Kitchen

[chickenbutt]

On 1/16/2014 depglass said:

Another use for my VitaMix, I guess. I just got all excited when I saw peanut butter was actually cheap and didn't read the label. By the way, coffee is coming down, too, I heard it is the lowest is 11 years.

I pretty much always keep peanut butter on hand. But I have to be honest - I like Jif Creamy and that's what I buy. That said, however, it's not something that I consume frequently or in great amounts.

I imagine that if one wants to eat it a lot more it is a good idea to find something more natural. Like somebody else said, natural doesn't always mean the best choice in terms of nutritional value - as you've already seen with the 'natural' Skippy you purchased.

I'm pretty sure my Jif is full of garbage. Fortunately, a medium size jar lasts many many months between my use and what I need to give medicine to the dog. Neither of us use it enough to hurt either of us, though.

I also have a Vitamix and perhaps I should make my own. Do you just put peanuts in there and grind away? Hopefully, it doesn't use veg oil or, worse, canola oil. Prefer to avoid either of those for a myriad of reason. Unfortunately, all the veg oil I can find anymore is soy and soy is not good for me.

[ChynnaBlue]

On 1/16/2014 depglass said:

Our store has Skippy peanut butter on special this week. So I bought a few jars, including a variety called Natural Super Chunky. My girlfriend buys some sort of "natural" peanut butter for $9.00 per jar. I thought I had really found a deal at less than $2.00 per jar, but I just read the ingredients. Peanuts, sugar, palm oil, and salt. What's natural about this? I'm especially concerned about the palm oil.

Everything about that is natural. I think you need to look at that language you're using and get educated on what natural means. Natural means not artificial or synthetic. Motor oil can be natural or synthetic. Neither one is healthy for you if you drink it. Palm oil is natural.

If you want to be healthy and work on nutrition, you should look at what all these terms mean. They're all very fuzzy buzzwords that aren't clearly defined by the FDA to declare something is nutritious or healthy, just not artificial. You need to read the ingredients, not the buzzwords.

[ennui1]

On 1/16/2014 chickenbutt said:

The ingredients listed sound natural to me. Peanuts and sugar grow out of the ground. Salt comes from - the sea (?) - But I have to admit that I don't know where 'palm oil' comes from. Palm trees?

Palm oil comes from the fruits of palm oil trees.

Apparently, the use of palm oil has increased because there are no trans fats. But, deforestation is an issue. It's always something.

[depglass]

Somewhere in the back of my brain I have stored the fact that palm oil is a tropical oil, and that all tropical oils are as bad as hydrogenated. That would include cocoanut, in spite of some studies to the contrary. I know I should be aiming for organic, but that is in limited supply in my boondock area of the country, as well as horribly expensive. Plus, I've found some companies are cribbing when they say "organic" and that there is no enforcement with the use of either term. DH goes through a jar of peanut butter a week, so cost is a consideration. But his health is, too.

[Akane]

I make my own peanut butter in my vitamix

[ennui1]

On 1/17/2014 depglass said:

Somewhere in the back of my brain I have stored the fact that palm oil is a tropical oil, and that all tropical oils are as bad as hydrogenated.

No, not as bad.

A: Palm oil, made from the fruit of the oil palm tree (Elaeis guineensis), is one of the most widely produced edible fats in the world. The oil palm yields two types of oil: One is extracted from the flesh of the fruit (palm oil), and the other from the seed, or kernel (palm kernel oil). Palm oil is consumed in many countries in vegetable oil, shortening, and margarine. In the United States, it accounts for a very small percentage of overall fat consumption.

Palm oil, palm kernel oil, and coconut oil — the so-called tropical oils — got a bad reputation in this country some years ago because they’re high in saturated fat, which has long been linked to heart disease. Saturated fat boosts “bad” LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, both of which are risk factors for heart disease. Palm oil, which is 50% saturated, has a more favorable fatty acid composition than palm kernel oil and coconut oil, which are more than 85% saturated. In general, the higher the saturated fat content, the more solid a fat is at room temperature. Palm oil is semisolid at room temperature but can be processed into a liquid cooking oil.

In recent years, we’ve learned a lot more about the health effects of various fats. The honor of unhealthiest fat now goes to trans fat, which not only increases LDL and triglyceride levels, but also reduces “good” HDL cholesterol. Most trans fat is artificially created through hydrogenation. Partially hydrogenated oil, used in many processed baked goods and snacks and for frying foods, is a major source of trans fat.

[shoekitty]

I buy Trader Joes organic peanut butter for about 4 bucks a jar. It is nothing but US organic peanuts. We get the unsalted as it actually tastes better to us, but they have salted. Peanuts if not organic take in a lot of insecticides and such, as they are a root crop so to speak.

Oh, they also have chocolate peanut butter, cookie peanut butter and a few others. Oh dear!

[shoekitty]

On 1/17/2014 Bikkie said:

I make my own peanut butter in my vitamix

What is your recipe? Does it take long? Is it hard to get out of the jar? I am getting a vitamix and want to try this.

[ennui1]

On 1/17/2014 shoekitty said:

On 1/17/2014 Bikkie said:

I make my own peanut butter in my vitamix

What is your recipe? Does it take long? Is it hard to get out of the jar? I am getting a vitamix and want to try this.

If you make your own, leave the skins on the peanuts. More vitamins.

I like Costco's PB.

[Akane]

On 1/17/2014 shoekitty said:

On 1/17/2014 Bikkie said:

I make my own peanut butter in my vitamix

What is your recipe? Does it take long? Is it hard to get out of the jar? I am getting a vitamix and want to try this.

Literally, just peanuts. I buy them unsalted with no oil added. Just tamper them into the blade, it makes a lot of noise but it comes out smooth, warm and delicious. I bought a "jar spatula" from Amazon that gets it all out from the bottom.