I went to take my car for an oil change this afternoon, since my site was down for a little while anyway. On the way back, I figured I could pick up some peanut butter, for use in peanut butter and banana sandwiches.
Jason mentioned the other day that he preferred the peanut butter from Whole Foods. On the other hand, I would have preferred some low-fat peanut butter (16g fat is a lot to swallow, so to speak). And, I figured that Whole Foods probably would just have regular peanut butter :-/.
So, my plan was to get the best of both worlds by buying some low-fat peanut butter and some Whole Foods peanut butter. I stopped by Target and found some reduced fat peanut butter — actually they had several reduced-fat brands, which surprised me: Jif ($1.99), Skippy ($1.89), and Peter Pan ($1.79). They were all the same weight (18 oz) and all fairly close in price. So, in the end, I ended up choosing Skippy just because it had a better form-factor: its container was most cylindrical, which I figured would prevent peanut butter getting lost in crevices.
After Target, I drove further down Skillman to get some Whole Foods peanut butter for Jason. Unfortunately, though, when I got there, I discovered that the Whole Foods on Skillman had apparently closed on June 9th (so says the sign on the front). So, I would have bought some Whole Foods peanut butter, but that location had closed (sorry, Jason!).
As far as natural peanut butters (aka Whole Foods style), I actually saw some at the Target, of all places. Apparently, in addition to their Jif brand, the Smucker’s corporation also has a line of Natural Peanut Butter under their Smucker’s brand. It was available in both “creamy” and “crunchy” — and it had the characteristic oil-floating-on-top, so it appeared to be authentic. In any case, I’ll stick with my reduced-fat peanut butter, so I’ll leave the natural peanut butter choices up to Jason.
Ok, on to the sandwich itself. I got home, and all this thinking about peanut butter really had me jonesing for a peanut butter and banana sandwich.
- Peanut butter: check
- Bread: check
- Bananas: a little green, but do-able
So, I took out two slices of wheat bread and placed them on the plate. Then, I peanut-buttered one side of the bread (being a newbie at this sandwich-type, I wasn’t sure whether I should have peanut-buttered both sides). I then sliced the banana lengthwise. And, to be honest, I felt sorry for the banana for a split-second — I guess I just wasn’t used to seeing banana-guts from a lengthwise-perspective.
I closed the sandwich and elected not to cut it in half. I sat down at the couch futon and took a bite: tasty! In some ways, I was so psyched-up about this sandwich, that the first bite was every-so-slightly underwhelming. But, once I got in the sandwich-groove, I was digging it. Mmm.
In retrospect, I may try peanut-buttering both sides of the bread next time, as the peanut-butter-to-banana ratio seemed just a touch low. In any case, it was a good sandwich; I look forward to eating them more often.
Somehow I feel relieved you’ve finally had one. Whew.
The important details! Did you get creamy or crunchy?
Also how does the low fat peanut butter compare to the regular in taste, texture, etc?
Incidentally this is a classy piece of writing: “But, once I got in the sandwich-groove, I was digging it. Mmm.”
Dear lord, you are SO pathetic. I must keep reading :)
My personal favorite is the organic no-salt peanut butter from Central Market. And I wonder what these sandwiches would taste like with an almond butter or some other nut butter.
Please… If you are going to eat a peanut Butter and banana sandwich you MUST use real butter on the bread first. Preferbly toasted!! Then you spread the peanut butter on one side of each slice. I cut the banana crossways in 1/8 thick slices. This way you can mix and match them to cover the entire slice of bread. Then cover with the other slice of bread. Hopfully you cut the banana and readied the peanut butter and butter in advance of the toast being done so as to eat the sandwich while still warm….