Cutting Calories in Peanut Butter Sandwiches

Daily Diet Makeovers

Believe it or not, there is a way to cut calories in peanut butter sandwiches.  

Oddly enough, it's about impossible to trim calories from the peanut butter itself.  Lower calorie/lower fat peanut butters contain about the same amount of calories as the full-blown versions of peanut butter.

Reduced calorie versions generally contain about 190 calories per serving vs 210 calories for the regular versions of peanut butter. A serving of peanut butter equals about 2 Tablespoons, which is about the size of a golf ball.

Packed with about 8 grams of protein per serving, it makes a dandy substitute for meat.  Other healthy benefits include fiber, folate and potassium.  

Peanut Butter Foodnotes™:

• Peanut butter is a common food allergen
• Caution should be exercised when giving peanut butter to young children as it's a common food that can cause choking and/or death.  If your child is under 5, be sure to ask your doctor for guidance before introducing peanut butter into your child's daily diet.

Lower Calorie Recipe for Peanut Butter Sandwich:

Begin with either diet bread or a lower calorie bread such as Sunbeam bread which contains about 55 calories per slice.

Measure out peanut butter.

At this point, if the peanut butter is spread onto the sandwich, it will contain about 320 calories if using a 55-calorie per slice bread.  If you prefer a sweeter spread, mix peanut butter with a no calorie sweetener OR use this trick:

Mix 1 Tablespoon of peanut butter with 1/2 a banana, then spread onto sandwich bread.  This peanut butter sandwich contains about 250 calories and is ultra filling.  The addition of bananas adds a natural sweetness and fills in the empty space where the 'other' 1 Tablespoon of peanut butter would have resided.

If you like peanut butter and jelly, add the jelly instead of the banana for about the same number of calories per serving.

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