The Peanut Butter Boy

By popular demand, I've decided to post my favorite mousse recipe. I've actually promised this recipe to several people for a while now, but never got around to making it myself. My best excuse is that the store that sells my favorite cheese to use in this recipe is the furthest of the 3 local grocery stores I frequent (about a 10 minute drive) - a terrible excuse, I realize. That cheese by the way, is "Calabra" fat-free ricotta. It was never in the store until recently, but it is so rich and decadent, the only thing I can compare it to is queso fresco. I've had plenty of full-fat ricotta cheeses that aren't nearly as good. Otherwise I usually go for Polly-o because it has the highest protein to carb ratio.

I want to thank everyone for the kind words, my back is feeling a little better. It feels different than when I pulled it the other few times. It seems like a more concentrated pain in my lower back, but it seems to be disappearing faster and I only notice it when I make certain movements. I was prepared to go to the gym today but was dissuaded by my girlfriend when she called me outside the gym. I don't want to pull it again, but I want to work out! I suppose it's good that I have an addiction to the gym in some respects, but it's aggravating when I can't satisfy that addiction! At least I'll always be able to feed my peanut butter addiction barring any future food intolerances (knock on wood/cross my fingers/salt over the shoulder).

I don't know if it's warm where you are, but here in Davis, CA it's been about 80 degrees every day for the past week and there is no end in sight. So to me, this is a nice cool and refreshing dessert (or afternoon snack) that perfectly compliments the weather. This recipe couldn't be simpler and is a great base recipe to play with. I know what most of you are thinking, "what about chocolate peanut butter mousse?". Well I originally found a similar recipe somewhere that suggested the addition of 1/4 cup cocoa it was not good - I think it just wasn't sweet enough. If you try it, add the 1/4 cup cocoa, omit the cinnamon and an additional 2-4T honey or other sweetener. I'll experiment with it soon (maybe a year from now?).

Ingredients:

15-16oz (~2 cups) nonfat ricotta cheese (Calabra)
1 1/3 cups cooked pumpkin puree (canned is fine)
1/4 cup honey
3-4T peanut butter
1t vanilla
2t cinnamon

Instructions:

Throw it all in a blender and process until super creamy. Add extra honey to sweeten to taste. Chill and serve in small dishes. Top with whipped cream (I forgot to).


Additional Info:

I love this dish, it's so easy and it tastes great. Depending on the brand of ricotta, the taste and texture can vary, so try several different ones until you find your favorite. It also tastes great without the peanut butter but I don't recommend it =). Although every time I make it, I make it in two batches: one plain, one experimental. This peanut butter one was the latest experiment that went over well. By the way, this would make a wonderful pie filling. In fact, if you used a healthy pie crust like from my Triple Chocolate & Peanut Butter Pie, you'd have a mighty healthy and tasty pie on your hands.

To veganize it, perhaps you can use a nice silken tofu or tofu cream cheese? Anyone wanna try it?

Labels: dessert, peanut butter, protein, snack

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Posted by Nick on May 7, 2008 | Post a Comment | Comments | Permalink | Links to this post

Reminder: The deadline for the Great Peanut Butter Exhibition #1 - Cookies is coming up fast! Tomorrow, April 28th at Noon PST (3:00PM EST) we will stop accepting entries. Get your winning submission in now!

Speaking of the contest, here is my contribution to Peanut Butter Exhibition #1. These are one of my fondest memories as a child. My mother usually only made these treats for Easter, but I was feeling Spring-y with my yellow shirt and the gorgeous weather we've been having so I decided to whip up a batch - partially for me, but also for you folks. I haven't had these in years and they really bring back memories. They are really easy to make and they smell incredible while doing so.

Are these cookies? The original title is "Bird's Nest Cookies" but I'm not sure...I suppose they're closer to rice krispie treats than anything else. Then again, I don't really care because I can't win the contest anyways =).

I should warn you, while I consider every recipe on my site to be "healthy", these are not! Or at least they're the most unhealthy recipe you'll find here, but they're actually not too bad either. However, I didn't notice until a few people pointed it out, but these cookies are not only vegan, they are also gluten-free and dairy-free, so eat away my foodies! I did up the nutrition value slightly by using brown-rice cereal, reduced-fat coconut (only because it was on sale and cheaper than regular) and organic corn syrup.

So it appears that I too am a:

Ingredients:

3 cups crispy brown-rice cereal (Whole Foods bulk item)
1 cup reduced-fat shredded coconut (unsweetened)
1/3 cup organic light corn syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup creamy natural peanut butter
1t vanilla

Instructions:

1. Combine cereal and coconut in a large bowl. In a medium saucepan, bring the remaining ingredients (corn syrup, sugar, peanut butter and vanilla) to a boil, stirring constantly. Pour into the bowl and stir until well mixed.

2. Let mixture cool until it is handle-able, but the hotter it is the easier it will be to work with. Grab a small handful and squeeze and shape into a bird's nest. Place 3-4 vibrant jelly beans in the center. Let cool completely and store in tupperware.

Additional Info:

I made these with my girlfriend and due to a combination of my large hands and excessive batter-eating, we only made 12 nests. Regardless, these are a perfect way to get your peanut butter and sugar fix - in convenient nest form. I'm sure you could also press the mixture into a dish and cut into bars, but where's the fun?

Labels: dessert, peanut butter

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Posted by Nick on Apr 27, 2008 | Post a Comment | Comments | Permalink | Links to this post

Consider yourself lucky! In this post, I plan to reveal three separate and very delicious recipes - one of which is the aforementioned *secret* peanut butter flavor. I've been slaving day and night to get the correct proportions, but I think I've got it just right. Not only that, but I'll be sharing a picture of my personal peanut butter collection as well as writing a "MeMe" for an insight into what makes the Peanut Butter Boy tick. Aren't you excited?

Plain and simple, these crepes are incredible. Like traditional crepes, they are thin and crispy with the bonus of being super healthy. The way I prepare them here is just my most recent concoction (but probably the best). Previously, I simply spread peanut butter inside, roll them up and top with defrosted strawberries. I've even tried them with some banana liqueur which added a great flavor. Feel free to make them how you wish but I urge you to try them. Read on for all the goodness!


Before I get to the recipe, I want to share something with you. Previously, I caused some confusion in my Chocolate & Triple Peanut Butter Pie post. Before the recipe I listed my peanut butter collection which was so long that most people mistook it for the actual recipe. After realizing their mistake, most people complimented me on the collection. Well, I wanted to visually share my achievements =):


However, only a few hours after the picture was taken, I bought another jar of peanut butter at the store - Honey Roasted Jif. It was on sale for $2.08 and I had just purchased Honey Roasted Skippy (pictured) and wanted to compare the two, so what you are seeing is slightly incomplete.

As for the "MeMe", I was tagged by Naomi over at Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried. Basically, it's a memoir about oneself involving only 6 words. The words are supposed to represent you on a deep level, with some hardcore philosophical meaning. In turn, I am supposed to nominate 6 people to continue the trend. After giving it some thought, I've come up with the following six words that I feel describe me best:

Joker
Lighthearted
Perpetual
Curious
Generous
Forgiving

and in turn, I nominate:
Melissa's Journey
Kath Eats
Down Home Dieting
A Forkful of Spaghetti
The Chocolate Peanut Butter Gallery
Foodaphilia

Now for the good stuff...

Ingredients:

Crepes:
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 egg whites (or 3T egg substitute)
1/2 cup skim milk
1T peanut or olive oil (optional)
pinch of salt

Cinnamon & Sugar Apples:
1/2 large apple, in thin slices
2tsp brown sugar (optional)
2tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup apple juice or water, plus more as needed

Apple Pie Peanut Butter:
1 cup (1/2 jar) creamy natural peanut butter w/ salt
1/2 cup chopped dried apple rings, unpacked
4t sugar
2t cinnamon
3/8t nutmeg

Instructions:

1. For the peanut butter, mix all ingredients together. For crepe batter, whisk together all ingredients in a medium bowl. For cinnamon & sugar apples, place all ingredients in a pot on medium heat. Bring liquid to a boil and simmer on medium-low, stirring often, for about 10 minutes or until apples are soft. Cut the apple slices in half while cooking (also good for testing when they are done). Add liquid 1T at a time, as needed to keep a thin layer of sauce in the bottom.


2. Preheat a large skillet on medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Pick up the pan and tilt it while pouring 1/4 cup of crepe batter into it with the other hand. As soon as the batter reaches the pan, twist the pan to cover the entire bottom with batter. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until bottom is browned and crispy. Flip over and cook for 1 more minutes. Subsequent crepes will cook a good deal faster.

3. Spread peanut butter on the inside down the middle and fill with apples. Fold one side of the crepe over and roll up. Drizzle with maple syrup, if desired.


Additional Info:

I've made this recipe several times, with and without the oil. I included it in the list because traditional crepe recipes call for it, but frankly I can't tell the difference. I've included a lot of pictures because I couldn't choose a favorite. Which picture do you think best shows off the crepes?

Labels: breakfast, dessert, fiber, peanut butter

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Posted by Nick on Apr 16, 2008 | Post a Comment | Comments | Permalink | Links to this post

I did it. I gave in. I caved. I bought a jar of Skippy, the epitome of heavily processed, trans fatty goo and my least favorite brand of peanut butter. The only saving grace was that I didn't buy the original variety, which I think tastes over-processed, pasty and awful. [As a side note, I recently saw a food network tidbit about an independent company that rates commercially available foods and awards the winning company a gold label which they can proudly display on their product. Somehow, Skippy managed to win best tasting peanut butter, which leads me to believe that the test is rigged.]

The other day I was discussing peanut butter flavors in the comments section of Honey Roasted Peanut Butter and was reminded of the honey roasted flavor that Skippy makes. I used to keep a jar of crunchy honey roasted in my desk drawer at work. While I never liked plain Skippy, I refused to put the honey roasted Skippy on anything because it tasted so good by itself. I ate about 1/4 of the jar every day with a spoon, wishing that the jar was just a little bit deeper.

While I was in the store the other day gathering ingredients for the pie you see above, I realized that Trader Joe's peanut butter was very runny (some jars even more so than others) and might not be the best choice for this recipe. I planned on using it anyways, but I decided to scope out the peanut butter aisle just in case something was on sale. Lo and behold, honey roasted Skippy was on sale for $2.50 a jar. Not as cheap as Trader Joe's but not a bad price at all. Before I could even compute the price difference, the jar was in my basket. I proceeded to the nearest checkout, returned home and dug in. While I think my version of Honey Roasted Peanut Butter is superior, there is definitely something to be said for Skippy's version.

So I think it's time to take stock. As you can imagine, I've got a good bit of peanut butter in my kitchen. To be exact, my cabinet currently contains the following:

1 jar creamy honey roasted Skippy
1/4 jar Crunchy Honey Roasted Peanut Butter
1/4 jar Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter
1/2 jar Cinnamon Raisin Peanut Butter
1/6 jar Maple Peanut Butter
1/2 jar *secret flavor* peanut butter (to be continued...)
1/8 jar Wild Oats creamy peanut butter (not as good as Trader Joe's)
5 1/2 jars Trader Joe's creamy peanut butter (5 unopened)
1 1/2 jars Trader Joe's crunchy peanut butter (1 unopened)
1 jar almond butter

So I had my pick of which to use for this recipe. As it turns out, I used two different peanut butters this time around (including my new acquisition), each playing a different role.

Ingredients:

Crust:
2 1/2 cups crumbs, Puffins Peanut Butter Cereal
6T Skippy honey roasted peanut butter (any brand should work)
~1/4 cup water, as needed

Filling:

1 banana, 1/8" slices
2 packages (1 oz each) fat free instant chocolate pudding
2 cups skim milk, cold
16oz fat free cream cheese
2T honey (an afterthought, optional)
2oz dark chocolate, melted (an afterthought, optional)
Peanut butter, to drizzle

Instructions:

1. Place cereal (another cereal or graham crackers can be substituted) into a food processor or blender and process until fine crumbs are formed. Place the 2 1/2 cups crumbs into a large mixing bowl. Add the peanut butter and knead the mixture with your hands until well combined. Add the water, 1T at a time, until the mixture begins to stick together and a pie crust can be formed. Place mixture into a 9" pie plate and press down and around the sides to form a pie crust. Refrigerate for about 2 hours until crust has hardened and formed.

2. Place sliced bananas on top of the crust as depicted below and drizzle melted chocolate on top (if using):



3. In a small bowl, whip the cream cheese with a spoon until very creamy. In a large bowl, whisk the pudding powder and honey (if using) into 2 cups of cold milk until combined. Add the cream cheese to the pudding mixture and whisk until well mixed. Pour into pie shell and refrigerate for 1 hour. You will have extra filling, so either eat it all like I did, or pour into custard cups and refrigerate.

4. When it's ready to serve, get out your creamiest, runniest peanut butter (or microwave a small dish of it for 20 seconds) and scoop out about 1tsp with a knife and drizzle on top of each slice. Trader Joe's creamy natural peanut butter works best here.

Additional Info:

Final verdict: delicious! The crust was a little bit mushy, not in a bad way, but it is to be expected from a non-baked crust. It scooped out of the pie dish very well and never collapsed or made a mess. My version didn't have the added honey or dark chocolate because it was perfectly sweet for me, but some people might like it sweeter. The sliced bananas add a nice touch, but make sure to slice them very thin. Instead of or in addition to the peanut butter drizzle, a spray of whipped cream goes very well with this dessert.

Health factor: While I didn't computer the nutritional info, look at the ingredients and just picture what you're eating. In 1/8 of the pie, you'll be consuming about a half serving of a whole grain cereal, 1T of peanut butter and a serving of fat free pudding made from skim milk and fat free cream cheese. The filling alone is a great source of protein and along with cereal and a little peanut butter, this truly is not just a dessert. I had a large slice as part of my second lunch the other day. Considering how healthy this pie is, it is certainly a keeper. Now you can have your pie and your waistline too!

Labels: banana, breakfast, chocolate, dessert, peanut butter, protein, snack

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Posted by Nick on Apr 9, 2008 | Post a Comment | Comments | Permalink | Links to this post

Update: Recipe entered into the Gluten Free Finger Foods roundup.

Today is a national holiday, do you know which one? April 2nd, for whatever reason, is national peanut butter & jelly day. I had almost forgotten, when A. Grace reminded me in a comment on my Peanut Butter & Jelly Oatmeal post. But instead of having oatmeal for breakfast like I normally do, I had already planned to make pancakes. I wanted to experiment a little bit and try some new things but there is no jelly involved, I apologize! Although I did manage to sneak in an Oatmeal Apricot Bar later on to get my PB&J fix. You can see in the above photo, which I must say turned out really well, I made the pancakes three different ways for comparison (which one do you think LOOKS the best?). I'm also using fresh berries instead of the defrosted frozen ones I used previously.

In order to make up for my lack of jelly usage, I decided to make this post extra special by posting two recipes, one being a slightly modified version of an old favorite and the other being a brand new peanut butter flavor! I was inspired from a post by Kristina over at The Chocolate Peanut Butter Gallery, revealing two new Peanut Butter & Co peanut butter flavors. One they blatantly stole from me (peanut butter + honey), so the other I'm stealing from them. Not to mention that this new flavor goes perfect on these scrumptious pancakes which have now been enhanced! Happy Peanut Butter & Jelly Day everybody!

Ingredients:

Pancakes:
1 cup oats
1 cup fat free cottage cheese w/ salt
3/4 cup egg substitute (or 3 eggs)
2 bananas
berries

Maple Peanut Butter:
1 jar (2 cups) creamy natural peanut butter
2T real maple syrup

Instructions:

1. To make pancake batter blend oats, cottage cheese, eggs and 1 banana in a blender until smooth and creamy. To make peanut butter, pour maple syrup into the jar and stir until well mixed. Slice remaining banana into 1/8" slices and set aside.

2. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Once warm, spray three spots of the pan with cooking spray. Place about 2T of batter in each spot and spread out with the back of a spoon to thin, if desired. Place 3 slices of banana in each pancake and cook for about 1-2 minutes. Once the top starts to set, flip and cook for an additional minute.

3. Spread on the Maple Peanut Butter and top with fresh sliced berries.

Additional Info:

I compared the original pancakes (no additional banana) with ones embedded with banana slices and ones with banana simply on top. There was no comparison, baking the banana into the pancake added a wonderful baked banana flavor and added extra moisture and sweetness into each bite.

The peanut butter recipe can be easily halved or cut into 6 for that matter. I didn't want to make an entire jar of maple peanut butter so I mixed 1/3 cup peanut butter with 1t maple syrup. The only problem here was that I bought an entire jar of maple syrup for 1 teaspoon. Still, the jar of maple peanut butter costs $6 from Peanut Butter & Co. If I make two jars of maple peanut butter then the maple syrup has more than payed for itself. Take that Peanut Butter & Co!

Maxed out version:

Labels: banana, breakfast, dessert, peanut butter, protein

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Posted by Nick on Apr 2, 2008 | Post a Comment | Comments | Permalink | Links to this post

I guess Easter got my sweet tooth going because I awoke this morning craving cookies. Specifically, I craved the smell of peanut butter baking in the oven and the satisfaction of it filling my belly. This time around, I felt a new cookie was in order. Previously, I posted Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies and remarked at the end on several possible variations which I forgot about until recently.

Upon recipe preparation, I decided that chocolate pb cookies would need some additional work, but a cinnamon raisin variety sounded perfect for the morning. The original recipe only needed to be modified slightly to produce those warm, glowing and golden brown cookies you see above. These cookies are a cinch to make but manage to disappear faster than they're baked.

Ingredients:

1 jar (16oz or 2 cups) creamy natural peanut butter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
overflowing 1/2 cup currants or raisins
2t baking powder
1T + 1t cinnamon
2 eggs (or 1/2 cup egg substitute)
natural raw sugar (large-grain sugar)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients through cinnamon in a medium bowl. Then, add the eggs and mix just until combined.

2. Roll into 1" balls and place onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Pour some raw sugar onto a small plate. Take a fork and touch the batter with the back of the fork, then press the fork into the raw sugar. Now, press the fork down into one cookie and press into the sugar again. Press down into the cookie in the other direction, creating a cross-hatch. Repeat for all cookies.

4. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. I find the optimal time for my oven to be about 11 minutes. Once removed from the oven, let cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Labels: cinnamon raisin, dessert, peanut butter, snack

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Posted by Nick on Mar 24, 2008 | Post a Comment | Comments | Permalink | Links to this post

I've heard several rumors circulating the internet about "healthy" brownies. Several sources that I discovered claim that you can buy a standard brownie mix from the store, ignore the required ingredients (oil, eggs, etc..) and simply add a can of pureed black beans. Everyone seems to say they cannot tell the difference and apparently even children who are clueless to the contents love them. Either way, store-bought brownie mix contains heavily processed flour and sugar which certainly aren't good for you, although I will have to try this at some point (perhaps with the No Pudge brownie mix).

The brownies before your eyes are a different kind of experiment. Back when I was looking up peanut butter cookie recipes and making my Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies, I discovered an obscure comment from "Anonymous" who claimed that the simple addition of an extra egg, mashed banana and cocoa powder would yield delicious brownies. I was intrigued, but the exact quantities were a little vague. I followed them as best I could and lo and behold, a form of flourless brownies was born.

Now, these brownies are a bit different and definitely need fixing. I decided to post my results and see if anyone has suggestions for my next batch or wants to experiment on their own. I see great potential here but I am not an experienced baker and don't feel like wasting 47 bananas and 28 jars of peanut butter to figure these out =).

Here's what I did:

Ingredients:

Test Recipe (Changes Needed):

1 cup creamy natural peanut butter
1/2 cup honey
1 very ripe banana, mashed
1/2 cup egg substitute (or 2 eggs)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1t vanilla

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Mix peanut butter, honey, banana, eggs and vanilla in a bowl. Add cocoa powder and mix well.

2. Pour batter into an ungreased 9x9 baking dish and bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Results:

1. The brownies came out too "eggy" and had a sponge-like texture
2. The flavor of chocolate was not very pronounced.
3. They were sweet enough.
4. The brownies got better with time. After letting them sit in a tupperware for a few hours, they got very moist and the egg flavor/sponge texture started to disappear. They were even better the next day (but still not wonderful).

I think the 2 eggs were necessary for rising and baking, but other additions are needed. From my limited baking experience, I suggest the following:

Increase cocoa powder to 1/2 cup.
Add a second mashed banana.
Add 1/2 cup light yogurt.

Maybe these additions well keep the brownie dense to begin with while keeping it moist? Perhaps I need some flour (1/3 - 1/2 cup)? Any thoughts/suggestions?

Labels: banana, chocolate, dessert, peanut butter

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Posted by Nick on Mar 5, 2008 | Post a Comment | Comments | Permalink | Links to this post

Update: I received some feedback saying that you can just as easily pop the corn on the stove. I tried it out and it works really well. I have updated the cooking method below.

Movie night! Tonight on the menu is a flick called "Black Sheep". When I saw the movie title, I assumed it was that classic comedy from 1996 with one of my favorite actors, Chris Farley. It seems the title was rehashed in 2006 for a very different type of movie, one about blood-thirsty zombie sheep. Eli and I watched the trailer and while she usually balks at the idea of watching a scary movie, she eventually agreed to watch this one. Without spoiling it for you, lets just say the movie was funnier than it was scary. I believe the movie was trying to be funny, but only in its own ridiculousness. But what better way to enjoy zombie sheep than a steaming-hot bowl of popcorn?

Popcorn is not generally considered health food, but I intend to change that. Corn is a whole grain, therefore popcorn is a whole grain. Popcorn kernels contains more fiber than an apple, a banana, 2 oranges, a serving of brown rice, whole wheat or barley. The problem with popcorn is that it is usually drenched in melted butter, ruining any nutrition value. Well the way I make it is not only healthy, but cheap too! That bowl of heaven up there was my dinner the other night.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup popcorn kernels (yellow pops bigger, white is smaller)
2t sugar
2T creamy natural peanut butter (Dark Chocolate flavor is great)

Instructions:

1. Place a heavy saucepan on the stove over medium-high heat. Let pan warm for 1-2 minutes.

2. Pour kernels into the pan and cover with a lid. Take two potholders and shake the pan every 5-10 seconds, while also holding the lid down. Once all kernels have popped, remove from heat and pour into a large bowl.

3. Spray with olive oil or canola oil cooking spray and sprinkle 1t sugar on top. Toss popcorn, spray again and sprinkle remaining sugar on top. Drizzle peanut butter flavor of choice across the top.

Additional Info:

To achieve the creaminess required for drizzling, I use Trader Joe's natural creamy peanut butter w/ salt (I actually use this brand for everything). If your peanut butter is not that creamy, microwave it in a small dish for 15 seconds.

I had it with plain peanut butter and I think I liked it better:

Labels: chocolate, dessert, fiber, peanut butter, snack

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Posted by Nick on Mar 2, 2008 | Post a Comment | Comments | Permalink | Links to this post

Ahh, the smoothie... What could be more satisfying then a big frosty glass of a thick and creamy drink that tastes almost as sinful as Ben & Jerry's Oatmeal Cookie Chunk Ice Cream. On a hot summer day (or a cold rainy one like today), there is nothing more refreshing than a smoothie for lunch or perhaps lunch #2.

If you Google the term "smoothie" you'll receive about 9,000,000 results and you can bet that each page has at least a couple recipes. So what's the perfect smoothie? The beauty of the smoothie is that there is no perfect smoothie, each person can customize it to their taste. To start off, however, here is my basic criteria: it must be cold, and it must contain peanut butter. From that wonderful starting point, I've created a great smoothie base that is very adaptable to suit your fancy.

Healthy? You bet! These smoothies have no added sugar, contain plenty of fiber, vitamins and nutrients: All without using ice. Don't be afraid to experiment, you can throw almost anything (edible, of course) into that blender without drastically affecting the taste (see "Could" Additions).

Ingredients:

Base:

1 frozen banana (freeze in plastic wrap without peel)
1 (6oz) container light yogurt, any flavor
1 handful frozen strawberries (or other frozen fruit)
milk (skim, soy, almond or fruit juice)

"Must" Additions:

2T peanut butter
1 handful frozen wild blueberries, cherries, etc..

"Should" Additions:

2-3T cocoa powder
1-2 scoops vanilla protein powder
1t cinnamon

"Could" Additions:

2T flax seed, wheat germ, wheat bran, etc...
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce (omit yogurt)
3/4 cup non-fat cottage cheese (omit yogurt)
3/4 cup pumpkin mousse (recipe coming soon!)
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 multivitamin

Toppings (Get a small dish and mix any of these together):

1/2 cup high fiber cereal (I mix Kashi Go Lean and Go Lean Crunch)
10-15 almonds
1 handful dried fruit
3 broken-up Peanut Butter Cookies

Instructions:

1. Break banana into chunks and place all ingredients into blender except for milk/juice. Pulse until the motley of goodness begins to chop up. Slowly add milk/juice as needed.

2. When your mixture reaches the consistency of frozen yogurt, you're done! Pour into a large mug, sprinkle with toppings and eat with a spoon.

3. Sprinkle, eat, repeat.

Additional Info:

Strawberries are a better base than mixed berries because they are naturally sweeter. The cocoa powder gives a wonderful chocolate flavor and adds tons of antioxidants as well as some fiber and protein. Surprisingly, adding the cottage cheese and pumpkin had no discernible effect on the flavor. Experiment and leave a comment with your results!

Most Recent "Perfect" Smoothie:

1 frozen banana
1 (6oz) container light vanilla yogurt
8 frozen strawberries
2T creamy natural peanut butter
2-3T cocoa powder
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder (optional)
1/2 cup vanilla soymilk, as needed

This smoothie turned out the perfect consistency - about that of frozen yogurt. I topped it with Kashi cereal and ate it with a spoon. Leave out the protein if you don't want it.

Labels: banana, breakfast, chocolate, dessert, fiber, lunch, peanut butter, peanut butterless, protein, snack

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Posted by Nick on Feb 25, 2008 | Post a Comment | Comments | Permalink | Links to this post

Who can resist homemade peanut butter cookies: the aroma, the sweetness, the saltiness and the crumbliness. There is nothing not to love about peanut butter cookies except for the fact that they aren't part of a complete breakfast.

However, these cookies are a little different in that they contain no flour and are gluten-free. In fact, they only contain 3 basic ingredients. The amount of sugar in these cookies is relatively low - if you ate 2 of them, you'd only be consuming 1 tablespoon of sugar (or 3 packets). So I'm going to claim here and now that I, The Peanut Butter Boy, declare that 1 or 2 of these peanut butter cookies are part of a complete breakfast. That goes for lunch and dinner too. They're also a great (and portable) way to get some fat in your diet throughout the day. I've made these twice now, and they don't last more than a few minutes with guests (or girlfriends).

I originally found these on Gluten-Free Girl and only changed them a bit.

Ingredients:

1 jar (16oz) creamy natural peanut butter (or chunky)
1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar (I use a little less)
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup egg substitute or 2 eggs
2t baking powder
natural raw sugar (large grains, or brown sugar will work)
dark chocolate chunks or kisses (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the peanut butter, brown sugar, white sugar and baking powder in a large bowl until well combined. Add the egg and mix. If using chocolate chunks, stir them in now (untested).

2. Roll mixture into about 1 inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet (If you are placing chocolate kisses on top, you may want to use 1.5 inch balls). Pour some raw sugar onto a small plate. Take a fork and touch the batter with the back of the fork, then press the fork into the raw sugar. Now, press the fork down into one cookie and press into the sugar again. Press down into the cookie in the other direction, creating a cross-hatch. Repeat for all cookies.

3. Bake for 10 minutes. Too little time and they won't hold there shape well. You may be able to bake them as long as 12 minutes, but be careful of burning the bottoms.

4. Remove from oven and let sit in pan for 5 minutes, then remove and place on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Press chocolate kisses into each cookie when you take them out of the oven, if using. Makes 48 cookies.

Additional Info:

I just thought of something. You might want to try using a whole jar of my Cinnamon Currant Peanut Butter instead, or for that matter, my Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter. Actually, I'm going to try that right now.

Labels: dessert, peanut butter, snack

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Posted by Nick on Feb 9, 2008 | Post a Comment | Comments | Permalink | Links to this post

I recently submitted my peanut butter hot dog recipe to Allrecipes.com, a recipe site I use often for ideas and jump-off points. Apparently, every submitted recipe goes through a review process and even if it is accepted, it can take several months to appear on the site. Well, the peanut butter hot dog slipped through in under 2 weeks! You can view it here: Peanut Butter Hot Dogs.

The excitement provoked me to post some optional additions and modifications to the traditional peanut butter hot dog.

Modifications:

Original Style
2 slices soft whole wheat bread
2T cinnamon raisin peanut butter
1 banana
drizzle of honey (optional)
shake of cinnamon (optional)
strawberry jelly (optional)

Prepare like normal. Spread peanut butter onto each slice of bread and place half of a banana down the middle of each slice as shown above. Fold up and place any optional ingredients on top of the banana.

Mexican Style
1 (8in) low carb tortilla
2T cinnamon raisin peanut butter
1 banana
grape or strawberry preserves
pinch of chipotle or cayenne pepper (optional)
light vanilla or strawberry yogurt (optional)

Burrito: Spread peanut butter on one half of tortilla. Place banana on edge of the plain side and roll up. Consume, pack to go, or toast in a pan.

Quesadilla: Spread peanut butter on one half of the tortilla. Slice the banana into 1/4" slices and arrange on top of the peanut butter half. Sprinkle chipotle or cayenne powder onto bananas if using. Fold tortilla over and spray the top with cooking spray. Toss into a pan (top-side down) on medium-high heat and coat the new top in cooking spray. Flip after about 45 seconds, or until toasted. After another 30 seconds, remove from pan and cut into four wedges. Dip into fruit preserves or yogurt to cool the spiciness.

Appetizer
2 slices soft whole wheat bread
2T cinnamon raisin peanut butter
1 banana
cinnamon

Toast bread in the toaster. Slice the banana into 1/4" slices while toasting. When bread is medium-dark brown cover each slice with peanut butter and top with banana slices. Shake cinnamon on top and cut into squares, one for each banana slice. Stick toothpicks into the top of each bite and serve.

Petits Fours Dessert
2 slices soft whole wheat bread
2T dark chocolate peanut butter (milk or white chocolate would work)
1 banana
shredded coconut
cocoa powder

Toast bread in the toaster. Slice the banana into 1/4" slices while toasting. When bread is medium-dark brown cover each slice with peanut butter and top with banana slices. Sprinkle shredded coconut over the top and shake cocoa powder on top. Cut into squares, one for each banana slice. Stick toothpicks into the top of each bite and serve.

Additional Info:

I hope you enjoy these modified versions. Leave a comment with any suggestions or modifications of your own.

Labels: banana, breakfast, chocolate, cinnamon raisin, dessert, honey, lunch, peanut butter, snack

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Posted by Nick on Feb 5, 2008 | Post a Comment | Comments | Permalink | Links to this post

The Super Bowl generally brings to mind such foods as chicken wings, nachos and beer. As an indifferent football fan (go NY!) but avid food fan, I love the Super Bowl! Anticipating heavy foods I decided to serve some fruit instead of the usual carrots and celery. Apples are in season right now, but a bowl of sliced apples isn't very appealing.

After failing to find a fruit dip that satisfied me, I resolved to create my own from scratch. I used a few simple ingredients to creat a delicious creamy dip to complement the apples without being too heavy.

But being the Peanut Butter Boy isn't easy. My brain is continuously concocting peanut butter recipes and generating new uses for the tan-colored gold. I was content with my fruit dip for apples sweetened by strawberry jelly and headed towards the fridge when my right-brain gently shouted 2 words to the left half: peanut butter. I rushed inside to ask E (Elisabeth) if I should add peanut butter to the dip, but she was a bit wary. I had high hopes and Mr. Peanut running through my head so I split the dip in half and created two, one with and one without. I equated the peanut butter version to the Giants and the regular version to the Patriots. Can you guess who won?

Ingredients:

1 (8oz) container fat-free cream cheese, whipped
1 (6oz) container light vanilla yogurt
1/4 - 1/3 cup reduced-sugar strawberry preserves, or to taste (Trader Joe's)
1/4 cup creamy natural peanut butter w/ salt (technically optional)

2 green apples, sliced thin
2 crisp red apples, sliced thin (pink lady or honeycrisp)

Instructions:

1. Combine the first 3 ingredients into a medium bowl and stir until mixed. If there are a lot of chunks from the preserves, puree in a blender until smooth, if desired.

2. Sit down, close your eyes and meditate. Picture a bowl of dip in front of you and a juicy apple slice in your hand. "See" your hand dipping the apple slice into the dip, twisting your wrist to scoop it up and transporting the apple to your mouth. "Taste" the sweet crisp apple crunching between your teeth, a strawberry flavor and creamy texture simultaneously hitting your taste buds. Do you now desire a salty peanut presence upon each bite? If yes, proceed to step 3. Do you desire the peanut butter essence half the time? If so, split the dip in two and proceed to step 3, using only 2T peanut butter. If you find yourself not craving the peanut butter at all then what are you doing here?

3. You've made the right choice. Stir in the peanut butter until well combined. Refrigerate dip(s) and apples until chilled.

Additional Info:

In the end, the peanut butter flavor was victorious: the bowl was super clean and the last spoonful of dignity (original dip) headed to the locker room (fridge).

As my buddy put it (in reference to the peanut butter dip): "I want a whole tub of this stuff!"

Labels: dessert, peanut butter, peanut butterless, snack

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Posted by Nick on Feb 3, 2008 | Post a Comment | Comments | Permalink | Links to this post

It should be obvious by now that I've always been a peanut butter fan. As of a few years ago I started consuming it about twice a day, and since this past summer I'm up to three times a day.

Over this past summer, I also discovered the Peanut Butter Company sandwich shop in Greenwich Village in Manhattan as well as their line of peanut butter flavors. The company also published a cookbook which contains a recipe for a peanut butter parfait. It's categorized as a dessert (truly tastes like one) but my version is so nutritious and delicious, that my girlfriend E has adopted it as her normal breakfast and my mother creates one for lunch almost every day. Here's my version of this culinary masterpiece:

Ingredients:

1 medium banana, in 1/8" - 1/4" slices
2T peanut butter
1/3 cup low-fat granola
1 (6oz) container light yogurt (Cherry vanilla rocks)
raisins or chopped dates (optional)

Instructions:

1. In the order listed above, layer ingredients into a bowl.

2. Take a large spoon and start digging. Make sure you get some of each ingredient in every bite.

You can use cinnamon raisin or chocolate peanut butter but I feel the flavor gets lost in the whole parfait. As for the granola, I highly recommend Dixie Diner's Apple Berry Granola. It's almost scary how tasty it is while still providing 11g fiber per serving. I strictly ration it out only for these parfaits. It's a little expensive, but shipping from netrition.com is $4.99, independent of the order size, so I order at least 10 bags at once.

Labels: breakfast, chocolate, cinnamon raisin, dessert, honey, lunch, peanut butter, snack

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Posted by Nick on Jan 24, 2008 | Post a Comment | Comments | Permalink | Links to this post

Update: This recipe has been perfected and updated here: Banana Pancakes with Maple Peanut Butter.

* This recipe was entered into the "Balanced Breakfast Meals" contest over at the Fun and Food blog.

I spent a long time trying to find a healthy pancake recipe. You could simply substitute whole wheat flour for regular flour and they turn out decent, but I wanted more. Eventually I gave up the search and then one day I came across the famed cottage cheese page. On there was a simple recipe for cottage cheese pancakes, a highly unexpected ingredient. With some tweaking, I believe I have created the world's healthiest pancakes!


Ingredients:

3/4 cup egg substitute or egg whites
1 cup oats (regular or instant)
1 cup 1% or fat-free cottage cheese with salt
1 medium banana, ripe

blueberries (optional)
chopped nuts (optional)
dark chocolate chips (optional)
dash of cinnamon (optional)

Instructions:

Place all ingredients into a blender and puree. Add any optional ingredients and pour onto a hot skillet. Smaller pancakes are easier to flip. I like to top mine with a spread of my homemade Cinnamon Raisin Peanut Butter and topped with defrosted strawberries with the extra juice on top. These are what get me up in the morning.

Labels: banana, breakfast, cinnamon raisin, dessert, honey, peanut butter, protein

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Posted by Nick on Dec 11, 2007 | Post a Comment | Comments | Permalink | Links to this post

February Update: I have made 2 delicious new flavors: Banana Cream (banana cream pudding and vanilla protein) and Vanilla Cheesecake (cheesecake pudding and vanilla protein). The banana cream works very well because banana and peanut butter is always great together and helps to mask the protein flavor.

For my first post, I thought I would start out with a nice alternative to those gross, overpriced, sugar-laced protein bars you find at the store. I've been an avid gym goer for a few years now and needed to find a few ways to increase my protein intake. You could just mix a scoop or two of flavored protein with milk or water, but this gets old, fast.

Most protein bar recipes I tried tasted awful or didn't have the nutrient ratio I was looking for. After playing around a bit, I have discovered a perfect protein bar! For now, I have only created two different flavors, Strawberry Cheesecake and Vanilla Butterscotch, but I urge you to experiment and post your results! These bars are chewy and taste like candy, and I tend to favor the Vanilla Butterscotch ones over the Strawberry Cheesecake. Even if you don't need the extra protein, these are great replacements for high-fat, high-sugar candy bars or snacks. They are lower calorie and much healthier for you. The instructions may appear lengthy, but it doesn't take much time at all.


Strawberry Cheesecake Protein Bars:

1 box Jell-O sugar-free/fat-free cheesecake instant pudding*
1 cup oats (regular or instant)
2T natural peanut butter
1-3/4 cup (6 scoops) strawberry whey protein*
2/3 - 3/4 cup skim milk
wheat bran

Vanilla Butterscotch Protein Bars (pictured above):

1 box Jell-O sugar-free/fat-free butterscotch instant pudding*
1 cup oats (regular or instant)
2T natural peanut butter
1-3/4 cup (6 scoops) vanilla whey protein*
2/3 - 3/4 cup skim milk
wheat bran

* Notes: For the protein, I use Optimum Nutrition's Natural Strawberry/Vanilla Whey Protein (I'm trying to steer clear of artificial sweeteners nowadays). However, I do realize that the sugar-free/fat-free pudding has artificial sweetener in it, so feel free to replace it with the regular or fat-free instant pudding mix.

Instructions:

1. Line the inside of a glass or baking dish about 6x6 and at least 1" tall with wax paper (9x13 dish works but you may want to double the recipe or they will be very thin). Coat the wax paper with cooking spray.

2. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Cut in the peanut butter and mix well.

3. Slowly add the milk and stir until well mixed and the batter is moist and very sticky, making it almost impossible to stir (the stickier, the better).

4. Spread into the dish and try to flatten as best possible. Cover the top with wheat bran, pressing into the mixture, until there are no sticky spots (extra wheat bran is fine). Refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

5. Now, pick the mixture out of the dish by lifting the sides of the wax paper and turn it upside-down into the dish so the wheat bran covered side is on the bottom. Slowly remove the wax paper. Don't worry if the mixture lifts off the bottom, but if the wax paper will not come off place the dish in the freezer for about 30 minutes.

6. Once the wax paper is removed, cover the top with wheat bran as well, pressing into the mixture. Cut into 12 pieces and use the extra wheat bran in the dish to coat all sides of the bars.

7. Wrap each bar in wax paper and store in an airtight bag in the fridge.

Additional Info:

These bars need to be stored in the fridge (because of the milk), but they hold well throughout the day at room temperature and are great for on-the-go snacks. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Labels: dessert, peanut butter, protein, snack