The Daily Balance

So you should probably know by now that I LOVE peanut butter. Like LOOOOOOVVVVE as in ohmygoodnessiwakeupdreamingofyou LOVE peanut butter. I love the creaminess. I love how it sticks to the roof of my mouth. I love the gooeyness and I love how it pairs up so well with almost ANYTHING (hello, banana!) and is the perfect accompaniment to freshly baked bread (along with my BFF, EVOO, of course – and no, not together, that sounds disgusting!)

You also probably know that my love for PB isn’t the most figure-friendly addiction. Yes, it contains the healthy fat from nuts, but it also packs quite bit of calories. And for those of you who know me well know that I kinda HATE moderation. Because seriously? Who can stop after ONE spoonful?

Naturally, when I heard about PB2, I was very intrigued…

A peanut butter that has substantially less fat calories than traditional PB?

From the Web site:

• PB2 is made with premium quality peanuts that are slow-roasted to our specifications and pressed to remove the fat. 
• All natural with no artificial sweeteners or preservatives.
• Same consistency as full-fat peanut butter with all of the roasted peanut flavor, but with more than 85% less fat calories.

Amount Per 2 Tablespoon Serving (*when mixed with water):
Calories 53.2
Calories from Fat 16.8

The stats:

• Total Fat - 1.87 g
• Saturated Fat - 0.34 g
• Trans Fat - 0 g
• Unsaturated Fat - 1.53 g
• Cholesterol - 0 mg
• Sodium - 77.6 mg
• Total Carbohydrate - 3.4 g
• Dietary Fiber - 0.48 g
• Sugars - 1.66 g
• Protein - 5.65 g

PB2

Impressive, no?

The nutritional stats cannot be argued, but what about the taste? Will it stand up to the traditional PB (let alone my FAVORITE, Naturally More)?

If you couldn’t tell from the photo, PB2 is basically the powdered, dehydrated form of peanut butter. You can play around a bit with the PB2 powder to water ratios until you find the consistency you like. The company suggests you use one tablespoon of water for every two tablespoons of powder.

Since PB is eaten in a variety of different ways, I decided to try PB2 in several different applications.

Stand alone:

It TASTES like peanut butter, but it doesn’t FEEL like peanut butter.

Let me explain…
The taste of the nuts? spot on! The saltiness and sweet undertone that I’ve come to love? check!

What’s missing is the consistency. It’s not gooey! It doesn’t stick to the roof of my mouth. What’s up with that PB2? You said on your website that the consistency was the same! Not cool.

With bread:
Again, the taste was spot on. But there is something to be said about a gooey PB sandwich that sticks to the roof of your mouth. This almost tastes like whipped PB. If I think of it as Peanut butter flavored spread or topping, it works.

With apple:
Now this is what I’m talkin’ about! In this application the PB2 serves as a dipping sauce and is THIS close to tasting as good as regular peanut butter.

With chocolate (i.e. vitatop, muffin, etc.):
Paired with a chocolate vitatop, the PB2 really shines. Because it’s a lighter consistency it doesn’t overpower the chocolate and has a very ‘light’ taste to it. Normally PB and chocolate can be a bit rich (not that there is any problem with that!), but the PB2 provides the PB taste we love, without making the treat too heavy.

In smoothies:
PERFECT! I cannot tell the difference. The taste is right on the money and tastes just as it would if I added regular PB. You cannot tell that there is a difference in consistency. I did notice that I had to use a bit more of the PB2 than i did in the other applications, but the total calorie count was still less than if I had used regular PB. 

In conclusion:

I’ll definitely keep PB2 around! It’s a great substitute when you’re trying to save on calories and cut some fat. I bet this would work really well in peanut butter cookies, cakes, etc.

But when I want one of my favorite PB sandwiches or waffles, I’m stickin’ (get it, STICK to the roof of your mouth?! SO CORNY!) to the original. It’s interesting because I didn’t realize just how much the consistency of PB affected the overall experience (yes, eating PB is an experience). 

Note: I also tried the PB2 Chocolate — also good! My only hang-up was the consistency! I LOVED this for dipping my apples into

Have you tried PB2? What’s your favorite way to use it?

15 Responses to “‘Try it’ – PB2 Review – Good, but not enough GOO!”

1. Mara @ What's For Dinner? said:

   You’ve gotta try it mixed in oatmeal. Just mix the powder straight into oats or other hot cereal, and its AWESOME! Im’ not a fan of it mixed up and put on stuff though.

   Posted on March 31, 2009 at 10:32 am | Reply
2. shopchantal said:

   I can’t believe there is someone out there that loves PB as much as me. Actually, I think you win b/c I don’t have the dreams. . . yet.
   I saw no love for the crunchy! What’s up with that. It has it’s place, no?
   Will give this a try. Thanks. Was it a regular grocery store item?

   Posted on March 31, 2009 at 10:35 am | Reply
3. Anais said:

   We don’t have PB2 where I live (sigh), but I’ve read a lot about it. The ONLY thing I wonder about (and maybe you’ll have noticed it too) is, how filling is it? As long as I have peanut butter in my breakfast, I feel like it could tide me over forever (seriously: toast, peanut butter, banana and milk have held me over for 8 HOURS once – not on purpose). So I’m just wondering if by replacing peanut butter with PB2, you might lose some of that feel-full factor. The calorie-count IS amazing though…I guess it’d be good to eat when you just want the taste and not the health properties of peanut butter

   Oh…I also LOVE peanut butter

   Posted on March 31, 2009 at 11:24 am | Reply
4. Lesley said:

   Thanks for the review … I haven’t yet tried PB2 but have often wondering about getting some.

   Posted on March 31, 2009 at 11:26 am | Reply
5. K said:

   Thanks for the review! I’d love to get my hands on some for summer smoothies (chocolate soy milk and PB?! I’m thinking we have a winner!)!

   Posted on March 31, 2009 at 11:54 am | Reply
6. Jaime said:

   I’ve been sitting on my PB2 review for quite some time because I felt like I had a more negative opinion than most people do.

   I find the taste a bit off…not bad off…just not right on. And I totally agree about the texture thing. So far, I like it only on apples and melted on top of oatmeal. Having said that I haven’t tried it in baking or anything yet….which is why I haven’t posted a review….I need to give it a fair chance.

   

   Posted on March 31, 2009 at 12:19 pm | Reply
7. Run Sarah said:

   I’d love to try it, I just have to figure out where to find it! Part of what makes PB so yummy to me is it’s dense, filling taste…I’d be worried this would be a bit diluted. I can see it being nice to mix in for marinades etc.

   Posted on March 31, 2009 at 12:20 pm | Reply
8. Leng said:

   Hi Shannon! Thanks for visiting my blog and commenting! I’m browsing through it right now and am finding so many interesting things. I think your site is fantastic and I love it! I think we share similar ideas of eating–why hold yourself back from eating that spoonful of pb. A girl wants what she wants.

   I’ve been soOo curious about PB2. Your detailed analysis was very helpful. I definitely agree that it’d probably do well in baked goodies.

   Posted on March 31, 2009 at 4:49 pm | Reply
9. Michelle @ Find Your Balance said:

   Hmm I’ve been hearing a lot about this in the blogger world. Sounds like it has a place but nothing can replace my Teddie’s Creamy

   Posted on March 31, 2009 at 7:45 pm | Reply
10. Kara said:

    Oooh thanks for the review! I’ve been seeing this stuff all over the place!!

    Posted on March 31, 2009 at 9:40 pm | Reply
11. Elina said:

    Thanks for the review! I’ve seen it around the blogworld but I feel like it just appeared out of nowhere and noone explained whether the stuff was good or not. I still feel like it’s super processed stuff (any artifial additivies) so I’ll probably stick with the real thing. I love pb!!

    Posted on April 2, 2009 at 1:19 pm | Reply
12. FitBuff.com's Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog said:

    Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog Carnival 96…

    Monday is Blog Carnivals Day. A Blog Carnival is basically a collection of articles or blog posts, all relating to a similar subject, that are gathered together for your viewing pleasure. You can quickly and conveniently see a list of Article Titles a…

    Posted on April 6, 2009 at 8:48 am | Reply
13. Daily Delish - Rudi makes Mondays a lil bit sweeter ;) | The Daily Balance said:

    [...] enjoyed my bagel toasted with PB2 (read my review of PB2 here) spread on top. Rudi makes one mean bagel! Check out that doughy, raisiny [...]

    Posted on May 4, 2009 at 8:21 pm | Reply
14. rickkgoh said:

    Love the toast bread with peanut butter. Don’t sandwich the toast bread. Just spread the peanut butter on the bread and wallah!!!

    Posted on March 8, 2010 at 1:18 pm | Reply
15. Lisa said:

    I love PB2. Of coarse its not as good as the real deal, but look at the calorie difference. I mean real PB is loaded with fat and calories. PB2 has hardly any calories, so who could complain! Its good enough for us dieters and I am thrilled to have it in my kitchen. I am a big fan of it and eat it every day and I am loosing weight big time. why would I ever complain?

    Posted on October 18, 2011 at 6:52 pm | Reply