Fit Friday - Peanut Butter!

Yes, peanut butter.

So, I know I usually have a butt-kicker of a workout to share with you on Fridays, but I'm changing it up this week.  Today we're talking about peanut butter.

I will freely admit that when I'm browsing Pinterest, and I see those "make your own" this or that food posts, I tend to pass right over them.  Seriously, why would I want to grind my own flours, make my own butter, cheese, yogurt, whatever?  I can just buy those at the grocery store!

Well, the answer is simple - when you make it yourself, you know what goes into it.  Now, I'm not going off on you-should-make-everything-yourself, pre-packaged-is-really-bad-for-you, you-should-buy-everything-organic.  I myself use my fair share of artificial sweetener, I search for and then buy the cheapest real butter I can find, and cheese?  I've read a few posts on how to make it, and its not for me (the yogurt one I would be willing to try, just.... to try it!).

But peanut butter?  Hear me out.

Peanut butter is such a healthy-fat-super-food.  Now of course, like with anything, you don't need to go on a peanut butter binge, but seriously, its so good for you.  Its full of healthy, unsaturated fats, and has lots of protein as a bonus!  I love, love, LOVE peanut butter, and thankfully all other parties in my household do as well - my husband, son, and dog.  Sometimes if its still a couple of hours before dinner and I feel myself getting pretty hunger, I'll grab a spoonful, drink some water, and I'm good to go until mealtime.

I was really intrigued by this post about making your own peanut butter and adding in various spices to make it something different.  You'll remember from this post and this post that I adore chai-spiced anything.  So I started thinking, what if I added cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, cardamom, allspice, and a smidge of black pepper and salt to pure peanuts and pulverized it in my food processor?

The answer is the lovely picture you have above - delicious spicy peanut butter that has no added oil or sugar!  And OH IS IT EVER DELICIOUS!!!  So, here's a recipe, but there's not really much need, and you'll see why:

Peanut Butter

16 ounces dry roasted unsalted peanuts (or ANY kind you want)
add-ins of your choice - salt, vanilla, cinnamon, cocoa powder, chai spices.... experiment!

Add ingredients to a food processor and pulverize away - you'll need to stop occasionally to scrape down the sides.  Now just be patient!  Your peanuts will go from a gravel consistency to a thick paste, to smooth flowing delicious Heaven in your mouth!

I would recommend storing this in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  The natural oils that are released when you process the peanuts can go rancid.  Here's the good news though - this peanut butter does not stiffen up like other natural peanut butters when refrigerated.  It maintains its smooth loose consistency.

Humor me and give this a try.  I promise you its delicious and so easy.  Now, we still buy regular Jif.  Its perfect for making certain items that need the added stabilizers.  But when you just want a pure peanut butter fix?  This stuff is tops.

Inspired by Love Veggies and Yoga