Happy Peanut Butter and Jelly Day!

I love PB&J.  It regularly makes it into my routine as breakfast, snack and lunch...once it a blue moon, it will even work for supper!  In my house, we have no less than half a dozen jars of peanut butter at any given time.  My sweet MIL makes homemade jelly, so we always have that too.  Makes the best PB&J anywhere.  Of course, my real favorite is PB&B - peanut butter and banana. 

Peanut butter is an awesome food to add to your diet.  It packs in protein, mostly good fats, tons of vitamins and minerals...and it tastes great.  It also makes other things taste great (like veggies and noodles with spicy peanut sauce).  Peanut butter is satisfying, so a little goes a long way toward helping you feel fuller longer.  Two tablespoons is a serving and provides about 190 calories and 8 delicious grams of protein.

I thought on this most auspicious day, it would be fun to share three yummy recipes from around the web to encourage you to celebrate deliciously...enjoy!

PB&J Smoothie from BHG

Gluten-free PB&B Pancakes from Cooking Light

 

 PB&J Overnight Oats from Eating Bird Food

These are all great ways to start your day...of course, around here we have breakfast for supper about once a week, so...yeah.  Happy PB&J Day!  Be healthy!

Disclosure: The National Peanut Board is one of my clients.  They're awesome and represent America's peanut farmers.  They didn't pay me to write this post and it is not officially affiliated with them.  I wrote it because I really do <3 PB&E (E=Everything). If you do want to keep up with my official peanut posts, follow me on Twitter and Pinterest!

Breakfast is for Champions

Mornings can be hectic, busy times, can't they?  Especially if you're not a "morning person".  I happen to be a morning person and wake up ready to conquer most days.  I also wake up starving!  Always have.  So breakfast is an automatic part of my life.  I don't usually go on very long without taking a moment to eat something.  Not everyone feels this way, I realize, but it's no less important to make it a habit.  Research has shown that people who eat breakfast regularly have a healthier weight and are more alert and do better in school (work too, I bet!).  Not only that, fueling your body and your brain can help you feel better physically AND emotionally...certainly leading to a much better day.

I've been working with my little guy to get him used to breakfast in the morning.  Each morning, he has a nutritious start - usually a whole grain infant cereal with breast milk and pureed fruit (ex. apricots, mango, or bananas) or vegetable (ex. sweet potato).  Even though he's just 7 months old, healthy habits like this one can begin in childhood.

Breakfast doesn't have to be complicated.  It can be super simple and still be super nutritious!  Here are a few easy ideas:

• Peanut butter on whole grain toast with sliced banana
• Boiled egg, 1/2 avocado, sliced orange
• Whole grain cereal with milk of choice and an apple
• Protein rich smoothie (simple like this: 1 cup frozen berries, 1 cup milk, 2 Tbs peanut butter, 6 oz plain Greek yogurt, handful of greens - blend and drink)

Check out my Pinterest board (Breakfast is for Champions) for more ideas - some are a bit indulgent-Saturday-morning-dishes, but most are healthy options.  What is your healthy go-to breakfast of choice?