Today is National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day, hurray! Peanut butter has been a life source for me, I literally grew into the person I am today thanks to a steady stream of PB&J. And, one of my favorite snacks as a kid was what I called, plain and simple, a “peanut butter spoon.” 
While I still love to dunk my spoon straight into the peanut butter jar, over the years I have learned to use it in a variety of recipes to fuel my active lifestyle. Read on to get some great nutrition tips about peanut butter, and some of my favorite healthy peanut butter recipes AND healthy recipes with peanut butter as the featured ingredient.
Here are some things you should know about peanut butter nutrition:
Sustaining: With about 190 calories and 16 grams fat per two tablespoons, peanut butter is a dense snack that can fill you up fast and keep you from getting hungry for a while.
Nutrient Packed: A two tablespoon serving of peanut butter offers the following recommended daily allowances: Vitamin E 45%, Vitamin B3 67%, Vitamin B6, Folate 18%, Magnesium 29%, Copper 24%, Manganese 73%. Plus a serving has 1.9 grams of fiber.
Keto Diet Friendly: It’s low in fat, low in carbs and is for ketogenic diets as long as using no-sugar added, natural versions.
Not Paleo Diet Complaint: If you follow a strict Paleo diet (which allows nuts), the fact that peanuts are actually legumes, not nuts, is a deal breaker.
Read Labels: Look for peanut butters with no added sugars, hydrogenated oils or other unwanted fillers. Just peanut and salt make for the best peanut butter – and the addition of other nuts or seeds is good too!
Shelf/Fridge Life: Natural style peanut butters with no additives or preservatives stay fresh (opened jar) in the pantry for a couple months or up to 6 months in the refrigerator. If the seal has not been broken, you can keep in the pantry for a year before losing flavor and/or going rancid.
Smoky Siracha 6-Seed Peanut & Nut Butter: For this creative peanut butter recipe, throw a bunch of peanuts and other nuts into a high-powered blender and hit “go”! Then add a little sriracha sauce and you’ve just kicked up peanut butter to a whole ‘nutha level!
Sweet & Salty 4-Seed Peanut Butter Popcorn Bars: An easy and yummy gluten-free snack that the whole family will crave.
Chocolate Pumpkin Peanut Butter: There is not much else to say about this creative peanut butter recipe than – YUM!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Oats: I live on some version of this peanut butter oats evaaaryday!
Pumpkin Maple Peanut Butter: Again, YUM to this unique peanut butter recipe. With a spoon; on waffles, toast, oats or however you take your peanut butter!
Cookie Dough Protein Bites: A simple peanut butter protein bite recipe that will fuel you up from here to there.
Peanut Butter Sriracha Sauce: No official recipe on this, but I make a version of this to complement many Asian creations. Simply whisk together 1/2 natural peanut butter, ¼ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup broth, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, ¼ cup sriracha – wowweeeee! For a snack, use this creative peanut butter recipe as dip for egg rolls, dumplings or veggie sticks.
Peanut Butter Strawberry: A dollop of peanut butter on a strawberry ahhh-mazing, especially when topped with chocolate chips.
These are some of my favorite PEANUT BUTTER things found on Amazon.com
What is your favorite way to eat peanut butter? Please share your healthy peanut butter recipes, make me drool! XOXO, Jennifer