PB + J = A Love Story

Better'n Peanut Butter meets Sugar-free Blackberry Jam through fate and human hunger in the kitchen.





Arnold's Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins meets up with the new couple.





Better'n Peanut Butter spreads two tablespoons on thick. Arnold's is impressed.





Sugar-free wants to join the fun. She adds a tablespoon of her wisdom into the conversation.





Always late to the party, Organic Carrots Chips and her best bud, Walden Farms Ranch Dressing round out the crowd. Of course, old reliable, Iced Tea is there to chaperone these crazy kids!

Let's rewind back now:

I hadn't craved a PB+J since I was a kid. However, I'm a fool for peanut butter. I hate chocolate, but would find myself eating peanut butter cups (pre-diet, of course) just so I could get to the creamy PB goodness.

A couple weeks ago, my kid hit the pre-determined age where the pediatrician deemed it safe for her to have it. Well, we went PB+J crazy! For at least a week, my poor daughter had one everyday for lunch. Don't get me wrong, she loved it, but I try to give her more variety in her meals. This PB love fest left me hungry.... for the all-american kid's sandwich. I knew I couldn't eat a regular, full-fat one so I started to look around for a way to make a diet-friendly, but full-flavored version.

Ta-Da!

As we speak, I'm blowing off cleaning up the usual havoc my toddler has wreaked in our living room. I normally reorganize the house while she naps. Not today. I'm still sitting at the kitchen table with my empty plate beside me! I just ate this sandwich about an hour ago and had to share this news immediately with my fellow dieters. It was fab-u-lous!

Here's the POINTS breakdown:

Better'n Peanut Butter - 2 Tbsp= 2 POINTS
Sugar-free Smucker's Jelly - 1 Tbsp = 0 POINTS
Arnold's Sandwich Thin = 1 POINTS

There you go, a yummy Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich for 3 POINTS! This peanut butter (Better'n Peanut Butter) has got to be THE best PB that I have ever tasted. No joke. It is a little pricey (at about five bucks per jar), but it is worth it. I'm frugal and even I would have paid that much for a tablespoon or two of it! Ok, well, maybe not five bucks, but still, it is delicious.

I do have to warn you though, this sandwich can get messy. If you want less mess, try it with some Weight Watcher's bread to avoid altering the POINTS value. I haven't tried it with the bread yet so I cannot say much about it.

Add Carrot Chips instead of Potato Chips for a 0 POINT add-on. If you are a dipper like me, try Walden Farms dressing. I'm partial to the Ranch, though they have a variety of flavors. The dressing is 0 POINTS. So there you have a whole meal for 3 POINTS including the beverage, 0 POINT Iced Tea.*

I know what I'll be having again for lunch tomorrow!

~~~~~
Side Dish:
* Iced Tea is only 0 POINTS if it is unsweetened or diet. If you add sugar or flavoring to it, it will have a POINTS value. See my earlier post on Iced Tea to see how I coped with it.

Extra Helpings (aka Editor's Note):
I made another PB+J sandwich this afternoon for lunch. You will have a drastically less messy sammy if you only put the PB on one side of the sandwich thin. Smear the other half with the jam or jelly. I guess having the jelly directly on the bread makes it stick in place instead of sliding onto the plate with each delectable bite!