Just Great Stuff Organic Powdered Peanut Butter

Powdered peanut butter? Never heard of such a thing. Whaaaaat??? What is up with this "Stuff?"  No ooey-gooey-oily-glop?

My husband Ben has now decided to transition from regularly eating lunch meats to other more nutritional choices! I am of course very happy about that endeavor, and glad to see him go to the next level with his healthy food. He just ran out of the organic peanut butter that he used in preparing some of his packed lunches. So there before him on the shelf of the natural foods co-op sat a jar of powdered peanut butter. Not what he expected to see at all.

The last brand of regular organic peanut butter that my husband tried was Once Again Peanut Butter American Classic," and he liked it just fine, no problems at all. We just like to try out the new options to see what we like best for any organic processed food product. Now I can certainly wholeheartedly say that Justin's Nut Butter Natural Maple Almond Butter  rocks, and that is our choice for almond butter.

Ben was looking at just peanut butter brands, and he read the label of this strange powdered form of peanut butter called "Betty Lou's Just Great Powdered Peanut Butter." Checking out the benefits, he read that regular peanut butter has 16-18 grams of fat in 2 tablespoons. This powdered peanut butter has only 1.5 grams of fat! That is a big difference. The previous brand of organic regular peanut butter called "Once Again" did have 16 grams of fat, 210 calories, and 140 of them were from fat. Hmmmm. We are not calorie counters at all, but going down to 1.5 grams of fat, 40 calories, with 10 calories from fat didn't seem like a bad thing. So we purchased a jar of 'Betty Lou's Just Great Stuff' to try.

To turn this powder into peanut butter, you just add water, and use absolutely no oils! Now that is fantastic! Just two tablespoons of the powder added to 1 tablespoon of water is the ratio. You make the peanut butter as needed, and keep the jar in the pantry. If Ben has any leftovers he covers it and sets it in the fridge.

Now I don't eat PBJ for lunch, but Ben did make me a PBJ snack one evening to try, and I can say this tasted just like peanut butter to me. Ben enjoyed his PBJ sandwich this week, and says it tasted just like regular peanut butter to him as well. He used Bionaturae Organic Fruit Spread Bilberry  which is a great product for the jelly part of BPJ. Bilberry is also good choice for diabetics.

In conclusion I love the fact that there are no oils and fats in this peanut butter. The only downside to the powdered peanut butter is in the sodium amount. The "Just Great Stuff" powdered peanut butter has 90 mg per 2 tbs, and the 'Once Again Organic Regular Peanut Butter' has only 55 mg of sodium per 2 tbs. In addition the organic 'Once Again' Brand does make a salt free peanut butter, so that would be a product to look into buying in the future to get rid of the sodium factor all together. 

I see that "Betty Lou's Just Great Stuff" has added sea salt to their powdered peanut butter, as I guess they are trying to imitate salted peanuts, and that is where the problem originates for me. As someone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer about 7 months ago, I need to do everything in my power to assure it does not reoccur. Sugars, salt, and oils are ingredients that are not recommended as part of my healthy diet. Perhaps Betty Lou's could rethink their position on the amount of sodium they are adding, because I can see they are a company that is trying to fill the need for healthier alternatives. Even so, I still think they have started a good thing here, and just need to tweak it a bit to make it even more healthy, or offer a no salt version as well. They make a powdered chocolate version of the peanut butter, and do a pretty good job of eliminating the sugars as well as the oils. Just might have to give that product a go.

Overall I think this 'Just Great Stuff' powdered peanut butter is a healthier version than even those oil laden peanut butters you see "fresh ground" at the store. You yourself will just have to weigh how much the amount of sodium vs. the calories from fat and oil issues play in your overall diet concerns, and which direction you choose to go. For me it is a rare treat, that does not have as much impact on me, as someone who may be making a couple of PBJ's each week. Then again, maybe I should just try grinding my own organic peanuts, then adding water, just so to eliminate the sodium issue on my own. Hubby does not think the amount of sodium in this product is a big deal. I think he wants to try the chocolate version too, maybe it will be like a healthy version of the old Nutella that we gave up when we changed the quantity and the quality of the processed foods in our life.

What are your thoughts?