the answer.
Thanks!
Thanks for the comments George. Peanut Butter is classified as containing at least 90% peanuts. Skippy, Peter Pan and Jif all meet this requirement but do not claim by how much. The other 10% can be made up of salt, sugar, and hydrogenated oil which all 3 brands contain. Luckily, only a tiny amount of that oil is needed to stabilize the product so overall, I’m sure those brands are close to 95% peanuts. What annoys me is the added sugar, why does it have to be sweet? While not the best options, if that’s all you can get, it’s still worth it. I recommend Jif, they use fully hydrogenated oil which has no trans fats. Hope this helps! ~ Nick
Dear Nick,
I’ve been a [blog] creeper, and just decided to inform you that you crack me up. In a good way.
-Laura.
Thanks Laura, I aim to amuse =) ~ Nick
Id rather stir than cut onions and garlic. i cant believe arkady made that bale comparison. I’ve told you all along :)
It is pretty striking. And you’ll forever be the queen of cutting onions, although I don’t really enjoy making you cry. ~ Nick
Hello Charlie,
This site is pretty amazing, I’ll have to go stock up on pb so I can make some treats. Also the tube pic is by far the bestttttt :)
Thanks =). And I’d like to say that I made it through those tubes, but I believe that’s the attempt where one of my arms missed and I got stuck upside-down in the water… ~ Nick
Oh my gosh!!! I’m so glad to have found your site (quite by accident, I might add)! I have been OBSESSED with peanut butter since forever it seems and when I started reading some of your recipes, I was nearly drooling! I will come visit often.
I’m glad you stumbled here as well, enjoy your stay =) ~ Nick
I just wanted to say that I love your site–the recipes are very inspiring, as I too add PB to (almost) everything! I’m a professional ballet dancer so I need to stay in shape, but PB is so good and good for you that I can’t get enough of it!
Just curious, have you tried Naturally More PB? It’s my current obsession, though I pretty much love all natural PBs. Keep up the good work!
The world is lucky to have peanut butter, a naturally healthy and delicious spread! Naturally More is pretty tasty, I really like the texture of it but it bugs me that you need to refrigerate it because of the egg whites in it. For a pb with similar texture and added health benefits give Naturally Nutty a try, they make a wicked pb! Thanks for stopping by! ~ Nick
Hey, I was looking for a specific PB (East Wind) and I came to your website. I got to reading it because I, like you, love nut butters. You mention that you don’t like almond butters but I really think you should try Maranatha No-Stir Crunchy Almond butter. It’s super yummy!
By the way, I like your blog!
Ah, East Wind. They have some quality nut butters, did you see my reviews of them? I highly recommend them. I actually did enjoy their almond butter somewhat and I have found one almond butter I really enjoy – Naturally Nutty Vanilla AB. I think you’re the second person to mention Maranatha AB, I’ll give it a try next time I see it. Thanks for stopping by! ~ Nick
Hi Nick! Thanks for finding me on Twitter. Lovely blog. Totally trying the quark cheese recipe for healthier lasagna. Will be following.
Love your blog and all your detailed peanut butter reviews and pairing suggestions. You know your peanut butter well. Love the last picture. You DO look like Christian Bale!!
Why thank you =). It’s uncanny right?
Hi Nick,
I am pleased to see that I’m not the only one who has much passion for peanut butter! Your website is great- I love reading your reviews and recipes. unfortunately I live in London and we don’t seem to have a huge variety of peanut butter brands here. The only consolation is that we have other nut butters (though peanut butter still rocks my world).
Anyway keep up the great work :) You do look like Christian Bale, by the way.
I’m pleased to see that there are still more people like me, living under the influence of peanut butter 24/7. I’ve heard peanut butter is so difficult to find outside of the US, I remember having troubles in Spain and Italy. Perhaps I should move there and start my own pb business….
Maybe I could be Christian’s stunt double….
Dear Peanut Butter Boy,
Clearly we all love peanut butter. But do you think one can eat too much? I think I might have to stop buying it because I can’t stop at one spoonful…or two or three. But on the other hand, it’s soooo good. Advice?
I can’t believe I forgot to reply to you….
As a certified peanut butter specialist – no, you can’t eat too much. Personally, I’ll eat a good 4 spoonfuls per sitting straight from the jar, and I’ll do it with a fork – don’t ask why. Point is, is it causing unwanted weight gain? If not, keep consuming, because it has been scientifically proven that peanut butter is the tastiest stuff on earth. Also, don’t forget that peanut butter is extremely healthy. If you keep unhealthy fats to a minimum, you should be eating 2-3 full servings of peanut butter (or other healthy fats) per day. In fact, along with even mild exercise, eating healthy fats (like pb) helps lose weight faster. Personally, I try to keep everything else low in fat so I can eat more pb =).
We’d like to see more shirtless photos of you – you’re cute. That’s the only reason we read your blog :-) Well, that and we do like peanut butter.
Well thanks for the compliment Jared, but the only hot and spicy photos around here are of peanut butter =).
We’ll have to settle for that. Great blog though.
Thanks for reading!
Thanks for the advice Nick. I just made some curried vegetables with peanut butter. It really does make everything taste better!
As a young peanut butter lover( 13 years and still going!) I am here to say that I like your blog….. It’s pretty sick, mostly cause your recipes are healthy and I’m a runner so I like healthy stuff, but mostly peanut butter in chocolate sauce, yyyyuuummmm! I hope you keepvputting up new recipes and I will keep getting people hooked on peanut butter( I got my best friend hooked this summer). Thanks!
It’s great to have another peanut butter mercenary on board! I recruit people all the time too, once they taste what peanut butter is capable of they can’t turn away! Now are you 13 years old or 13 years a pb lover? That’s longer than I’ve been obsessed! And keep up the enthusiasm =)
Oh and you should start a peanut butter buiseness. I hate my grocery store here cause all they sell is Jiff, Skippy ( which I don’t mind sometimes), Peter Pan, and this nasty natural stuff that I’m sure taste like bark. Please do it for all the people in the world who suffer from gross and unnatural tasting pb! Thanks! :-)
I would love to. I can’t stand Skippy, but Jif and Peter Pan are decent in a pinch but nothing special for sure. I do plan to start a business of some sort in the near future, I don’t see why not peanut butter….
As a temporary fix until my business is up and running, find a Whole Foods store if you can and get the Whole Foods brand “365 Crunchy” or “365 Creamy”. They are only $1.79 a jar (cheapest on the market) and are at the very top of my list. You can also get large jars (equal to 2.5 jars) that will last you much longer. They’re all natural but don’t have much oil separation. I can also give you tips how to efficiently use/store a large jar like that. The crunchy turned me from creamy to crunchy but then I tried the creamy and I was converted back. Now I just love them both, give them a try.
Haha, no I’m 13 years old, and thanks for the tip on wholefoods, I will be sure to go there!
I’m so happy to find someone who loves pb as i do! I can eat it on its own (i do dip spoons in the jar-myfingers if the jar is finishing). So lucky in US there is cheap PB. where im from (msia), the au naturel PB are super expensive..
Always good to find another addict! Fingers are no stranger to my jars either. I’ve found myself preferring a fork lately, I think I’m truly starting to consume it like a meal.
PB is very cheap here. It turns out that my favorite brand is also the cheapest. It’s called 365 creamy and it’s the store brand of Whole Foods Market. Costs only $1.79 for an 18oz jar! You should just get yourself one of those awesome blenders, like the Vita-mix, and make your own! I’ll be doing that shortly!
ok this is one rad blog!! totally made me crack up.. can’t wait to read more!!
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoy it. Keep reading!
Nick,
Are you by any chance the son of Paul and Bonnie Strand, from Rowland Heights, California?
I’m not but I have heard of Rowland Heights. And who knows, maybe I’m related! Do they enjoy peanut butter too?
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t enjoy peanut butter. But thanks, for letting me know that your not who I thought you were.
I hate to disappoint but alas, I must.
lolol. I just stumbled upon this bit of deliciousness. I must admit I have eaten three jars of nut butter in the past month. Tell me PB Boy; is that too much or too little? Just the right amount?
Eagerly awaiting your answer,
Whit
3 jars? That’s nothing. But considering Whit wants to get fit, you’re certainly on the right track. Peanut fat is healthy/good fat, 6T for a man or 4T for a woman each day along with exercise aids in weight loss/maintenance.
I suggest 1 jar a week if you want to take it to the next level. I down between 1.5 and 2 jars a week, or on the order of 6-9 jars a month. You’ve got a long way to go my friend….
I just found your blog and I love it! I love the concept, I love that you love peanut butter, and I love how hilarious you are! This blog is completely refreshing, and I love it! Did I mention I love it? Keep up the great work!
Haha, thanks so much Tammy. It’s people like you that keep me and my blog going. Keep up that enthusiasm!
I’ve just found your blog today and it’s already among my favs! Currently, I’ve living in South Korea where there’s simply no market for the stuff; stores carry nothing but Skippy. Then, yesterday I discovered Peanut Butter & Co’s Smooth Operator in the foreign imports section of a specialty foods store. I swear, good PB is worth its weight in gold in Korea (and that’s nearly the truth at $8 for 12 oz!)
I’m happy to find another fan from the other side of the world, too bad peanut butter is so hard to find and expensive over there. You could always make your own fresh peanut butter if you get some roasted salted peanuts along with a food processor and a few drops of peanut oil. I’ll actually be posting a method for making homemade peanut butter soon. Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you around!
Of course! Can’t believe I hadn’t thought of this. I just sprang for a pretty powerful blender so hopefully that’ll suffice. Maybe I’ll just end up with chunky…now if only I can find peanut oil; I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s even rarer :/
Looking forward to your next post. Keep it up!
If you can’t find peanut oil, canola oil should suffice.
wow dude love the site, im with you at the eating pb 2-3 times a day so i love readin your recipes. have you tried Naturally More peanut butter? its my current food addiction haha
Thanks man. PB is addicting, and I’m just giving the people what they crave =). Yes, I’ve had Naturally More pb, pretty good stuff although it annoys me that you have to refrigerate it! I prefer Naturally Nutty brand – I’m not usually a flavored peanut butter kinda guy but they have some darn good flavors (plain too) and they add hemp and flax seed and the resulting texture is very similar to Naturally More but doesn’t need refrigeration!