Product Review: PB2 and Chocolate PB2

This product was a celebrity peanut butter on the blogosphere a few months ago and I was overjoyed to see samples from Bell Plantation arrive with their powdered peanut butter product, PB2 and a sample of their chocolate PB2!

First up: Chocolate PB2

Ingredients: Roasted Peanuts, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt.

Serving Size: 2 Tablespoons (12 grams)

Servings per container: 16

Calories:  52.2

Calories from Fat  12.8

Total Fat: 1.42 g

Saturated Fat: 0.46 g

Unsaturated Fat: 0.89 g

Trans Fat: <0.01 g

Cholesterol: <0.1 mg

Sodium: 59.9 mg

Total Carbohydrate: 6.0 g

Dietary Fiber: 1.03 g

Sugars: 3.65 g

Protein:  3.85 g

Vitamin A (IU):  <1 %

Vitamin C (mg):  <0.1 %

Calcium (mg): 11.2 %

Iron (mg):  0.73 %

I had mine mixed separately and dipped my oatmeal into it. Then I drizzled it on my oatmeal.

Oh my goodness! It tastes like frosting, really, chocolate peanut butter frosting! It was so delicious that I thought I was eating the frosting off of a cupcake! Neither flavors (chocolate and peanut) overpowered the other and it was very smooth but thick.

I love the nutrition facts! I think healthy fats are wonderful, but they do add up the calories pretty easily! This would be a great dessert option for a frosting that is much healthier than the saturated fat /sugar of buttercream etc. !

PB2: Regular Peanut Butter Flavor

Ingredients: Roasted Peanuts, salt, and sugar

Serving Size: 2 tablespoons (12 grams)

Servings Per Container: 16

Amount Per 2 Tablespoon Serving (*when mixed with water):

Calories                          53.2

Calories from Fat           16.8

Total Fat:  1.87 g

     Saturated Fat:  0.34 g

     Trans Fat:  0 g

     Unsaturated Fat: 1.53 g

Cholesterol:   0 mg

Sodium:  77.6 mg

Total Carbohydrate:  3.4 g

     Dietary Fiber 0.48 g

     Sugars  1.66 g

Protein   5.65 g

Vitamin A (IU)  0%

Vitamin C (mg)  0%

Calcium (mg)  1%

Iron (mg)  2%

I enjoyed this with banana slices and with oatmeal. I think this is such a fantastic option for Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches, because those can be very high in kcal and not very voluminous. Using a lower kcal pb that is lower in sugar and saturated fat could help make a pb&j sammy a better meal constituent.

Taste: It tasted just like any creamy peanut butter. I actually like this better than most peanut butters because it didn’t have the oily mess of naturals but it wasn’t so sweet and trans fat tasting like common brands ( jiffy, skippy, etc. ).

Pros:

This peanut butter is powdered, which means much like circa The Depression, it will last for a much longer time!

It does not require refrigeration!

It boasts 5 g of protein and less than 2 g of Fat! Those healthy unsaturated fats and high protein content make this nutritionally sound!

Because you have to mix it with water, so you can actually tailor the consistency to your preference. 

Taste! Those that prefer the more creamy texture of Jiff, Skippy etc. would enjoy the taste of this creamy PB2 while reaping the healthier ingredients.

Cons:

You must mix it with water to get the correct consistency. This is usually not an issue but could be if you aren’t close to a water source!

It costs just about the same as other peanut butters ( $3 per jar) but you most likely have to order it online and pay for shipping.

It is available in many stores now as it gains popularity, however, still not in any stores near me!

Verdict:

I am going to be purchasing a 4 pack as soon as I get a little more money in my Pay Pal account! You can check out more info on it at www.BellPlantation.com

Saturday .. saturday … saturday that’s alright

This morning Jeff and I woke up and headed to the gym, I had the missing half to this banana before and this guy (the rest) when we got back.

Post -Gym Brunch:
Oatmeal made with oats, water, cinnamon and wheat germ and peanut butter

and a Smoothie:

This was my recipe today ( I really liked it so I can remember)
Ingredients:
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup milk
1/2 scoop pure protein
2 frozen pineapple chunks
3 frozen cherries
Frozen blueberries until it reached the fill line

I put into the magic bullet/bella kitchen brand single blender and voila!
It was really tasty and exactly what I wanted after a great gym session.

Body:
Run !!!  Distance: 5.13 miles.
I sweat alot – no fan on the treadmil. I did the same thing as yesterday’s 6 miler with the pacing- but today I paced myself by covering up the changer with a magazine- I flipped through the magazine to keep me busy while I ran. I didn’t go fast or anything, I would stare at the celebrity clothing or the fashion ideas and just flip ever so often… Does anyone else do this? I think I got a few weird looks as I was flipping through a magazine while running but it kept me at a steady pace which can feel sooo slow for me the first few miles- The last few miles I did sprinting, I went up to 10.0 for a total of 1/2 mile!

My hand still hurts from snowboarding ( from catching myself and pushing myself up) and my arm- it is just a very sharp pain in my tricep and elbow. I doubt it is permanently injured but it is getting just a little better every day so that it great.

Mind:
I am looking online at articles right now.

Soul:

Jeff ran with me! It was so nice to have him next to me even though I love running by myself too, its nice to have company!

We are heading down with Andrea and Nate in a few hours to the St. Baldrick’s fundraiser- they are shaving people’s heads to raise charity for kids with cancer- it’s at an irish pub all afternoon so it should be a good time despite the neverending RAIN!

Happy Weekend Everyone!!

What I ate to help me through Day 2…

Breakfast:
I took water and protein powder and quick cook steel cut oats and mixed them all together – microwaved for about 3 minutes? . I added frozen blueberries and cinnamon and peanut butter! We were out of bananas and milk this morning so I knew I had to head to the store!

I wasn’t quite sure how well it would turn out because I am not up to speed with cooking properties of protein powder, which is typically not cooked. I do know how it can clump and not work out well- but this was fantastic!

Post Fantastic Run Fuel:
A slice of pizza ( I had made this the other day and gave it to Jeff for lunches etc.) there was this guy left so I had him with a salad: cabbage, baby spinach, arugula, goddess dressing, cabot cottage cheese…

I also sliced up that lovely pineapple with a kiwi. It was incredibly juicy and sweet and tropical. I almost felt like I was in Hawaii or something…

So I ate all of this lunch while I prepared dinner….

Eggplant Bolognese Lasagna!

I cooked 8 lasagna noodles as directed while browning 93% lean ground beef ( and one buffalo chicken sausage I had froze, thawed, and de-cased). When the noodles and meat were done, i put the meat in an empty pot and filled in with a jar of hunts pasta sauce ( garlic and herb) , a jar of TJ Marinara, and a jar of Bolognese sauce…

In the now empty meat pan, I sauteed eggplant slices with a little smart balance oil. I put sauce in the bottom of a 9×13, layered one layer of noodles, sprinkled with a little parm cheese then eggplant slices then covered with a layer of the tomato meat sauce, then sprinkled with shredded mozzarella and globbed with cabot cottage cheese.

I repeated with a layer of noodles and sprinkling of cheese

eggplant slices

tomato meat sauce

mozzarella shredded…

Dinner: 1/12th ! with a little extra sauce!

I am so glad I made the big pot of sauce I did- I love having extra sauce available and now I can use it for pasta later this week OR it freezes so nicely that I can just freeze portions for whenever!

I am in the mood for dessert- especially with the run this morning! I was surprised that although class was longer than expected, I was NOT hungry at all until I got home. I will probably bring a snack on wednesdays from now on though, esp since the class is 3 hours long!

Did you all have a wonderful wednesday?

I definitely feel like I did! Sometimes I get so excited about life in general just thinking about what my future holds ( like an engagement, a wedding, getting my degree, getting my certification, finding a great job, having babies, fixing up my home etc etc ) , even if it may not all happen the way I think or when, it is just uplifting to think about for me.

Home Safe but Tuckered Out

I am home and tuckered out! Jack is too because he didn’t even want dinner – he has laid in his “bedroom” since we got home! I think it was all the attention and spoiling my parents gave him. We went on lots of walks too- and he had lots of treats. He was kinda bad only because the parents let him up on the furniture:

I must be so tired from all of that baking I have been up too … Creme De Menthe Brownies, my personal favorite is Chocolate Chip Irish Cream Pound Cake , and Mocha Swirl Light Cheesecake-

In fact, I doubt my fatigue had ANYTHING to do with the freezing, 1 hour wonderful walk this morning, 3 hour drive, 2 loads of laundry, and unpacking 8 bags of a bullet smoothie mixer my mom gave me ( thanks!!! woohoo!), leftover baked goods, clothes bought while shopping with my mom, and luggage! Right ?

Body:
Walked with my mom and Jack , 3+ miles this morning! It was very chilly compared to yesterday’s walk gees! My knee is a little sore from the run yesterday but nothing major at all really- I am gonna get a heat pack now and ice and alternate to get the blood flowing- hopefully get rid of any swelling!

Mind:
Read more in the morning but only a little bit!

Read some new blogs!! I am so excited to receive comments from readers I was unaware of! I love that people are enjoying my blog as much as I enjoy writing it! I would certainly like to add to my blogroll but I always end up closing the browser and can’t find the exact addresses again! So feel free to send me a comment so I can add you/ or you can add me etc. etc.

However, most all of my mental energy went towards my 3 hour drive on the highway with Jack! I fought off sleepiness by drinking water and singing to Jack, he is not a fan. Oh well.

Soul:

I am the type of person that feels MUCH better if I unpack immediately- otherwise the stuff lays around for a week or longer! So I got everything going right away into its place- except the laundry- however I folded AND ironed what is done! Hooray for that

Jeff is home and I am home ! Yah! He LOVES his new sweater/shirt that I assured my mom he would like! Also, two of the pairs of pants fit fantastic and he loves them! The third pair were jeans by the SAME brand, SAME size as the other two pairs- and clearly 2 inches too long!!??!?!? What the crap ? oh well, I will go see if I can get a shorter pair. I hope they aren’t too short though!

After I got back and put everything away, I caught up on this premiere week of shows I remembered to record before I left! 90210, Priviledged, and The Biggest Loser!

Dinner with Nate and Andrea! Andrea picked me up and we met the men at the restaurant! Both of us had not seen our significant others’ in four days! and… both Andrea and I ordered the same exact meal, both Jeff and Nate ordered the same exact meal too- how coincidental!?!

****** Jeff got a great deal on a BRAND NEW vehicle thanks to his uncle Jeff… it is a truck and he wanted a truck! it is 4 wheel drive and he wanted 4 wheel drive so we could take it onto the beach for camping at the ocean and it has more too! The bet part is it is brand new with a full warranty and he is getting it for what the used vehicles cost that he was considering recently! I won’t reveal too much because there are some logistics involved – he/we should be bringing it home Monday so I will reveal all the details and photos then! ****** Thank you to everyone who has been commenting, keeping up with this situation for us, and hoping along with me that things work out post accident! ( Erica , Mads, Veggie Girl, Strong and Healthy, Hangrypants and I hope I am not forgetting anyone else…)

I am so excited that Jeff’s uncle Jeff ( his namesake and practically his identical twin as far as personality goes) and aunt Darlene are visiting this weekend. This happens to work out nicely with the car deal since Jeff can ride back with them sunday and drive back his new truck! They are great fun so it will be a family oriented weekend of wine, laughter, and who knows what!

On to the food:
Breakfast:
Egg whites with hummus, Oats with Bluberries, Bananas, Pears and Peanut Butter.

Oh and if you haven’t already checked her out- Lee of For The Love of Peanut Butter – made a version of my Pumpkin French Toast for breakfast today- She loved it and I am so happy!!!! Thanks for the tag Lee!

Lunch: (sorry it wasn’t pictured I had already packed everything into the car)
Leftover pasta bake from last night …

Snack:
A small banana with peanut butter and greek nonfat yogurt. I also crumbled a bite of a Luna Sunrise Bar that I have never had before. It was yummy!

Dinner:

We went to a hot dog/greek place that has a great sandwich and salad menu! I got the Greek Salad ( iceberg, onion, tomato, greek olives, feta, beets, pita) with Grilled Chicken. Jeff ordered the special hot dog and chili fries. I did have some of the chili fries – meh – pretty good- I liked the fry part better than the chili part.

TGI almost F !

Shopping, Beach, BumbleBar Review, Non-Taco Salad…

Simple and delicious!
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup organic fat free milk (for creamier oats, I would use 1/2 cup liquid but I like mine stickier!)
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 teaspoon of maple syrup
Microwaved for about 2 minutes

I added fry pan bananas (banana sliced into a frying pan on medium heat, about 1 minute on each side) and fresh blueberries and cinnamon and all natural peanut butter.

Bumble Bar Apricot:

I was pleasantly surprised with this flavor of bumblebar! I was expecting more of an apricot flavor, however, it was more subtle. Despite that, it was till a very fruity and sweet flavor throughout! I think there was coconut shavings in it as well. You can see the flax and sesame seeds, I love to chew apart the flax seed. Your body cannot digest flax seeds whole, although they can still contribute to digestive transit. I would definitely eat this flavor again. It has only 180 calories, 4 grams of fiber and 5 grams of protein.

My mom and I split this leftover section and I also had a zone bar for protein but my camera battery died. So no photo!
We spent a great day shopping and I found Jeff three pairs of pants! I hope they fit, I know he will like them before trying them on but no pants he ever get fit him the right way. He is between sizes for waist and length and he has such a hard time with pants fitting right! Keep your fingers crossed!
I also feel like I got a whole new wardrobe but I really just got a couple of great things thanks to my parents! I love being at the beach too, I just love it- the air, the view, the shops, everything.

That is sound side and unfortunately, it rained ALL day and was really foggy. Fortunately, the rain didn’t bother us!

We came home and I took jack out for a quick run then had dinner…

My mom made tacos, I had a “taco salad” minus the taco shell.

It was organic baby greens, some broccoli with hummus and taco meat ( 93% lean ground beef with taco seasoning), some tomato, cheese and kidney beans. Delicious! Thanks Mom!

We just finished Stepbrothers, My parents hadn’t seen it yet but Jeff and I rented it awhile ago. I think it was funnier the second time around.

Body:
Walking Walking Walking.. shopping.. searching through everything and trying a gazillion things on to model for my mom. We went to a ton of places but I found that things at J Crew fit me a lot better than other stores!

And also a few short runs with Jack , in the morning before we left and in the evening when we got back.

Mind:
Oh my goodness, last night before bed- I read 60 pages! I just couldn’t put it down until it got to be really late and I was dozing off. I am (still) reading the book, Eat Pray Love, and I have enjoyed every page. I have to really force myself to sit down and read just at first. Once I started reading, its like my mind never wanted to stop! This morning before breakfast I read another few pages and I am looking forward to picking up where I left off tonight before bed.

Soul:

I just said Goodnight To Jeff! ** He told me earlier today the latest news he has on a vehicle. It sounds awesome and I hope it comes through. He doesn’t want to jinx it so just pray for him and I will write about it when we know more!!!!!!**

Shopping at the beach with my mom was fantastic!

Jack is getting so spoiled, he was allowed to lay on not only the couch but my dad’s recliner chair too! He is not allowed on our furniture. My dad took him out for a walk too! Go dad! Jack pulls a ton!

Talked a lot with my mom about everything from jeans that fit, beach weddings, nutrition and what I want to do with classes and school! Phew… It’s been a great day!

See yall tomorrow!

Warm Fruit, Cottage Cheese and Blueberry Oats

I wanted something warm so I heated up frozen blueberries and pineapple. The juices came out of the fruits and I thought I would make fruity-oats, so I put in some quick cook steel cut oats and added a little water. In they went to the microwave for a couple minutes and on top went Cottage cheese (cabot is delicious!!), Cinnamon, Banana (organic) with Smucker’s All Natural Peanut Butter.

With Black Coffee:

Blueberry Oats Underneath:

Up early today thanks to jeff (really thanks because I hate sleeping in!) … HAPPY NEW YEARS EVE!

the plan:

gym ? run ? keep your fingers crossed for a 6 miler depending on my knee/toe status.

yoga- it really does fill body, mind, and soul.

Maybe looking at trucks with Jeff, we might drive down to the beach tomorrow to look at one ( its only about 1.5 hr away)

Maybe heading to his parents for new years eve festivities !? I don’t think we really want to spend money on going to a bar to stand in there, sweat, be squished, and drink crappy free champagne. I am always in the mood to dance though!

I usually don’t even photo what I drink unless its something other than water, but just so yall know- I drink a glass of water before each meal and another 4-5 throughout the day as well. Water is SO important to help with proper digestion and helps your body cell functioning. If I drink something else, I usually make note of it.

Speaking of drinks, hope all of you have a safe, fun plan for tonight!

French Toast Breakfast Tree on Christmas Eve

It’s Christmas Eve! Hooray!
French Toast Breakfast Tree:

Peanut Butter Trunk, Pumpkin Egg White French Toast Tree… (pumpkin, egg whites, splash of milk, splash vanilla extract, dash of cinnamon)
decorated with blueberry bells, cherry balls, flaxseeds and pineapple topper.

Body:
Short Run with Jack (20 minutes around the neighborhood hills). It was such a warm christmas eve! I think the high was 68*. It is so weird to have grown up in freezing weather and snow, literally snow from October-April ….and to now have winter temps of 68* and higher!. I had lunch plans that didn’t work out, so when that happened, I realized I could get the “real” cardio I had been hoping for at the Gym. I was hoping to get in that red face, dripping sweat cardio because I know I will be resting christmas day, driving and above all, would rather enjoy opening presents and family time than be out on an hour long run! So, my cardio turned into an amazing 4.5 mile run/sprint… I ran for two minutes straight at 9.0 (a 6:40 min. mile) and the rest at 8.0 ( about a 7 minute mile). Phew.. so my total running mileage today was 6.5 miles!

Mind:
Tired, need to wrap gifts! 4 hours of sleep last night is just not going to cut it!

Soul:
Its Christmas eve!! dinner at Momma Mo’s tonight is Tur-Duck-en. Family time tonight, tomorrow and all weekend. oh and presents are certainly wonderful ( both to give and to get )

Santa is on his way kiddos… I am going to be checking in but probably not posting much until at least tomorrow or friday!
Merry Christmas to All if I don’t see you , hear from you, or comment with you!

Blueberry Egg White Oats ?

I have no idea what made me come up with that. I wanted protein, and I wanted to use my egg whites for that. I didn’t want just scrambled eggies , wasn’t in the mood for it. I wanted something sweet and didn’t want oatmeal ( despite that I have four different types of oats and no bread left).

So I “messed up” before making the batter for french toast with blueberries http://runlmo1.blogspot.com/2008/12/semi-stuffed-french-toast.html – that french toast came out fantastic, but I didnt want to throw away the leftover egg-blueberry batter- so it came out very odd- like blueberry scrambled eggs but with the milk in the batter it came out more like cake. So I thought I would intentionally try to make it today,

I ate all of it- I liked it as much as the pumpkin oatmeal mixes I usually do! However, I do want to “work on” the recipe so as a general recap it included: egg whites, blueberries, sprinkle of oats, milk, cinnamon. It didn’t “look” good enough to me so I topped it with coconut, flaxseed butter, and almonds.

Snowman Says “Yes Ma`m”

I still wanted more of “something”… so I made a coffee with milk… did the trick to finish up my meal.

I am out of canned pumpkin, bread, Smart Balance Oil and frozen fruit, oh no!

We may or may not be heading to Nana’s this weekend- Jeff has not been able to get christmas shopping done and the rest of the family will not be there either-

My mom is maybe on here way?… My dad woke up sick ( get well dad! sorry you aren’t feeling well! love you) so not sure what the plan is for today.

*update to last night*
Some people actually asked me “so what do you do when you have a piece of chocolate or something “bad” ?” ….. which is hard to address the “bad” part because I refuse to acknowledge that FOOD is bad ( FOOD -not nutrients- i.e I consider saturated/trans fats as “bad” for your health but they are not a FOOD. Food that contains them is not necessarily “bad” because the FOOD offers many other “good” nutrients )

Anyway- I told them I just take a picture of whatever it is or write about it the next day. Last night Jeff and I watched a movie together on the couch and it was just so nice to snuggle. We stayed up way too late. I had:

Chocolate chips… (milk chocolate)

and some mini reese’s pieces.

Banana Almond Maple Oats

Breakfast:

Steel cut Quick Oats (from Trader Joes $2.29 for 17 servings)
organic banana ( it seriously fell that way in the bowl too)
I put a sprinkle of slivered almonds, a drop of maple syrup right in the middle and peanut butter all around the banana.
I also had a little of the smoothie I made for Jeff… milk, protein powder, pb, frozen mango, frozen pineaple and frozen strawberries.

I love how the snowman want to get all their stick-hands on my bowl!! Isn’t that cute! The placemat is from Target (last year ).

the plan:
Body:

Run in the morning, strength training in the evening with Jeff!

Mind & Soul:
to be determined
I meditated yesterday after my 40 minute yoga session and I swear it was like waking up to a new day after! Felt fantastic.

Peanut Butter Mashed Banana French Toast Sandwich!

phew.. I bet you can’t say that as fast as I ate this bad boy…

Peanut Butter Smashed Banana French Toast Sandwich!

- I dipped two slices of toast in 1/3 cup egg whites mixed with 1 T milk
-laid in the pan, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar
-flipped
-put in the remainder of the egg batter in the pan

then… I smashed half a banana on one side, spread the other side with little all natural Smucker’s peanut butter

While the french toast cooked, I made Jeff a smoothie: milk, protein powder, peanut butter, frozen mango, frozen pineapple, frozen blueberries, and the other half of the banana.

I dropped Jeff at work this morning so that he could go rent a car! I stopped and went christmas shopping on the way home! Since it was early morning, it was really nice not to deal with crazy busy parking lots and people!

The plan for the rest of the day ( ONE WEEK UNTIL CHRISTMAS EVE! time flies)

Body:
Rest/ Yoga … Yoga is wonderful for me because it helps an incredible amount with my asthma. The breathing stretching techniques are just fantastic, relaxing, and rejuvinating. I have a “power yoga” dvd but its not cardio-intense. I break a sweat but its nothing crazy, and I literally know the dvd without having to watch it- I put it on for the background waterfall music! I am resting from my normal running or strength training routine today. Jeff and I may go to the gym tomorrow though ?

Mind:
I am going to keep looking at jobs- I am trying to narrow down my decisions/options/likes/hours… its tough! I also am reading the next chapter in Eat, Pray, Love. I bought it so long ago it seems and would like to finish it! I feel like I need SOMETHING to keep my mind active and to stay “balanced”.

Soul:
to be determined…. jeff and i may have a relaxing evening at home… and heck, I already got some christmas shopping out of the way, I went through with getting a haircut and am enjoying it!

I hope to hear back from the volunteer position so that I can get started- that will be very rewarding to help underpriviledged kids/families with nutrition and healthy eating on a budget! I don’t have a job so I certainly know what its like to be stuck to a budget! I still manage to eat lots of fruits, veggies, organic, local, healthy foods so I know I can help them do it too!