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Non-Natural Peanut Butter: How Bad?
Filed under: Nutrition: Health, Feeding & Sleeping, Mealtime, Opinions, Nutrition: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Expert Advice: Toddlers & Preschoolers, Nutrition: Big Kids, Expert Advice: Big Kids
Natural peanut butter isn't the only option for your child. Credit: Wendy Andrews, Flickr
And if we're telling the truth, does anyone relish the separated kind of peanut butter where the oil floats on top and gets all over your hands as you try in vain to stir it without having it run down the side of the jar? But the natural kind looks so ... healthy. It seems like the peanut butter that gets you an A+ in lunch-making.
But is it wrong to give the kids what they want, which incidentally is the same brand Mom used to buy?To find out, I called up Mommy Advisor Christine Palumbo, a nutritionist in private practice in a Chicago suburb, who's an adjunct faculty member at Benedictine University.
"Splashes oil on your shirt when you try to stir it, right?," she asked.
Yes exactly! So, how bad if I don't want to do it?
"There are many parents who prefer a natural peanut butter and are wiling to pay a little extra and go through a little inconvenience to eat it ...," Palumbo said. But just as I'm about to admit that I am not one of those parents, Palumbo added, "However, for those parents who do not want to do that, they shouldn't feel guilty."
Nothing like a get-out-of-guilt-free card from the nutritionist, right? Here's why Palumbo says regular old peanut butter isn't so bad:
1. Commercial peanut butter is reasonably low in sugar. "The sugar content in peanut butter is not all that high," said Palumbo. "Two tablespoons of one natural peanut butter, which is about what you'd put on a sandwich, has 2 grams of sugar while a popular commercial brand has 3 grams. Even though it's 50 percent more, it's still just 1 gram more."
2. Commercial peanut butter has almost no trans fats. "Another myth about commercial peanut butter is about trans fats. There is just a trace amount of trans fats in commercial peanut butter," says Palumbo.
Still, Palumbo doesn't think peanut butter sandwiches are an ideal daily meal. "Kids get into food jags," she says. "It's important to mix it up."
Some ideas:
1. Try other nut butters. "Almond and cashew nut butters are a little tougher to find and are usually more expensive, but can be a great option," to get some diversity in a child's diet.
2. Make your own nut butter. "Put nuts in a blender," says Palumbo. "It's a classic beginning cooking lesson for kids."
3. Try nut butter in new places. Put it on apples or celery instead of only making sandwiches.
Have you had a less-than-perfect parenting moment and you're wondering, "How bad"? Send it to Sabrina at PrincessLPink9@aol.com. She'll try to answer as many as she can.
Sabrina Weill is the founder of the pink, princess-y gift site: PrincessLovesPink. Many of the Mommy Advisors in this column are the writer's personal or professional friends.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
10-02-2009 @ 4:10PM
momofone said...I use natural peanut butter and I don't slop oil on my clothes or all down the jar. It's simple to mix....you just put the jar upside down and let gravit do the work. But, of course you use it before it seperates again. It does take some forthought but it is fully worth it.
Reply
10-02-2009 @ 4:56PM
Lisa Cain said...I think natural peanut butter tastes more like peanuts. I want my kids to like the taste of whole foods so I would probably mix the two and gradually phase out the commercial peanut butter.
Lisa
http://www.snacksnoop.com
10-02-2009 @ 4:55PM
SKL said...First of all "what a child wants" is whatever he's used to getting. My kids have only had natural, organic peanut butter and they love it. They also happen to prefer whole-wheat bread, fat-free organic milk, etc. You determine your kids' "comfort food," so don't shirk responsibility by saying "they like it."
Secondly, the way I avoid the oil issue is, after I first open it and mix it, I store it in the fridge. There are some brands that get hard and nasty in the fridge, but some stay soft and just as easy to use as Jif.
Reply
10-02-2009 @ 5:34PM
Melissa said...My daughter will eat either one....I grew up with Jif, so that's what I buy, but at her school they sometimes have the natural stuff, and she eats it. I will also eat either one, it was what I ate for about 2 months straight of my pregnancy! I put it on everything, bread, apples, bananas, celery, carrots, graham crackers, saltines, and more....we never had white bread in my house growing up either, so I doubt she knows what that even is lol. Only whole wheat and wheat for us!
Reply
10-03-2009 @ 3:07AM
Elizabeth said...Peanut Butter? Really? That's an issue? I've got news for you, if you're feeling guilty as a parent because you bought the wrong kind of peanut butter, you're going to have waaay more problems when your kids walk all over you as teenagers.
Reply
10-03-2009 @ 10:37AM
Diane said...Elizabeth, you're soo RIGHT!
Reply
10-03-2009 @ 4:50PM
noMOREtv4u said...So, despite all the studies, some people persist in believing "natural" is in some way different, except in profit margin. Keep believing it. You don't deserve to keep your money.
Reply
10-08-2009 @ 6:29PM
Jenny from the blog said...I used to use that peanut butter with the oil... eventually I just poured the oil into the sink and used the rest... less fat right? Whatever. See you can ruin even good stuff, well, I can.
Jenny From the Blog
Reply