Trying the Trends: Peanut Butter Powder

This stuff made a big splash a while back, but I was too cheap to buy it until I saw a marked-down jar at Ross.  Hey, you can't say I'm not honest with you. Why did I get it? a) I fucking love peanut butter b) I am ambivalent about smoothies with spinach in them and c) I FUCKING LOVE PEANUT BUTTER!!!!! Let's get to work.


Quick PB-banana smoothie for one
Place in your blender or Vitamix, in this order:
1 banana, broken up a bit
1 tablespoon PB powder
2 tablespoons yogurt, any flave (if unsweetened, throw in a teaspoon or so of honey, too)
handful spinach leaves
1/4 cup almond milk
dash cinnamon
3-4 ice cubes
This was not only totally delicious, but it kept me full until lunch time, all by itself.  If you want something heartier, you could throw in a couple tablespoons of rolled oats, too.


I also stirred some into plain, Greek yogurt (1 tablespoon powder in 1 cup yogurt) and added granola, nuts, and berries one morning for breakfast. Also delish, though a bit pasty and not very sweet.


I added it to some breakfast muffins to pump up the protein content, thereby helping me last until lunch when I'm eating breakfast on the road:

Peanut Butter-Pumpkin Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
15 oz. canned solid-pack pumpkin
1/3 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
1 cup brownsugar
2 tablespoons peanut butter powder

2 tablespoons flax seeds
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
Combine all wet ingredients in a mixing bowl: yogurt, eggs, pumpkin, and sugar. Add all remaining ingredients and combine thoroughly. Pour into muffin cups and bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

Finally, some brownies, adapted from skinnytaste.com:

2 eggs
1 cup PB2
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp water
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray a nonstick 9 x 9 inch baking pan with cooking spray.
Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, making sure there are no clumps. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan and bake about 30 minutes. Set aside to cool, then cut into 12 bars.

I guess the bonus of using the powder for baking instead of the real thing is the lack of fat? The brownie recipe calls for enough PB2 that you might not want to use up that much of the jar on an unnecessary dessert item (then again, maybe it makes you feel less terrible about eating said dessert.  I never do, so I can't relate). But the bottom line for me is that this stuff is delish and I will buy it again when it's on sale.  Because I am very cheap.

Trying the Trends: Sweet Potato Toast

I am not on any special diet and I love carbs, so I'm not afraid of toast, either.  But I do know that sweet potatoes are good for you, and they're reasonably tasty, but I run out of ideas for them. So, when I saw this recipe on Pinterest, I thought it was worth a try with the sad, lonely sweet potato I have had in my cupboard for over a month (don't judge). Bonus: it involves cooking a food without heating up the entire kitchen by turning on the oven.

I simply cut the potato into slices by cutting off the pointy ends and cutting lengthwise. Any scraps you have from the ends all around can be steamed and frozen or cooked into any number of veggie dishes. I didn't peel mine.

Then you pop slices into the toaster just like it's bread, although it's going to take longer to cook.  My "toast" was firm-tender after two cycles on "8".  I buttered mine and sprinkled cinnamon and brown sugar on top.  It was OK.  I was reasonably full when I added a small dish of yogurt on the side. I'm not going to do it again, because I love bagels too much.  There they are at the bottom.

Trying the Trends: Zoodles!

Zoodles ("noodles" made from raw zucchini) are all over the internet this summer, because a)cheap spiralizers abound in the stores these days b)if you have even one zucchini plant in your garden, you have too much zucchini and c) (presumably) global warming. I was gifted a spiralizer back in the winter and all of these recipes on Pinterest were finally starting to get to me, so here's what I discovered:

1. I like my noodles raw. Some recipes will have you lightly cook them, but you know what? It's not pasta.  Don't pretend it is, or you'll be disappointed. Instead, enjoy the tender-yet-crunchy texture that is raw, spiralized zucchini as a unique salad item.

2. I dress them lightly. For the same reason I don't cook them, I don't want to drown my zoodles in marinara sauce or other disguise. It just makes me wish I was eating pasta.  But again, as a cold salad, these are delicious with a salad dressing of some kind (ideas below).

3. Spiralized zucchini gives off a ton of water.  If you have ever shredded zucchini to make Midwestern-style zucchini bread or muffins, you already know this.  But I was surprised that the recipes I saw didn't mention it.  No matter what you do, they're going to get more watery as you eat them, so it's important to dress and eat them right away (pretty much).  But you can keep it under some control by spiralizing them into a colander, stirring them up with a pinch of salt, and then letting them drain for 10 minutes or so. Or you can just make your dressing thick and super strong to accommodate the extra water as you eat.

4 medium-to-large zucchini should be able to make four dinner salads with extras listed below. I have settled on three simple preparations I really like for dinner when it's hot:

"GREEK": toss with fresh dill, kalamata olives, walnuts, and roasted red pepper, Lemon-Garlic Dressing. Crumbled feta on top.

"ASIAN": toss with bean sprouts, chopped fresh cilantro and peanuts, and matchstick carrots, Ginger-Miso Dressing

"ITALIAN": toss with chopped fresh basil, tomato, pine nuts, and capers, Balsamic Viniagrette. Crumbled goat cheese on top.

Lemon-Garlic Dressing
Zest of 1/2 lemon
Juice of 2 lemons
1 small garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and black pepper to taste

Ginger-Miso Dressing
1 tablespoon white or yellow miso
2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 small garlic clove, minced
Pinch of cayenne
1 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1 tablespoons peanut oil or grapeseed oil
2 tablespoons plain low-fat yogurt

Balsamic Vinagrette

4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons grainy mustard (optional)
1 chopped garlic clove

6 tablespoons olive oil
salt and black pepper to taste