New trail food intro: Powdered peanut butter

[Daniel Collins]

For those who may not have heard of this, there is something new in the realm of backpacking nutrition – Powdered Peanut Butter ! (Edit: see posts below, apparently not a new food item)I am not affiliated in any way with the manufacturers (Bell Plantation inc.) It is called PB2. It is PURE powdered peanut butter and it tastes great, no additives at all. (Edit: except salt and sugar, sigh ..) You mix 2 tbsp of the powder with water only and you have the peanut butter, and it is almost exactly the same consistency and taste of the real thing, but with a better fat/protein ratio.
Here are the specs: One 6.5 ounce jar contains 15 12 gram servings (12 gram dry weight).
Each serving contains 45 calories with 13 calories of that being fat calories.
Each serving contains 5 grams protein and 1.5 grams of fat.
I will be making my own meusli mix pre measured for breakfasts, and this will be part of the mix.
I found this at Walmart of all places……
I wish I had the money to invest in their factory (Bell Plantation, not Walmart)
Enjoy!

(This is my second post )

[John Hillyer]

Was this on the shelf next to the jars of peanut butter or does Wal-Mart stock it in another aisle?

[Daniel Collins]

Found with the Skippy, yep, a golden gem waiting to be discovered by me.
One other thing – my jars expire 7/24/2014.
I always look ever since I drank foul rancid "powdered coconut milk" after ignoring the label.
A year shelf life is pretty good by me …

[Greg Mihalik]

There are a couple of threads on Powdered Peanut Butter.

The first one that comes up on a search is from 2008. It's been around for a while.

[john hansford]

45 kcals in a 12 gm serving works out at 107 kcals per oz. Regular peanut butter is 175 kcals per oz, so the powder is not really worth carrying apart from being easier to carry.

[d k]

I used it on my last trip, but more as a seasoning than as an ingredient or major nutrient. I think I will probably find more use for it at home, where I am not trying to keep the calories up (quite the opposite…).

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

It isn't new, but is showing up more in normal stores.

While it works greta in sauces and dried recipes – like oats, rice, etc, I have an issue with it. For one, it is missing the oil – which is good for us! Also, when they pull the oil, salt and sugar is added.

IMO, it is handy in some cases, but single serving packets of Justin's PB is still better.

[Daniel Collins]

There is salt and sugar added I see after reading the bottom of the label.

I would never have thought to search for "powdered peanut butter" to find the old posts.
Never have I seen it before. That means it didn't exist before :)
I guess then that it would not be calorie dense enough (for hiking) without the oil.
But it is pretty good at home … since I m on a low fat diet.
I will still use this in my hot meusli mix for the trail, since it will not go rancid like some other items.

[Bob Gross]

It probably won't go rancid because it has no fat in it. You really can't air dehydrate or freeze dry any food that has much fat in it. That's why it is high in protein, but not so high in calories as compared to normal peanut butter. Many backpackers in North America carry normal peanut butter in one form or another because it is a good source of calories plus protein.

If this is used in hot meusli, then it might act more as a flavoring agent.

–B.G.–

[Daniel Collins]

Exactly.
I eat thermos cooked meusli at home (Bobs Redmill) with dried blueberries and added almond butter for flavoring.
I'm going to experiment to see if this can be done in a cozy since a thermos food jar is too heavy. Meusli+ Couscous+ blueberries+ coconut sugar+ peanut butter+ powdered milk.
Plain oatmeal doesn't do it for me and I have the metabolism of a hummingbird.
The fact that it is powdered enables me to pre-mix it, unlike regular PB.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

You'll like the powdered PB in cereal – it is good that way.

It has its place :-)

[Bill Segraves]

Hmmmm. I guess they might be useful as an ingredient for some dishes, but I think I'll stick with Mother Nature's Peanut Butter Nuggets. Readily available either with or without salt, they are approximately ovoid and about 2 cm x 1 cm, easily stored, and can be eaten without further preparation. :)

Cheers,

Bill S.

[Anonymous]

Man, wish i could eat peanut butter in any form, but while i like it, my body doesn't. Peanut's nowadays are thought to contain high amounts of mycotoxins and more holistic oriented health folks think this is the reason for the growing prevalence of so called "allergies" to peanuts, rather than the peanuts themselves. I'm inclined to believe this based on some experience (below).

I didn't use to have a degree of noticeable sensitivity until i went to England and Scotland. Having heard of how expensive food was there, we decided to bring a lot of our own food. We brought a lot of vacuum packed peanut butter and almond butter sandwiches to try to save money. I vacuum packed them because i knew we would be doing a lot of traveling and our food wouldn't always be refrigerated.

Little did i know at the time of mold and mold spores in peanuts and their products…

I remember eating some of the last sandwiches on the 8th day or so, and pretty soon after boy did i have quite the reaction–broke out in some of the worst hives i've ever had and generally felt like crap on a stick. It was almost to the point of anaphylactic shock. Ever since, i've been significantly more sensitive to peanut products. However, not deathly severe like some.

Drugs are bhad and Molds are bhad.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Justin….

Yeah, my youngest had a heck of a reaction the first time he had PB. He was around 15 months old? Anyhow, he will be 19 months old this month. He ended up in the ER over that one. The scary thing is after that kind of reaction you don't know what it'll be like the next time. It could be OK, or it could be massive anaphylactic.

Due to that, our house is entirely PB and tree nut free now (he has been extensively tested after he had a second reaction to cashews a month later). Allergies are very much on the rise and there are reasons for that.

[Anonymous]

True Dat Sarah. Re: P.B., i don't know how true it is or not, but i heard that one of the problems with peanuts now, is that conventionally produced kinds often go through irradiation.

Irradiation kills lots of pathogenic microbes, but for these particular molds it actually stimulates their growth.

Theoretically (if the above is true), truly organic Peanuts and products should be better in that regard, but by the time someone develops a severe intolerance, it might be too late because any presence of that mold or spores can cause a reaction.

I hope your son stays healthy and well.

[Delmar O’Donnell]

So…getting back to the OP topic…

What does powdered PB taste like? Is it acceptable?

[Daniel Collins]

I really like the taste and I'm not easy to please.
I get more peanut flavor coming through and that I think is because of less oil content.

I'm picturing things I can do with the powder that can't be done with regular PB.
By adding less water it can be made into a thicker dough, which can then be a great middle filler for a fruit roll wrap (fruit leather).
Or make a power cookie dough with chocolate chips eaten as is.
I believe adding the proper ingredients to the dough might make a more calorie dense trail snack than some other common foods.
In any case it appears to be a good foundation for experimenting.

[Desert Dweller]

It's really good on dark chocolate bars……yum!

[Daniel Collins]

Well I think I have most of the ingredients now for my experiment – home made
PB-almond-chocolate-butterscotch power bars (power logs ?)
50/50 peanut butter powder and almond flour mixed with honey to make a heavy dough, then mixed with semi-sweet chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. (raisins-optional)
Roll into logs, roll in shredded coconut to keep it from being sticky on the outside, then slice into trail sized bars, vacuum bag.

The only "iffy" part is seeing how long almond flour lasts before rancidity sets in.
I figure 6 to 12 weeks but I will find out. That's why it's called an experiment….

[spelt with a t]

I'll take some o' them there bars…

[Luke Schmidt]

Next we need powdered Nutella! One summer camp I had my own personal jar of Nutella I'd bring to breakfast and put all over my pancakes. Everyone teased me about it until some teens made up a hilarious military style marching song about Nutella, good times.

[Daniel Collins]

I dont eat nutella but I thought it was pb and chocolate.
You might be able to make your own with the powdered PB, chocolate frosting mix or instant cocoa mix, or perhaps nestle's quick powder.
I will take a look next time I'm in the store and maybe pick up a jar.
I bet I could come close …..
For more nutrition, substitute ovaltine powder for the chocolate mix.

[William Chilton]

In Europe, at least, Nutella is hazlenut and chocolate.
In some countries, it's available in pouches like miniature Platypuses – very convenient for backpacking.

[Luke Schmidt]

Nutalla is not PB and chocolate but come to think of it you can buy that too. Good idea mixing chocolate and PB powder.

[spelt with a t]

hazelnut flour and cocoa, plus sugar would probably do it.

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