For the love of Peanut Butter

How can you be an endurance athlete and NOT love peanut butter?  When you need something to stick to your ribs for a long run or ride, when you need to satisfy a sweet tooth at 10pm and your choice is 400 calories of crap or a 100 calorie spoonful of peanut butter, there are worse options. 

There are not many foods that come in so many varieties. You can have sugar-laden or sugar free. Totally processed or made with just a bag of peanuts and your own food processor. Organic.  Natural. Creamy. Chunky. Extra-Chunky. Peanut, almond, cashew, In a jar, a tube or a cup. Most need no refrigeration. It goes good on crackers, bread, fruit and vegetables. Oh, yeah I hear its good with chocolate too. 

I have tried them all and it was not until just recently that I found my new favorite, "creamy peanut butter" from Fresh & Easy. Easily the stickiest, most peanut tasting peanut butter I have tasted in years. Not a lot of ingredients and I know them all. A little oily but lots of flavor. I am normally a chunky style guy, but recently been digging the creamy as it doesn't distract from a consistent flavor or change the texture of what I am putting the substance on.

Now, now, I understand that peanut butter is playing with fire when someone is monitoring food intake. The taste and energy come at a price and towards the end of the day the price of any one calorie is pretty high. Especially if you have a date with a scale the next morning.  However, I would caution you to not dismiss this tasty, dare I say sinful, food. Paired with candy, not good. Paired with apples or celery, pretty good. Added to ice cream, not good. Measured with jelly between two pieces of bread, perfect food. Can you deny the PB&J as a Top 5 pre-race / pre-sunrise-out-the-door workout food?

If you prefer a specialty store organic almond butter with sunflower oil or making your own with just  ground peanuts with no oil or salt, or a jar of a national brand off any shelf in the country, you can have it your way. And you should.

What is your favorite peanut butter by brand or type?