Exciting Ways to Eat Peanut Butter

So confession, peanut butter is essentially the love of my life. Creamy or crunchy, it's great both ways. Any time. Day or night. By itself or as an accompaniment. The best part is it's healthy. Peanut butter is rich in protein, and the healthy oils help keep you full longer. If you eat peanut butter, it may even help you keep down your weight and maintain a trim figure. Here are some of my favorite ways to eat peanut butter.

By itself. I've done this ever since I was a child, so I guess there's a bit of nostalgia about it, but I love to just eat a spoonful of peanut butter slowly off a metal spoon. It's like a lollipop, but even tastier and more fulfilling. However, don't go overboard on this one. Once you get to double dipping and eating spoonful after spoonful, it just gets out of hand.

Peanut butter and peanut butter sandwich, folded. It's extraordinary what a difference there is between a cut and folded sandwich. A folded sandwich is tastier every time for me, although this might not be the case for everyone. This is a very simple and easy to make snack. Spread peanut butter (you determine the thickness based on your taste) on a slice of sandwich and fold it in half lengthwise. That is it. Almost too simple, right? But so addictive. A wonderful late night snack with a tall, cold glass of milk.

Peanut butter and honey sandwich. Want a little more with your peanut butter than just the taste of bread and peanuts? Drizzle some honey on one slice of bread and slather another slice of bread with peanut butter. Bring the two together and you have some serious bliss. I don't know how it works, but it seems like the honey sort of crystallizes in the bread, because it gives it a chewier texture that is perfectly sweet.

Old-fashioned PBJ. Of course, there is peanut butter and jelly, the old-fashioned mainstay. This one almost doesn't need introduction. Everyone's had it in their lunch box as a kid, and some of us have just never gotten over it. I'll take a PBJ over a steak most any day.

Peanut butter noodles. This one is a wilder one, and some people like it, some people don't. But I love it. Take some plain spaghetti and drizzle it with a bit of soy sauce, sesame seed oil, and black Asian vinegar. Then take a spoonful of peanut butter and stir it all together until the peanut butter is mixed in with the sauces into a peanutty sauce. This dish can be either eaten warm or cold, based on your preference. Delicious!

Peanut butter and celery sticks. A delicious and wonderfully healthy way to get your vegetables and protein all together. Celery sticks, with their cool crispness, perfectly offset the rich sweetness of peanut butter. Just make sure the celery sticks don't have too much water on them, or dipping might be more difficult.

The ways to eat peanut butter are probably endless, but these are just a couple ways to get started. Enjoy!