Why You Should Buy Powdered Peanut Butter

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Raise your hand if you have trouble stopping at the recommended two-tablespoon serving of delicious, creamy (or chunky) peanut butter. Everyone? Thought so. Two heaping mounds of peanut butter can easily equate to 1/4 or 1/3 cup (that's 4 to 6 tablespoons, 400 to 600 calories, and 32 to 48 grams of fat).

While there's nothing wrong with the real deal (in fact, peanut butter is one of the high-fat foods a healthy diet should always include), powdered peanut butter is another option that could help keep your calories in check if you struggle with portion size, while also providing the same nutty taste you're expecting.

What is powdered peanut butter?

No, it's not some strange peanut-flavored nutrition powder. Powdered peanut butter is essentially dry roasted peanuts ground into a powder with the oil extracted-the same ingredients as your OG spread, just without the ring of oil that always sits on top of the jar. You can usually find it right next to the other nut butters and jams (but FYI, unfortunately, there isn't a peanut alternative on the market yet, so no powdered almond butter).

Is powdered peanut butter healthy?

Nutritionally speaking, powdered peanut butter has fewer calories than natural peanut butter, with roughly 50 calories and 5 grams of protein per two-tablespoon serving. To compare, two tablespoons of natural peanut butter has 190 calories with approximately 8 grams of protein. While the ingredients will differ depending on the brand, I find the most palatable are those that do have a little salt and sugar added. Yes, I did say added sugar because, without it, it would essentially just be peanut flour. And let's be honest, no one is going to be fooled into thinking peanut flour mixed with water and spread on toast tastes anything like peanut butter.

How do you use powdered peanut butter?

Don't worry, I got you! As a veteran fanatic of this food trend, I've discovered the best ways to use powdered peanut butter in just about everything from sweet to savory dishes.

First things first, you must reconstitute it with water. Typically, the ratio is two tablespoons of powdered peanut butter to one tablespoon of water, which yields one tablespoon of nut butter. For a larger serving, just double it to four tablespoons of the powder and two tablespoons of water and you'll still be under 100 calories for two tablespoons of nut butter.

• Smear it on toast or pancakes, or add a dollop on top of sliced bananas or a yogurt parfait.

• Replace the peanut butter in your Pad Thai sauce with powdered nut butter.

• Incorporate it into baked goods by swapping out, say, 1/4 of the flour a recipe calls for, for powdered peanut butter. You'll amp up the protein and give it a nutty flavor.

• Sprinkle it on popcorn, on baked sweet potatoes, or even in a holiday party snack mix.