Monday, January 23, 2012

Let me tell you about this great product! PB2 and Protein Plus Peanut Flour

For many people who read 3FC, you already know about it, but maybe not. What is so special about this stuff? It is real peanut butter that has been defatted and made into a powder. I love, love, love peanut butter on apple slices with cinnamon for lunch, but 3 tablespoons of Jif peanut butter (my favorite) is 285 calories and a ton of fat. The fat I'm not too worried about as it's the healthy fats which provide you with a natural source of vitamin E. What I didn't like was the amount of calories it has because of the fat. But, could defatted peanut butter be filling enough and still taste yummy?

http://www.bellplantation.com/

I found it at Whole Foods which was nice as it gave me a chance to try it without having to order it in a bigger order or pay shipping and handling. The first time I got just the regular PB2, but next time I got the chocolcate flavor. It is yummo. The first couple times I tried it I mixed it with water as it said, but the next times, I just sprinkled it on my apple as a powder. I found that one serving, 2 tablespoons for 45 calories, is not equivalent in size, hunger filing capacity as one serving of regular peanut butter. When I make it with water, I need 4 tablespoons, but when I use it dry, 3 tablespoons works fine. And for a meal, 68 for 3 tablespoons or 90 calories for tablespoons of peanut butter is way better in caloric intake than 285!

And is it as filling? Yes, if you increase the serving size like I did. And the PB2 with chocolate? Wow is that yummy! It's like a Reese's Peaunut butter cup, or reminiscent of Nutella (which may taste divine, but is total junk food). Several people on 3FC say they stir it into cottage cheese or into yogurt and they love it that way. It's so versatile!

How does it differ from peanut butter? Well, its texture is different. It has a slightly hummus like texture. You can play with the water amounts to see if you find a better texture for you. Or, as I read somewhere else, do half peanut butter and half protein powder to get a truer feeling of peanut butter in the mouth. When I use it though, I find it FINE. 

But, it is pricey. $5.49 for a jar at Whole Foods ($5.99 at Dave's Natural Market down the street from me) which says it has 15 servings, but really, only 10 how I use it. I mean, it's not bad, but quite a bit pricier than regular peanut butter. And, it's sweetened a bit (like Jif is). But since I liked it, I decided to look to see if there are other ways to buy it cheaper. And, of course, if you buy it bulk it is cheaper, but then I found out more!

Seems until last year Trader Jo's sold a defatted powdered peanut butter, but as they are known to do, they discontinued it. With a bit more searching I found there are other companies that make it and sell it online including the company who made the Trader Jo's label. Here is the link that company. Google it and several sites sell it in smaller quantities. http://proteinplusflour.com/ Hmmm... Sounds very interesting! And, these aren't presweetened, so it would taste more like natural peanut butter or you could sweeten it yourself with sugar or no calorie sweeteners.

Another tip I read is that you can make the peanut butter chocolate version simply by adding a bit of cocoa powder and a bit of whatever ever kind of sweeteneer you want. This was beginning to sound fantastic! I'm imagining all the things I can make with it, truffles, peanut butter balls, and so on. And even better? These other peanut butter powders are way, way cheaper. Like $10 for 2 pounds instead of $8 for one pound of PB2 (online price). Score!

I've heard of people exchanging peanut butter powder for part of the peanut butter in peanut butter cookies, for the peanut butter in Thai sauces and so on. How fun! (Seems there are recipes on the Protein Plus website I will need to check out).

And you get the protein, but not the calories from fat (but again I will say, nut fats are way better for you, so if you are going to go low fat, do it be ridding your diet of animal fats, not vegetable fats). I love that this is natural, and not some chemical concoction. And it is filling, so it seriously works as a good alternative without leaving me hungry. So, of course, I have some on order and I will update what I discovered about it. I don't usually talk about food products, but I thought others might find this useful info as well.

Stats for 1/23/12:

Highest weight 275 Now: 175.0

2 comments:

  1. I did see this and went to get it but here they only have it at a health food store and its almost 13.00 for one pack so will look to order online sounds great

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  2. Lisa, I was still proofing this when you responded. Check out some more I wrote.

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