All Natural Peanut Butter; Easy on the Tummy, Hard to Stir...

I've been trying really hard to make the transition from crappy, yet tasty, bad for you food to the more healthy, natural selections. It isn't always easy after years of training my palate on foods that are likely to contribute to heart disease or cancer. It's also not easy on the wallet considering the fact that, at least around here, healthy alternatives can cost as much as five times the amount that their deadly counterparts do. My grocery bill jumping from $300 - $400 a trip to $800 - $900 after using coupons is proof of that!

One such change that I've made is to the all natural peanut butter. I've tried a few different brands and found that the Smucker's brand all natural peanut butter eliminates such evils as hydrogenated oil, sugar, and high fructose corn syrup while still managing to remain tasty.

For those of us who made the switch to natural peanut butter, besides taste being a factor, there is also the issue of the oil separation that we have to contend with. Well, you will be pleased to know that I also found that Smucker's brand does a very good job of maintaining a pleasant consistency once thoroughly stirred. The problem for most of us is how to get it to that peanut buttery consistency to begin with. Well, I'm also pleased to announce that I have found a perfect, and easy, solution to this problem.

Being limited on space in my tiny, cinderblock, section eight-esque housing, I had recently purchased a little hand held Hamilton Beach, All-In-One mixer, chopper, blender in order to save space on appliances. I found that the small, bladed end, hand blender fit perfectly into my jar of peanut butter. Cautiously, I insert the end through the oil and into the top layer of peanut butter and press the button to activate the blender while lifting and lowering it alternately into the peanut butter and back up to incorporate the oil into it until I reach the bottom and I have a perfectly mixed peanut butter... Smoother and creamier than anything Jiff could have dreamed up! The best part is, if done right, it only takes a few minutes, very little energy and clean up is a breeze.

Over here, the Smucker's brand peanut butter is only sold in two packs so in order to make this process as easy as possible I go ahead and mix up both jars at the same time. I then pop one of the jars into the refrigerator to ensure that it stays mixed until the first jar is almost empty. I then, simply, put the second jar into the pantry to warm up and it's all ready to be used!

Like I said earlier; "if done right" clean up is a breeze... With that in mind, I do have to warn; do NOT use the whisk end "Mixer" attachment for this. I learned this the hard way when, during a momentary lapse in judgment, I allowed my four year old to convince me that the whisk would make the perfect mixing tool for peanut butter. It seemed like a logical conclusion given the shape and the multiple wires that would surely create a super creamy, batter-like consistency, right? WRONG!! I guess I should have taken into account the fact that the wires are NOT strong enough to mix the tar-like peanut butter. They are, however, plenty strong enough to dig into the peanut butter and sling the entire jar around in circles so that the person mixing and any unsuspecting, curious four year olds in the vicinity are thoroughly doused in peanut oil combined with the occasional, random clump of peanut butter.

While peanut oil is not an ideal product for countertops and floors, it is particularly bad when combined with clothing! Although it took some doing to get my floors clean enough that they weren't so slippery as to be able to be used as a skating rink, and it was definitely a lesson learned, I can tell you, Drake's hair has never been so soft and his cheeks never so supple!