Might as Well Face It: I'm Addicted to Peanut Butter

That's right. I've been obsessed with peanut butter lately. It used to take me several months to go through my standard-size jar of extra crunchy Jif. Lately, though, I've been going through peanut butter jars like a madwoman. It took me about a month and a half to finish off my last jar!

But here's the thing: I've started mixing it with honey. I did that as a kid, and I guess I forgot about it. I forgot how wonderfully yummy peanut butter and honey is together. And you can make it very sweet or not too sweet. And you can spread it on nearly everything. This is what I like to eat my peanut butter and honey with:

• Bananas
• Graham crackers
• Nilla Wafers
• Apples
• Bread
• By itself

What I wanted to especially point out, though, is that when you eat it on a graham cracker, it sort of tastes like the Girl Scout Peanut Butter Sandwich cookies. No joke! No more waiting for March to have your Peanut Butter Sandwich cookies!!! Yay!

Food Review: Mint OREO Fudge Cremes

These are gross. Let me tell you why:

1. They left one of the chocolate cookies off.
2. The fudge creme makes the chocolate cookie a little soggy.
3. There's too much chocolate flavor and not enough mint.

All in all, this is a poor excuse for a cookie. The lack of crunch was the worst part.

I'm always looking for ways to get that Thin Mint experience during the off-season, but thinking that Mint OREO Fudge Cremes would be a good substitute was a mistake. What was I thinking?!?

I'm actually going to throw the box out. I don't know if I've ever done that with chocolate/cookies. (So trust me on this: Save your money for a different chocolate-y treat!)

Everybody Likes a Parfait!

Donkey was right about parfaits: Everybody likes them! And you know what? I have found the perfect ingredients for one. :)

I use variations of three ingredients:
Low-fat vanilla yogurt
I use low-fat vanilla yogurt (preferably Kroger brand) because it's a little more tart than regular vanilla yogurt or non-fat yogurt. I like it because it gives anything a little kick!

Granola cereal
Granola cereal is best for parfaits because there are biggish chunks that make the granola extra crunchy. (I like the Kroger brand for this, too.)

Fruit
I used to use fresh blueberries almost exclusively. Then I switched to fresh strawberries. Today I discovered that frozen fruit is divine in parfaits. The bit of juice you get in frozen fruit provides a nice syrupy texture that gives the parfait a cobbler feel. Right now I'm using Kirkland's Trader Farms Triple Berry.*

So basically, just layer each ingredient on top of each other. I don't put too much effort into creating multiple layers. Usually, I just scoop some yogurt into a Tupperware container, throw a large handful of berries on top, sprinkle about a third of a cup of granola cereal on top of that, and finally, add a few more heaping spoonfuls of yogurt on the very top. Then I put the lid on the container and let the parfait sit in the fridge for a few hours.

In my opinion, those last two steps are crucial. At least some of the granola cereal has to be touching a layer of yogurt. Then, when you let the parfait sit in the fridge for a while, the granola gets a bit soft and chewy. But because it's granola cereal, some of the granola chunks stay crunchy. In the end, you get a sort of tart cobbler concoction -- but it doesn't have ice cream! So it's healthy!

Try making a parfait my way! I promise that you won't regret it!


*"But, Sara?" you ask. "What's a marionberry?" I know, I know -- I wondered, too! Let's let Wikipedia tell us: marionberry.

Eat a Peach!

Better yet, eat a peach while listening to Eat a Peach! (Boy, those Allman Brothers knew what they were singing about!)

Seriously, though. Peaches are wonderful this season. I've had a peach almost every day for the last couple of weeks! You'd think I'd be tired of them, but I'm not! Because they're so good! There's almost nothing worse than a bad peach (Okay, there are a lot of things worse than a bad peach), but there is almost nothing better than a good one! (And that is true!)

I have just been eating peaches plain, but my mom always uses them to make peaches 'n' cream. You just dice a peach, put it into a cereal bowl, sprinkle a bit of sugar on top, and pour milk and a little whipping cream into it. It's basically peach cereal. I may or may not add a little extra cream . . . which makes it sort of unhealthy . . . But it is so good! In fact, I may have peaches 'n' cream for breakfast tomorrow!

Eat a peach!*


*But don't eat an apple. In my opinion, apples are sub-par this year. What happened?

The King and I

The peanut butter and banana sandwich (with or without bacon/bacon grease) is often referred to as the The Elvis because it is widely known that Elvis Presley ate many a PB&B sandwich in one sitting.

How I know that, I'm not really sure, and why it gives me somewhat of a thrill every time I eat such a sandwich, I don't know. It might be because I really like Elvis. (I mean, have you listened to Jailhouse Rock lately? So good!) And it might be because I find it fascinating that people in the '50s did the same things as people now. (Really, that thought never gets old.)

One thing I do know is that minus the bacon/bacon grease, The Elvis is a highly nutritional sandwich. I like to eat mine on toasted whole wheat English muffins or flatbread. A few tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter and a sliced banana make it a low-calorie, healthy meal!

Now, go! Get thee to a kitchen and make The Elvis!

Whole Grain Mac 'n' Cheese!

Am I the last person to know that Kraft Foods now makes whole grain macaroni and cheese? What a magnificent product! I didn't grow up on homemade macaroni and cheese; it was always Kraft macaroni in my parents' house. As such, I love the stuff! Unfortunately, I had cut it out of my diet for the most part because I don't like to eat much white flour, if I can help it.

So imagine my delight when I saw that Kraft now makes macaroni with half white flour and half whole wheat! Now I'm getting at least some whole grains without completely sacrificing the flavor!

Yummee!