Official Peanut Butter & Jelly Thread

“Introduction - Sometimes a good peanut butter & jelly sandwich (PB&J)is hard to beat for a meal or snack at home, on the road, or on the trail...and fairly inexpensive at that!

Basics - I prefer crunchy peanut butter, but smooth will do. I like some of the natural styles, but find myself eating more Skippy brand than any other. I like strawberry jam or grape jelly the best (Knotts or Smuckers is OK). Wheat bread works for me, but will take most any grain or white bread.

Sandwich Making - If you spread a layer of peanut butter on both sides of the bread and put the jelly in between, it keeps the jelly from ruining the bread while waiting to be eaten. I usually use ziplock bags to carry my PB&J, but my friend seems to be happier with wrapping his PB&J in foil.

No-Cook Meals - Make two or three big PB&J sandwiches on your favorite bread and wrap them in foil. Then take them on your overnight hike. In camp, don't worry about sitting around camp for meals. Find a good view nearby camp and enjoy your PB&J along with a view.

Got Milk! - I love to drink milk with my PB&J. If you do also, consider freezing some water in a 16 ounce nalgene bottle. Then by lunch time it is thawed, but very cold. Then add powdered milk and shake it up good. I think it works pretty good and is better than having no milk at all.

Watching your calories? - Well, so am I. Sometimes I make a half PB&J and go easy on the peanut butter and jelly. I find it is very satisfying as a snack and really doesn't have that many calories.

Dunking - OK, this may be controversial and not for younger audiences, but I like to dunk my PB&J in milk. Call it my "comfort food" if you like...but don't try and stop me!

On the road? - Before a road trip I will make up a batch of PB&J sandwiches and stow them in the ice chest. Amazing how many of those things disappear during the day. Everyone seems to like a PB&J as a snack as well as a meal. They also keep well...much better than most sandwiches would.

Nutrition - If you choose the ingredients properly, a PB&J can be a better health choice than many other snacks or meals.

Variations on the trail - A loaf of bread doesn't pack too well on the trail. However, you can get peanut butter packets and jelly packets that pack pretty well (note: some jelly packets will burst at higher altitudes...pack in a ziplock). Then use flour tortillas, bagels, or pita bread instead of regular bread. A PBJ "taco" is a pretty good trail lunch.

Cheap Date - I would not recommend PB&J sandwiches on the first date. Work up to it gradually. Make sure you have someone who is worthy before revealing your PB&J secrets.

Kissing - Oh, yes...Don't kiss someone who is allergic to peanut butter after eating a PB&J. You could kill them.

Please post your PB&J tips and stuff!
last edited: 12/11/05 5:44:40 PM”

“I love the tip about spreading peanut butter on both slices to prevent the jelly from soaking in the the bread. As of late I have been substituting a PBJ for my afternoon milky way bar craving”

“PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME!
PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME!
PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME!
PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME!
PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME!”

“One of my favorite lunches... PB & J on crackers! (Triscuits for me, but choose your own).

I buy the PB & J packets from Enertia Trailfoods, http://www.trailfoods.com/peanbutcomsq.html, they are the perfect size for an on-the-trail lunch & keep forever.

I also buy the Enertia Dry 26% whole milk, http://www.trailfoods.com/26wholemilk.html, I use it for cooking, etc., but I will admit to using it to mix up a cool, refreshing glass of milk in which to dunk my PB crackers!”

“Trader Joe's has very nice jams.
They are low in natural sugar and you can actually taste the fruit instead of the usual commercial stuff that is so sweet with "corn sweetner" than it stings the teeth.

Natural peanut butter is the way to go.
The other stuff is loaded with Crisco.”

“I'm particular about my sandmiches.

spread to the EDGE!!! Nothing sucks worse than having that last corner bite and theres nothing but two pieces of crust!”

“Going to have to look into the Enerita Food packets!! Good stuff!”

“There's the sandwich and then there's the sammich. I'm not big on the jelly thing, but I like my peanut butter open-faced on toast.”

“That's what I ate for supper___creamy peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches. Now I'm about ready for some hot chocolate.”

“hehe my "im out of money" food, dont get tired of it either.

great for breakfast!”

“Peanut butter cookies are for breakfast, dipped in milk!
last edited: 12/11/05 6:48:05 PM”

“Phil, I'm headed to Riverside this week for a couple days on a biz trip, Tue thru Thur probably, shoot me an email if you're relativly close & we can hook up, I can bring you some "test samples" of the Enertia products, I buy them by the case to get a deal so have some to spare!”

“i love peanut butter and honey on toasted oatbran bread for breakfast... sometimes i get wild and throw slices of banana in. I buy the fresh ground at my organic food market in small batches often...it does not have the oil separation that you see with the commercial natural peanut butters. Lstely I have started buying the cashew butter...o my gosh........

For lunch (and would work for the trail or paddling trips) the Blue Diamond Natural Almond Nut thin crackers spread with pnut butter and a few craisins sprinkled on. sweet, salty, nutty and crunchy....pretty fun.

My son used to love peanut butter and granny smith apple sancwiches when he was a little kid...slice apples thin, spread pnut butter on one and top with another slice of apple....he still does it at 23....i do also at 56....:)”

“

The MRE PB, Jelly, & Cheese packs work great on the trail!
I've been using them on a couple of trips now. Yum Yum!”

“Peanut butter with HONEY is good too!


if you make it a head of time, the honey crystalizes in the bread and makes it even better!”

“Slice a banana lengthways. If it is a long one, cut the lengths into 3-4" pieces. Spread a generous amount of peanut butter on the flat surfaces of the banana pieces. Enjoy. Makes a great dinner appetizer.
last edited: 12/11/05 7:36:40 PM”

“Elvis loved those PB & Nanner sandwiches. ;-)”

“if you make it a head of time, the honey crystalizes in the bread and makes it even better!

OMG that is my most favoritest part about PB and Honey!!!!”

“Add some corn flour, and you have Moose Goo.......”

“Just made up a batch of Moose Goo, BackSlacker, due to your post.

2 parts Corn Flour
2 parts Honey
1 part Peanut Butter

Mix till it stops sticking to the bowl and sticks to itself.


Only problem is I just discovered all my squeeze tubes have disintergrated. LOL

I put it into a ziplock.”

“I like dunking them in soup. Chicken Noodle is the best.”

“Cool SS....that stuff is goooooood!!!”

“Phil, great thread!!

I am a huge PB&J fan, I eat most days for breakfast. Its one of the few things that stays with me for a reasonable time. Travels well (love the double PB trick) and stays fresh for a long time. they are also my fav race food. Cant beat em.”

“i don't like to buy the jars of natural pb, as i don't like mixing in the oil
i do LOVE the kind at the health food store that is just fresh ground peanuts and you can chill it before it has a chance to separate”

“PB&J Rocks!

But, not crunchy. If I want peanuts, i'll have peanuts. If I want peanut butter, I'll take it without chunks.

but, yeah, its an awesome trail food.”

“wanderer - shoot me an email at rosenkrantz@csupomona.edu

Where are you going to be? What is your schedule? I live about 40 miles from Riverside.”

“I can skip the jelly. Gotta be crunchy PB, and my favorite is with dill pickles. Whole grain bread for sure, the more bird seed in it the better! A day without peanut butter is a day without joy. I've had a PB sandwich for lunch almost every day of my life since I was old enough to eat it, and some days I just get so hungry for PB that I have another one for dinner!”

“I've got some MRE PB & cheese spread - from 1997. I wonder how long they'll last. Testers, anyone?”

“i like almond butter! but pb & honey is purty good...that reminds me of my first hiking trips when i was like 3 or 4 years old, that's what we'd always take. has to be creamy, i have a fear of crunchy that goes back to kindergarten when i thought i had that on my sandwich, but really i was chewing on my tooth that came out. YUM!”

“BowlderGal's initials are PB&J (although in a slightly different order)!!”

“In my youth it was Skippy crunchy and mayo (don't knock it 'til you've tried it) with a glass of Nestle's Quik chocolate. That was pretty much everyday for 17 years. Now that my tastes are more refined, it's Skippy Super Chunk with boysenberry or blackberry preserves on whole wheat bread, BIG glass of milk and Lays potato chips. I have been known to eat PB for all 3 meals in a day.”

“I enjoy the generic strawberry preserves. It usually has at least one whole strawberry in the jar. I mate this with the generic smooth peanut butter. When I am really going all out I put potato chips between the jelly and peanut butter.”

“I almost put my daughter up for adoption when she told me she didn't like PB&J sammiches. I guess she's sweet enough without them.

”

“Tanks StoveStomper. ' guess they're gettin' toward the end of their life, but still edible - cough, cough.”

“*singing*
PEEEA-NUUUT! Pea-nut Butter! (and jelly)
PEEEA-NUUUT! Pea-nut Butter! (and jelly)


cute kids Cloudwalker!”

“and they love PB sandwiches, check out this link-- here's a way for them to earn $10,000 towards college for a little creativity in PB!!!



http://www.jif.com/promos/contest/entry.asp
last edited: 12/12/05 2:37:23 PM”

“The girl is dang cute, but I would keep an eye on the boy. I see a bit of the little devil in his eyes. LOL”

“pink - Some interesting ideas on the JIF contest page...hmmmm”

“oddly enough, I hated PB and J as a kid...now I eat them a lot (cheap and yummy)

Now I like it so much our ginea pig is named peanut butter :)”

“PB and chocolate chip sandwiches.”

“PB and moonpies...”

“and an RC cola”