Peanut Butter
Peanut butter is extremely pro inflammatory, so I have to limit my consumption because I have an inflammatory condition and even the GOOD peanut butters can cause me problems if I eat too much of it. However, it's a popular vegetarian source of protein and -- for MY purposes -- excellent pituitary support, which is the main reason I still sometimes eat peanut products.
There is a really huge difference between the non-organic and the organic varieties. I do MUCH better with the organic varieties.
If you read the book Diet for a Small Planet, it talks a LOT about enriching foods. She later said she regretted making it sound like it was hard to get enough protein with a vegetarian diet because for most people in good health, it's really NOT.
But I and one of my sons have a genetic disorder and hadn't yet been diagnosed, so her enriched protein suggestions were very helpful to me. The one I remember best is enriched peanut butter.
You add powdered milk and a LITTLE oil to peanut butter and stir vigorously. How much? That's partly a matter of taste, though you could look up her quantities in her book if you want some figures.
I haven't done this in a lot of years, but if I were to do this today, I would use organic peanut butter and probably coconut oil. I don't recall what kind of oil I used to use.
I gave up white bread when pregnant with my first child, so he learned at a very young age to make himself peanut butter sandwiches with whole wheat bread and I felt FINE about him eating enriched peanut butter on whole wheat as a food he could get for himself at a young age.
He also learned to eat peanut butter on apple slices when he was in daycare or preschool in Germany. That was something they served and apples are good for pH balance.
You can also potentially add banana slices or other fruit to a peanut butter sandwich. I used to keep All Fruit spread in the house as a substitute for jelly because it's not so sugary, but my kid didn't eat PB and J sandwiches. He just liked his peanut butter sandwiches plain.
There is a really huge difference between the non-organic and the organic varieties. I do MUCH better with the organic varieties.
If you read the book Diet for a Small Planet, it talks a LOT about enriching foods. She later said she regretted making it sound like it was hard to get enough protein with a vegetarian diet because for most people in good health, it's really NOT.
But I and one of my sons have a genetic disorder and hadn't yet been diagnosed, so her enriched protein suggestions were very helpful to me. The one I remember best is enriched peanut butter.
You add powdered milk and a LITTLE oil to peanut butter and stir vigorously. How much? That's partly a matter of taste, though you could look up her quantities in her book if you want some figures.
I haven't done this in a lot of years, but if I were to do this today, I would use organic peanut butter and probably coconut oil. I don't recall what kind of oil I used to use.
I gave up white bread when pregnant with my first child, so he learned at a very young age to make himself peanut butter sandwiches with whole wheat bread and I felt FINE about him eating enriched peanut butter on whole wheat as a food he could get for himself at a young age.
He also learned to eat peanut butter on apple slices when he was in daycare or preschool in Germany. That was something they served and apples are good for pH balance.
You can also potentially add banana slices or other fruit to a peanut butter sandwich. I used to keep All Fruit spread in the house as a substitute for jelly because it's not so sugary, but my kid didn't eat PB and J sandwiches. He just liked his peanut butter sandwiches plain.