Happy Monday from me and my tummy full o’ PB!
Some weekends call for a couple peanut buttery snacks, and this was definitely such a weekend in our household. More so for Nate than for me – he ran his seventh marathon on Saturday! But he prefers almond butter, so I had this peanut butter all to myself. I love it when things work out that way.
Spectating a marathon is a hard job, too, guys. Let’s be real. I had to wake up early, stress about how Nate’s race was going, drive around to see him, try to think of encouraging things to say, hold my bladder so I didn’t miss him go by… tough job! At least as tough as running 26.2 miles! OK, not really… not by a long shot.
In fact, Nate makes race spectating pretty darn easy because there are no other runners around him… just a Kenyan a minute ahead of him and the next pack of guys more than half a mile behind. No crush of runners blocking traffic or anything like that, so I was able to drive along the course and see him at 7 different spots. I almost feel like I’m annoying him when I keep popping up! Too bad I can’t hop in and run with him like he did for me during my last half… his pace is so smoking fast that I could probably sprint along for a quarter mile max. He is a speedy one!
It was a beautiful morning, both for running and spectating, and Nate took second place with a time of 2:27. So proud of him! The guy works so hard, and though I appreciate his effort and dedication every day of the week, it’s nice to see him be recognized for it by others. As for whether it makes those 100-mile weeks worth it or not… well, you’ll have to ask him.
I didn’t want to miss out on the running fun, so I woke up early, too, and got my long run in before the start of the race. Yep, I am that crazy girl who ran 10 miles at 3:45 AM. When did I get like that?! I don’t know, but I can tell you I was plenty glad to get my long run over so early in the weekend and to put the early wake-up to good use. That’s how I earned my peanut butter, guys! And you better believe I took advantage.
Speaking of which, let’s switch over to peanut butter. Food talk is always better than running talk.
My PB-obsessed co-worker (hi Megan!) recommended Naturally More peanut butter to me, and I now share her love for it. It’s been a while since I bought crunchy peanut butter, but this kind is special because it has flax, too. Crunch times ten! It’s my new favorite, and I’m embarrassed how much of the first jar I bought is already eaten. So naturally I had to make a batch myself! Blogging is such a great excuse for that type of thing.
I’ve made and posted a few other types of nut butters, but if you can believe it, never before had I tried my hand at peanut butter. Probably because I have 3 different jars of it in my cabinet, but that’s irrelevant! Turns out it’s the easiest of them all to make at home. The high oil content of peanuts means they smooth out quickly. See? So pretty.
Once I had that nice smooth peanut butter, I made it chunky again with extra peanuts and flaxseeds, and added salt and molasses to mimic the taste of that Naturally More goodness. The result is nothing short of delectable! I’m still surprised how easy it was. I would totally pay a ridiculous all-natural nut butter price for this stuff, but instead it’s made with $1.99/lb peanuts. I think that’s what they call the best of both worlds!
And now I’m going to show you something extremely dangerous.
A chocolate bar + this peanut butter. I’ve been obsessed with Alter Eco Dark Velvet recently. YUM. And if I can ever get my paws on a bar of their Dark Salted Brown Butter flavor? I think I may die and go to heaven.
There I go, getting distracted by chocolate again! Innnnevitable, especially when peanut butter is the topic. Chocolate + peanut butter is a combo I’ll never get tired of. Tell me you feel the same?
This post wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t tell you that I just got up off the couch to eat the last few squares of this chocolate bar spread with this peanut butter. I mean, can you blame me!? Don’t tell Nate… He was too busy watching Cameron Diaz on Jimmy Kimmel, so I didn’t offer him any. Sorry hun. No regrets.
Do you have any strong feelings on smooth vs. chunky peanut butter? I thought I did… but now I’m converted. I dare you to challenge your preconceived chunky PB notions, too!
- 5 cups roasted unsalted peanuts, divided
- 2 Tbsp molasses
- 1 to 1.5 tsp kosher salt
- 3 Tbsp flaxseeds
- Add 4 cups of peanuts to the bowl of a food processor or high speed blender. Process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Add molasses and 1 tsp salt and process until smooth again. Taste and adjust as necessary. I recommend adding no more than 1/4 tsp salt at a time after this!
- Add flax and remaining 1 cup peanuts. Pulse to combine.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge. Enjoy!
I’m just so impressed by you and Nate! The fact that you have the dedication to train for half and full marathons is absolutely amazing! I know those race days are super early and can be stressful, so it’s so nice Nate has you there as a support. and his time was so freaking short! I’m just blown away!!
This crunchy pb. Gimme a break, I’d eat the whole jar! I have yet to make my own nut butter, but rest assured when I do, I’ll be putting it on a hunk of chocolate and eating the whole thing dead. I love that you sweeten the butter with molasses! Such a better alternative to cane sugar! Huge congrats to Nate, and you for running 10 miles at the butt crack of dawn! I’d say you deserve all the PB you can handle!
Ok… Nate sounds crazy dedicated to running, but I think you take the prize for running 10 miles before he got to start his race! You both deserve lots of nut butter to replenish all those calories burned. I love your version of PB – I need to try it with molasses. Oh, and definitely a bar of chocolate. Because that photo is daaaangeous!
Is the molasses just for flavor, or? Could you leave it out?
I definitely like my peanut butter with some sweetener – I used molasses here because it’s on the ingredient list I was basing this off of. Honey or maple syrup would be good alternatives, or if you prefer yours without sweetener, you could leave it out :)
I feel rather lazy reading all of this running talk lol! Marathons are seriously impressive and so is this recipe!!! I love that you used chocolate as a dipper. That just made my day! Adding molasses and flax is such a cool twist! Yum :)
Less than 2.5 hours to run 26.2?? Holy smokes!!! That’s insane! That boy can run!!! Congratulations on an amazing race! (And you, too! 10 miles at THAT hour??)
So basically, you both deserve, like, 4283 jars of this peanut butter! And neither of you will feel guilty about it! You’ve earned the right to indulge a tad! :)
Quick question … do you use all whole flaxseeds in this, or do you use some/all ground? Thanks!! :)
He is pretty impressive… and I may like to brag about him just a liiiiittle bit :)
I used all whole flaxseeds here.
Good lord. Did you really spread crunchy flaxy pb on chocolate squares!? I can’t even fathom the textural heaven that ensued! This is being made STAT.
I’ve always been partial to chunky peanut butter and this looks freakin’ amazing! I’m worried that I would eat it all in one sitting though. Either way, it’s happening.
Nate is a beast! I love that the only person in front of him was a Kenyan, haha. That just goes to show how fast he really is. And I can’t believe you were up at 3:45am to run 10 miles!! You’re a she-beast! I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before you conquer 26.2…
You’re both very inspirational! And getting up at 3.45am for a pre-race run – you definitely earned that peanut butter and chocolate!
I love the idea of adding flaxseeds to peanut butter for a little extra crunch :) Definitely not a smooth peanut butter household over here! I’ve never tried making my own nut butters before, but I’m inspired now.
I’m all about crunchy peanut butter! Luckily my boyfriend doesn’t like it, so I get to keep it all for myself. My philosophy is the crunchier the better, so I’m loving the flax for even more crunchies!
Oh my goodness, this looks amazing. I want it in and around my mouth now! I love love love peanut butter and chocolate. The Australians just don’t get that and they think Americans are weird for liking peanut butter on everything. They are obviously just crazy.
Nate is pretty impressive! Less than 2.5 hours to run 26.2? Congrats!
I ABSOLUTELY love that you used chocolate as a dipper. What a heat combination, right? Perfect!!
*I mean great combination ;-)
Girl! Spectating a marathon is worse than running one!!! I know from experience. You are amazing and Nate is a CRAZY awesome runner. Wow! This peanut butter sounds spoon worthy and I’m all over it!
Hah it’s TRUE, but I feel so lame saying it. Good thing Nate makes it worth it :)
Wow!! You and Nate are seriously impressive! Nate for his amazing time and you for your 3:45 am and homemade peanut butter!! I had no idea PB would be so easy to make at home. Definitely going to give this a try!!
Your recipe looks yummy, must try and add some molasses to my home made peanut butter.
Did you use ground flax meal or whole flax seeds?