Peanutty deliciousness....aka PB2

I have heard a lot of people talk about PB2.  But I had never tried it.  So I was SUPER excited when I got the opportunity to try the product and especially to be able to blog about it and share my thoughts (and the product) with you all!  So this is my inaugural vendor test product and review.

I was THRILLED to receive the product I was sent to try!  In fact, the hubby and I were pulling out of the driveway the day and at the exact time the big brown truck was in front of the house to deliver.  I jumped out of the car to intercept the package (I didn't want it to be left on the porch to get lonely!) and I think my hubby thought I was going to tackle the poor delivery guy!

So of course, the first chance I got I ripped into the box and got out the samples - 2 jars of PB2 regular, 2 jars of PB2 chocolate and 2 bags of the PBthins.  I couldn't wait to dig in and see what all the hype was about!

For those of you that may not be familiar with the product, it is basically powdered peanut butter. But the BEST thing and selling point for me is that it is waaaaaaaay fewer calories than standard peanut butter!!  uh...SCORE!  Any time I can shave some calories off what I am eating I am in!

COMPARISON (all serving sizes 2 Tblsp)
                        Regular PB 
                        (Peter Pan)             Red Fat PB           PB2 reg            PB2 Chocolate
Calories               210                          170                        45                        45
Fat                        17g                           12g                       1.5g                     1g               
Carbs                    6g                             9g                         5g                        6g
Fiber                      2g                            3g                          2g                       1g
Sugar                    2g                             4g                         1g                        3g
Protein                  8g                             9g                         5g                        4g

So as you can see, the PB2 is a MUCH lower calorie option.  The PB2 is only 22% of the calories in the reg peanut butter.  That's 78% fewer calories. Again, count me in!

So my first test was to try one of my favorite smoothies....the green monster!  I couldn't even tell a difference and it really cut down the calories.

Next, I wanted to try something new....I had a recipe for a frozen peanut butter pie.  My hubby is a huge fan of peanut butter, so I had printed off this recipe long ago to try for him.  So what a perfect opportunity!  And it gave me a chance to use the Chocolate PB2.

I personally say yummo to this one!  It was low cal and a really nice treat!

Ingredients:

·         8 oz. fat-free cream cheese

·         1/2 cup creamy OR crunchy peanut butter (I used Chocolate PB2)

·         1 c Splenda (or Stevia or sweetener of choice to taste)

·         1/4 c  fat-free half & half (or skim milk)

·         8 oz. container Cool Whip Lite (or Fat Free Cool Whip)

·         1 pre-made Oreo pie crust OR reduced fat graham cracker pie crust

·         3 tbs Light Hershey’s syrup

*Optional Toppings: Reese’s Ice Cream toppers (a few Tbs), Reese’s miniature candies (a few crushed up), crushed peanuts, 100 calorie Nutter Butter cookies (crushed up), Reddi Whip - I used a few crushed up PBThins...perfect!

Method:

1.        Mix all ingredients together until smooth (I used my Kitchen Aid mixer, but you could do this by hand) and fold in Cool Whip until well blended.

2.       Pour mixture into pie crust and drizzle with chocolate syrup.

3.       Chill for at least 6 hours, (or overnight).

4.       Let sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes (to soften) and add topping of choice before serving.

Servings: 10 slices of pie

Calories: 189  Per Slice (or 133 Calories Per Slice with Peanut Flour)

Weight Watchers Points Plus Value: 5 Per Slice

I also want to try an entree recipe, but that one is going to have to come later.  I tried a FANTASTIC Bang, Bang Chicken dish while I was on a business trip last week, so I am looking at recipes to try to recreate a home version.  I will keep you posted on that for sure!

So now, let's talk about the PBthins.....yummy little (addictive) snack!!!!  I could seriously polish off a bag of these little treats in nothin' flat!!!  My girlfriend Melissa was in town for my bday party and she just LOVED them too!  We realized VERY quickly that the trick to these would have to be pre-measuring the portions.  Sitting down with the bag would prove to be very dangerous!  But at only 100 calories per serving, what a yummo snack!  Even the kiddos loved them!  I was personally thrilled to see that they have a box of 100 calorie packs on their website to order....soooooo much more convenient  than trying to measure and pack my own!!  The only downside I saw here was a serving size seems kinda small.

1 serving - a small handful....about 26 crackers

So for what I tried, I am sold on the product.  You may be wondering where you can get it!  Of course you can order from their website www.bellplantation.com.  There is also a store locator on their site.  There are 4 stores in my city that carry it!  It also looks like Amazon and other online retailers carry it.

I am ECSTATIC that thanks to the folks at Bell Plantation, I am able to offer a give away of this great product to all of you too!!!  One lucky winner, selected at random, will win a great package....2 jars of PB2,  2 jars of Chocolate PB2, and 2 bags of  PBthins....yummo and shipped right to your door!  You will sooooo enjoy!

So I know you are dying to know.....what do you have to do to enter????

• Required 
• be a follower of this blog - That means if you haven't already clicked that little button on the right hand side that says "Join This Site" do it now.
• Go to Bell Plantation's webpage and check out their products - leave a comment on this blog to tell me what your fave is and why
• Bonus entries!  Come back and leave a comment for each action you complete...
• 1 entry for signing up for email updates on this blog - just put your email address in the white box in the upper right corner.  Seriously there is nothing easier!  
• 1 entry for sharing this blog entry on facebook
• 1 entry for liking Bell Plantation's facebook page and leaving some page love to tell them who sent you!

That is 4 chances to win!

Come back and leave a comment on this blog entry for each entry you completed.  Winner will be selected at random and qualification will be verified.  Contest will close on Friday, Aug 31 and winner will be announced next weekend.  GOOD LUCK!!!!