A Spoonful of Peanut Butter Becomes a Healthy Snack!
Ok, so I have a true confession! One of my clients came in one day and said that they were eating peanut butter by the spoonful as a snack. So I sort of scolded them because peanut butter is so fattening, and if you are trying to lose weight, it might be the wrong kind of protein to be eating by the spoonful as a snack.
So a day later, I am thinking about this spoonful of peanut butter eating, and I am starting to get really hungry. There I sit and stare at the peanut butter jar, and finally, I take a little taste… to quickly find myself taking taste after taste after taste.
It is so darn good, especially when you are having a craving for something sugary and fattening!
But I made myself stop!!! I sat there and made myself come up with a compromise that I could still feel like I was cheating and eating something bad, but that was actually really good for me.
So here it is…
Peanut Butter Parfait Treat Recipe
Ingredients:
½ c Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp peanut butter*
¼ c Kashi Crunch (like granola cereal, but half the calories and half the fat)
* You can use powdered peanut butter as a healthier alternative to traditional peanut butter if you want to cut some calories.
Instructions:
- Mix 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt with 1 Tbsp peanut butter (it actually mixes very well).
- Add 1/4 cup of Granola Cereal and voila… an awesome, healthy cheat with only 280 calories and 22 grams of protein! WOW!
Give it a try and let me know what you think! You can also share your other healthy snack ideas in our comments below!
The total calories for this yummy concoction is 212 per serving when using regular peanut butter (plus 23 grams of protein with the yogurt). With the powdered peanut butter, the calorie count comes down to just 157 calories and still gives you 20 grams of protein for the peanut butter parfait treat.
That’s a very reasonable snack that is easy to make and tastes delicious!
Healthy Alternative: Powdered Peanut Butter
If you are trying to cut calories, you can try another satisfying and delicious option instead of dipping into the peanut butter jar every time. Powdered peanut butter actually tastes really good and it only has 1.5 grams of fat compared to 16 grams of fat in regular peanut butter—and it tastes the same!
How many calories in a spoon of peanut butter?
There are 95 calories in 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, 8 grams of fat, and 3.5 grams of protein. Everything in moderation, right?!
Is peanut butter a healthy snack?
Peanut butter can be a healthy snack! Just a spoonful is an easy way to sneak more calories into your diet if you find it hard to incorporate calories some days! Peanut butter has good fat, some protein, and fiber. It also contains Vitamin E, Calcium, Niacin, and Potassium.
Peanut butter should be enjoyed in moderation like anything else! But it can be a very good additional snack choice that can help to create balance in the diet, especially to an athlete in training!
If you are wondering about what the right nutritional balance might be for you personally, Jessica can help you with that. She can help you to learn more about fine tuning your diet and what protein, carbohydrate, and fat percentages would work best for you. This in turn can help you to shed many unwanted pounds that otherwise seem to be quite a struggle.
