Peanut problems

I think the first time I heard that peanut butter was a fitness food, was when I was working at lululemon athletica, and one of the girls was following the Abs diet.  It's one of the staples for the 12-item list of power foods that can boost weight loss and chisel those six-pack abs...so they say.

Honestly, like any food, peanuts and peanut butter have their pros and cons.  Yes, they're high in fat, but it's monounsaturated fat which is good for your heart and reduces your risk of cardiovascular disease.  They also contain magnesium, folate, vitamin E, and fiber, all of which most of us don't get enough of in our diets anyway.

On the downside, peanuts are one of the most overly sprayed foods.  If you're not getting organic peanut butter, chances are you're consuming a LOT of pesticides.  Not to mention, peanuts tend to be easily contamined with mold and aflatoxins=carcinogens!

Also, you may be aware of the recent recall of peanuts/peanut butter.  I even noticed that my local Starbucks has taken certain items off the shelf that contained any kind of peanut product.

On September 24th, a large peanut manufacturing company called Sunland announced a recall on their peanut butter due to Salmonella contamination.  Yuck.  And now they've expanded the recall to include raw and roasted peanuts.

As someone who haunts the aisles of Trader Joes, I was especially disturbed to hear that 35 people in 19 states got sick from Salmonella in TJ's brand of peanut butter!

For now, perhaps make the switch to almond butter.  They even have cashew, sunflower seed, and macadamia nut butter, so now might be the time to change things up!

See my power breakfast recipe below for how I incorporate a little almond butter deliciousness into my life! 

And just be careful with the peanut products for now until things settle down. 
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Michelle's Power Oats Breakfast
Ingredients:

1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats
1 tbsp raw cacao nibs
1 sliced banana
1/4 cup frozen or fresh berries
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp almond butter

1/2 tsp cinnamon
desired amount of almond milk

Directions:
Place first 6 ingredients, in order, in a bowl.  Sprinkle with cinnamon, pour almond milk.  I eat this as is, you don't need to cook the oats, but if you prefer it warm, heat it up in a pot before adding almond milk