It's a Powder! It's Peanut Butter! It's Mighty Nut!

Powdered peanut butter has become a ubiquitous product in the health & fitness community and among general lovers of nut butters.  You're probably wondering how the heck a thick, sticky substance like peanut butter can possibly be powdered, right?  This product is created by pressing roasted peanuts to remove 85% of the fat and calories.  What's left is dehydrated into a powder with more protein per gram than regular peanut butter and only 45-50 calories per 2 TBSP serving.

One of my favorite brands of peanut butter, Peanut Butter & Co, has recently jumped on the powdered wagon with their Mighty Nut powdered peanut butters.  They come in four flavors - original, chocolate, flax & chia, and vanilla.  I had an opportunity to try three of these flavors and as I am already a huge fan of powdered peanut butter, I was excited to put this stuff through the paces!

 

Here are some nutritional facts for ya.  As a comparison, regular peanut butter typically has between 180-200 calories per 2 TBSP serving and about 16g of fat.

The gist of all powdered peanut butters is similar.  Mix it with any liquid of your choosing - water, fruit juice, milk, etc, and it takes on a peanut buttery consistency.  You can vary the amount of liquid used to achieve a thicker or thinner consistency depending on how you want to use it.

We use a lot of powdered peanut butter in our house.  I've even made a filling and satisfying dessert out of mixing up a serving using water and then folding that into some plain or flavored Greek yogurt.  It's an absolutely satisfying and protein-loaded treat when I just need something sweet after dinner, as I often do, and it's so much healthier than sugary desserts!

Another favorite use for this stuff is throwing a tablespoon or two into our protein shakes!  It acts as a great natural thickener and adds a nutty flavor without the added fat and calories of using real peanut butter.

Really, the sky's the limit on what you can do with it.  Drizzle it on pancakes or waffles (use a protein bake mix if you want to keep it healthy!), spread it on rice cakes, use it to make homemade protein or granola bars, eat it with fruit... it's just neat stuff.

I tried Mighty Nut Chocolate first, using only water to reconstitute the powder.  When I took a taste I was surprised to find that there's an almost dark chocolate flavor present... bold and bitter.  It was good.  I've tried other chocolate powdered peanut butters but Mighty Nut's version just skyrocketed to the top of my list of faves.  Matt has been plowing through the jar by adding it to his shakes along with some protein powder, almond milk, and a banana, so I may have to hide it from him so I get my fair share.  Marriage is hard, my friends, and requires that you make sacrifices like sharing your precious powdered peanut butter.

Next I tried Mighty Nut Flax & Chia.  The name is self-explanatory - this is original peanut butter powder that has added ground up flax and chia seeds for some extra fiber and other nutrients.  When I took a taste I could, at first, only detect the original peanut butter flavor, but then the flax and chia notes hit you at the end.  It's not overpowering, but since I'm not a huge fan of the flavor of flax and chia by themselves I would probably use this one mixed into yogurt or shakes rather than eating it on its own or as a dip or drizzle.    

Next I tried the original Mighty Nut Peanut Butter, also reconstituted using just plain ole water.  I found this one to be on par with other powdered peanut butters that I've tried - the consistency is not as sticky as real peanut butter which may throw some folks off if not already familiar with this type of product, but the roasted nutty flavor is front and center.  With such a low fat and calorie content, powdered peanut butters can help a nut butter addict, like myself, to be able to add a peanut buttery flavor to other dishes without any extra guilt.  I recently found this recipe for lightened up Thai Chicken Skewers with Peanut Sauce and it has made my official "must cook very soon" list.  I love Thai peanut sauce... why have I never thought to use powdered peanut butter to lighten it up!?

If you haven't tried powdered peanut butter yet, you should!!  It just might change your life.  I think Peanut Butter & Co has done a fine job adding Mighty Nut to their line of original peanut butters.  I enjoyed all three of the flavors that I tried, but I think that chocolate is the superstar, shining above other chocolate-flavored powdered peanut butters that I have tried.  I haven't gotten my hands on the vanilla flavor yet, but that one is next on my radar.  Soon... soon.

If you want to try Mighty Nut for yourself, you can order all 4 flavors online or you can check the shelves of these retailers.

Have a happy Monday, fellow nut butter lovers!