Sophisticated PBJ

Not sure if I’ve mentioned it before, although I’m quite certain I have, but the peanut butter and jelly sandwich is one of my most favorite foods. I even wrote a paper in my college English class on why I loved peanut butter so much and how it all stemmed from having PBJs every day for lunch when I was a wee little girl. Now that I’m all grown up I still have a strong love for PBJ, however my creations are a tad bit more sophisticated (and healthier) now.

• Sunbeam white bread is now replaced with toasted Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain.

• TJ’s raw & unsalted almond butter instead of Jiff.

• Crofter’s Organic Superfruit spread with black currants and pomegranate in place of Welch’s strawberry jelly.

But it’s still cut in half, just the way my mom would have done it!

There so many different ways to make a PBJ. I like them simply done as shown above, but I also like almond butter, jam, and banana slices on toasted bread. There is such a variety of nut butters out there these days you can make so many different combinations. I love the unique variety of nut butters that Artisana offers, as well as, PB & Co. (Cinnamon Raisin Swirl anyone?)

Speaking of Ezekiel 4:9- I have come to really love their bread. It’s organic, healthy, only 80 calories a slice and it keeps well in the freezer or fridge. I like to keep mine in the freezer. I take a couple slices out of the freezer and stick them right into the toaster. The one catch is that if I want non-toasted bread I have to take about it beforehand and take the bread out a few hours earlier to defrost. The best part is that I just realized that Trader Joe’s now carries Ezekiel 4:9 bread. It’s a bit tricky because it’s in their regular bread section and not in the freezer where most grocers store it. But it’s definitely the cheapest place to buy it (at least in Richmond)!

So take it from me, if you thought peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were a thing of your childhood, think again. Grab some new ingredients and get to work.

Along with the sandwich I had a POM Pomegranate Peach Passion White Tea while on my way for a quick Target run during my lunch break.  

Yes I was driving. No worries though- I was stopped at a stop light.

The flavor of the POM tea was sweet and delicious, but I have to admit I didn’t realize when I accepted the samples that they had so much sugar per serving. I know the sugar is coming from the pomegranate and peach juice but it’s still has 34 grams of sugar and 160 calories for the bottle. I drank about half of it (one serving) with my lunch and it was definitely tasty. I’m just more of a water or hot tea drinker. One because I love water – it’s so thirst quenching and two because I don’t like drinking my calories. I don’t drink much juice because I would rather eat the fresh fruit. It’s more filling and I’m definitely a volume eater. With that said, there are some great health benefits of drinking POM juice and this drink could be a good choice for endurance athletes or others in need of the extra sugar and calories.

After perusing the POM website I realized that they do have POM Tea light, that has about 70 calories per bottle and way less sugar (about 14g) per bottle which would be more up my alley. I also found some POM Tea cocktail recipes, which also might be up my alley.

I’m in Norfolk, VA celebrating Isaac’s grandmother’s 80th birthday today. I’ll be staying the night and then heading back home for some Labor Day shindigs tomorrow.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Anyone have any exciting plans for the holiday?

- Brittany

Tagged as: almond butter, Crofter's Superfruit Spreads, ezekiel bread, PB & CO, POM Tea