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I happen to be a fan of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Often times I make my own peanut butter by grinding peanuts, almonds or even cashews in my Magic Bullet. I add a drop or two of olive oil for consistency and there I have it…peanut butter.

Although I knew the peanut butter was healthy, the jury was still out on the jelly. Organic jelly is nice, but I still would prefer something a little more natural.

Dr. Oz to the PB&J

I was watching the Dr. Oz show the one day and he suggested using fruit on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches instead of jelly. What a light bulb moment. Plain old fruit and peanut butter, what a nice combination.

After all, I love peanut butter and bananas, and my daughter likes putting peanut butter on her apples. Why go out and buy jelly when you can just slice fruit on a peanut butter sandwich?

Alternative to Peanut Butter and Jelly

So, to try it out, I packed my finicky daughter a peanut butter and sliced apple sandwich on whole grain bread for lunch. The healthy peanut butter and apple sandwich were followed by a healthy snack of peeled Clementines. I waited until she came home from school to hear the verdict. I wasn’t sure if she dumped the lunch and opted for school-issued “hot fries.”

When she came home I asked her about her lunch. She said that she liked it and she ate everything I packed for her. Whoo Hoo. That meant the peanut butter and jelly alternative was a hit.  I was so pleased to finally be able to prepare a healthy lunch that she would actually eat.

Isn’t it amazing how small things like peanut butter and fruit sandwiches can make a mom so happy?


About the author: Felicia has learned the hard way that health, whether good or bad, is a result of daily choices and habits. On this blog, Felicia shares what she’s learned and the healthier choices she now makes as a result of her new knowledge. She hopes to encourage others to experiment to find alternative solutions to nagging problems (she’s also is a bit of a tree hugger and likes to share ways to lighten the toxic burden on the environment).

in Nutrition, Recipe

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Marvin the Muscle Maker Man September 15, 2011, 8:29 am

    hi! i was just looking for this on google. I am curently in the process of elimanating certain food from my diet to help me remove fat from my stomach area.

    I know that extra sugar in the body often gets converted to fat. So i am trying to trim any additional sugar i can. Thank you for your suggestion or reminder post.

    Unfortunately i am allergic to bananas… so that option is out for me but i can use apples or other frutis. Thanks for sharing.

  • Cathleen July 24, 2011, 7:12 pm

    I haven’t heard of anyone talking about peanut and bananas in a while. I used to have a favorite sandwich of peanut butter, bananas and bacon. Now-a-days I skip the bacon.

    • Felicia July 24, 2011, 8:20 pm

      Cathleen, it’s so funny that you should mention peanut butter and bananas. Recently I’ve been doing a lot of reading about metabolism and weight loss. I have a few stubborn pounds that just want to keep hanging around that I want to get rid of.

      What the experts are saying is that we should eat within 30 minutes of waking up in order to jump start our metabolism. Being one who waits about 6 hours before her first meal, eating within 30 minutes is torture. However, I find that I can stomach a tablespoon of peanut butter along with a banana within 30 minutes of waking up. It has been my early morning ritual (since I get up somewhere between 5:30 and 6:00 am).

      I’m a huge fan of peanut butter (especially home made) and nothing goes better with it than a banana. As far as bacon goes…well, I’m not a bacon fan, but I guess that can work also.