superfitbabe

Want to eat a giant jar of peanut butter without the saturated fat and caloric surpluses? You found your match.

Don’t get me wrong, peanut butter is very healthy for you and is much better than what science says (“Avoid saturated fat like the plague!”) and those fat free peanut butter dupes that taste like condensed milk. However, it is known to be a binge food for health nuts and is easy to overdo, especially if you’ve been diagnosed with a low fat diet. While I only use it sparingly, I like to use powdered peanut butter and peanut flour to replicate the same flavor!

Powdered peanut butter and peanut flour are much lower in calories, lower in overall fat and higher in protein for the same measurements in comparison to regular peanut butter. Peanut flour is also a good substitute in pastries and baking, but tastes grittier and much grosser than PB2 if you use it the same way. Don’t do it!

It may not look peanut-buttery, but TRUST ME, it is like dipping a spoon into a rich, peanut butter jar with a hint of sweetness and soft flavor from the sweet potato. It also works AMAZINGLY as frosting for pastries and pancakes or as a dip for apples, strawberries, cookies, carrots or sweet potato wedges—because you can never have too many sweet potatoes! Realistically, okay, you can, but you know what I mean!

RECIPE

• 1 small-medium or medium sweet potato
• A little more than a cup of cooked kabocha or Japanese pumpkin, cut in pieces (does not have to be finely chopped unless you have a weak or small blender)
• 2-4 TBSP almond or coconut milk
• 2-3 heaping TBSP powdered peanut butter or regular nut or peanut butter
• 1 TBSP peanut flour or more powdered peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla bean powder or 1 tsp maple or vanilla extract
• 2 TBSP Stevia; if you use another sweetener you may have to up the measurements
• Opt: protein powder, almonds, chocolate chips, coconut, raisins, etc.

PROCEDURE

1. Cook your kabocha and sweet potato in any way until very soft.
2. Let the sweet potato and kabocha cool for 5-10 minutes, depending on how you cooked them.
3. Unpeel the sweet potato and kabocha as best as you can.
4. Chop the sweet potato and kabocha in blendable pieces.
5. Blend all ingredients until completely mixed. If too thick, add more coconut milk. If too thin, add more kabocha or sweet potato. If needed, add more sweetener or peanut powder to mask the kabocha flavor.
6. Scrape the mixture out of the blender and serve.

Do you tend to overdo it on peanut butter? What is your favorite food to dip peanut butter with?