Now, you can blame this on my dad but I've always thought I only liked crunchy peanut butter. It wasn't until Whole Earth sent me through some of their Smooth Organic Peanut Butter to try that I gave it a taste and discovered that it's not at all bad actually ! What surprised me even more is that not only Sophie but also 5-year-old Juliette, who is often not very keen on trying out new things, gave it a try and said it was "yummylicious" ! Now that's a cool word - I might have to adopt that one myself !
The Whole Earth website promises "Delicious, wholesome peanut butter made with organically-grown peanuts and no added sugar" and the ingredients list is reassuringly short : Roasted peanuts (92%), Palm oil, Sea salt. Note the total absence of artificial additives. I vaguely remember palm oil getting bad press but they do state that they use "Palm oil proudly sourced from RSPO members".
One thing I immediately noticed is that there was no oil slick on the top of the jar. I don't know if this is because it's smooth not crunchy or because it's Whole Earth as opposed to the other brands I've bought in the past but it was a pleasant surprise. The peanut butter is smooth and almost creamy and, I have to admit, I like it as much if not more than the crunchy variety now.
The girls happily munched on peanut butter and chocolate spread sandwiches for their tea tonight and I admit to being a bit partial to peanut butter and banana on toast as a mid-morning snack when I'm feeling peckish. We also made some brilliant peanut butter cookies last time we had a jar that needed using up and I'd really like to experiment with using it as an ingredient for chicken satay. I think there must be a brilliant recipe for peanut butter truffles out there somewhere too and I will certainly investigate, now that I know how much the girls love it.
100g of peanut butter does contain (eek !) 595 calories and (another eeek !) 50.8g of fat, of which 9.1g saturated fat, but as an occasional treat it won't do you any more harm than scoffing a bar of chocolate ! If you're going to eat peanut butter, you could do a lot worse than choosing Whole Earth who at least choose to be organic and green. As they explain on their website, "Whole Earth began as a little company with some big ideas about offering more natural, healthier food. 40 years on, we’re still a little company with the same passion. Only “organic” is a less scary word than “macrobiotic” and more and more people are coming to share our vision. We (Still) Think : Healthier food should not be a punishment ; When you’ve got natural ingredients, you don’t need artificial flavours ; Organic food is better for planets and bodies ; Everyday stuff like baked beans and ketchup should be organic, too ; Our tastings are the best part of the job ; Snacks need not be your enemy".
Oooh I love that last one ! And did I mention, it tastes delicious too ?!
star rating : 4.5/5
RRP : £1.98 for 340g
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Ooh, I love this stuff, especially with strawberry jam! @maisietoo
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