Keep calm and have a spoonful of peanut butter - A PB2 VS PB REVIEW

Most of you will probably know of the infamous PB2 by Bell Plantation. 

For those of you who don't .. where have you been living? 

Haha but seriously, PB2 is basically a dehydrated powdered form of peanut butter which becomes peanut butter once you mix it in with water. Quoted by the labelling it is made of 'quality roasted peanuts before having 85% of its fat and oil removed'. As a result is is much lower in calories and fat that normal peanut butter (45 calories vs ~100 calories, and 1.5g vs 10.3g fat per tablespoon) so this is perfect for all you guys trying to cut down the calories. Sounds pretty awesome doesn't it? Yep you should get on this stuff.

To make it, it's simply 2 tablespoons of PB2 powder + 1 tablespoons of water = 1 tablespoon of PB2 peanut butter. 

And if I'm correct in making some rough calculations then its standard 184g jar of PB2 powder would make around 15 or so tablespoons of peanut butter. Not a lot is it? Especially when it does not come cheap. In Australian supermarkets on average normal PB usually sells in jars for $1 per 100g. Unfortunately we don't sell PB2 in Australia (boo), so it has to be bought online.
Jump onto eBay.com.au and the cheapest for me (including shipping) would range from $14-$16 for a 184g jar of PB2 powder. iHerb.com sells it for $5-$6 not including shipping. 

Don't get me wrong I still love my PB2, but today I've decided to make a quick comparison of it with a jar of smooth peanut butter by one of Australia's biggest food manufacturer's Kraft.

K, go.

First off how can you go wrong with something that tastes close enough to peanut butter and is literally half the amount of calories? It's a perfect guilt-free substitute and has 90% of the same sweet and salty undertones of traditional peanut butter. 

I don't know about you but I could eat it all day, every day, any where on any thing. Reow.

Anyway.

Because of PB2's powdered form you can:
a) use it as a flour (very moisture absorbent however) or stir it straight into your yoghurts/smoothies/oatmeal
b) control the consistency/texture of it to your liking by adjusting the water quantity. So it's versatility from becoming a butter solid to a saucy liquid is a win for me.

However some of the cons I found with PB2 (other than pricing) include the following:
- It takes time to make which sometimes I don't have (or I'm lazy..)
- As you can see in the photo above, when made as per label it is not as smooth as normal PB (um false packaging excuse me? haha) and I found it much thicker and chewier in texture. While this can be fixed by adding more water it does annoy me how I have to watch how much extra water to add or else I just spend more time juggling back and forth between flour and liquid to get the right consistency. #ragequit.
- PB2 can't be heated. From previous experiences I've found that this ends up separating the mixture and ruining it overall, so best stick to normal PB when needing it heated in recipes. 
- It does not have the same creamy sticky/gooeyness + that delectable distinct after-taste that traditional PB gives. Do you guys know what I mean?
- In terms of nutritional content, normal peanut butter whoops the butt(er) of PB2 because most of it's health benefits has been stripped from processing just to cut down on calories. PB2 does not provide the same dosage of essential unsaturated fats, heart healthy vitamins and proteins that a tablespoon of generic PB can give you, WHICH could help you stay full with reduced cravings. 

All in all I'll get to the point.
PB2 is good but not good enough at times (especially when it doesn't stick to the top of your mouth like after you eat traditional peanut butter!). And although it's still a great alternative to incorporate into your life don't forget the occasional dosage of normal PB to get those good fats into your system! 
Oh yeah and don't forget to try the chocolate PB2 as well.

The Gluttonous Nutritionist.