Peanut butter is still a healthy choice for kids
It's easy to keep, easy to eat and most kids love it. But is peanut
butter good for them?
"Parents ask that question all the time," says Marilyn Guthrie, R.D., a spokeswoman
for the American Dietetic Association. "I tell them that in the overall scheme of
things peanut butter is a lot better than a lot of other things children are likely
to eat."
The typical supermarket brand of peanut butter, while high in overall fat content,
is low in saturated fat. On the plus side, it's high in protein and fiber.
"We have a saying, 'Choose your calories by the company they keep,' " Ms. Guthrie
says. "Your child is much better off with a peanut butter sandwich than if he or
she took in that same number of calories eating candy bars and potato chips or drinking
soda." Those snacks have little nutritional value; you're eating "empty calories,"
she explains.
"Peanut butter is a healthy food choice," says Bettye Nowlin, R.D., a dietitian
who works on nutrition education in the Los Angeles school system.
"There are a lot of other healthy foods," Ms. Nowlin says. "But if the kids don't
like the taste, they won't eat it."
And peanut butter is versatile: "There are so many things you can add to it to enhance
it."
Here are a few variations the nutritionists recommend:
1. Peanut butter and sliced bananas on whole wheat bread.
2. Peanut butter on celery sticks with raisins.
3. Peanut butter, date and nut spread. (Blend 1 cup dates, one-half cup chopped
pecans, one-half cup chopped walnuts, 1 cup creamy peanut butter and 4 tablespoons
evaporated milk.) Spread on crackers, bread or fresh fruit.
4. Peanut butter milkshake. (Blend 2 scoops vanilla ice cream and 1 tablespoon vanilla
extract, 1 cup skim or lowfat milk, 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter.) It's a quick
snack or fast breakfast, high in protein, calcium and B vitamins.