Peanut Butter!

After we discovered Monkey's egg allergy at 8 months old we were cautious to experiment with peanut butter. So we held off until 2 years old. Call it paranoia but after one food allergy I didn't want to gamble on a second until a lot of time had passed. Plus his Pedi told us to wait until 2. :) Ah the Pedi, always the perfect scapegoat! In any event. We held off until 2 and then introduced it. First by me rubbing some on his arm in the crease of his elbow. Monkey did not appreciate this. There was much protest to Mommy rubbing this foreign funky mushy stuff on said arm. I rubbed it on, waited 10 seconds, couldn't stand the yelling and arm flailing and then rubbed it off. Then I continually checked for any sign of a reaction: welts, hives, swelling. To my delight there was NOTHING! I was so happy that he wasn't showing any allergic reactions! So the next day we tried our first PB&J sandwich. It was a fail, but only b/c the only jelly I had in the house was some horrifically disgusting sugar free crap that Zach had bought when he first got to the island. Even I thought it was a disgusting sandwich. I decided to wait until I had procured the correct J part of the PB&J formula to try again.

So the next time we went to the store I bought Welch's Grape Jam. Just like my Mom used to buy for OUR PB&J's. Perfecto! :) Monkey loved it and now it's almost a daily staple in our house. There isn't one day that goes by where he doesn't go into the fridge and pull out the peanut butter or jam and look at me with those adorable Monkey eyes practically begging for a PB&J. Needless to say we eat a lot of PB&J's around here.

So I decided to make my own peanut butter. Mom said it wasn't hard at all and I remember her doing it when we were kids. So I picked up some Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts and some peanut oil and set aside some time for Monkey to help me make PB today. :)


Ingredients. Simple!


One very interested Monkey.


Helping Mommy pour nuts into the measuring cup. I used 2 cups of nuts and a splash of peanut oil.


Helping Mommy pour the nuts into the food processor.


After about 1-1 1/2 minutes in the food processor (I added the oil while they were being ground up, sorry no pic!)


Monkey isn't a fan of loud noises. Like the food processor. :) But he still stood by and watched! :)


Peanut Butter!


Yum! Actually right after I took this he gave me a funny look and then coughed/gagged. Ok, so it's a little dry! It's Mommy's first attempt! Geesh.

So yeah, it's a little dry and could use a little hint of sweet. I think next time I'll add honey instead of peanut oil to sweeten it up just a touch. :) I can't wait to make my first PB&J with my homemade PB! :) It reminds me of my childhood and I think it's darn tasty - even despite the dryness! :) And bonus: It was super easy and wicked fast! This took me no more than 5 minutes and that includes the measuring and "Monkey helping" time. :) Now if only I could find peanuts cheaper and more in bulk I'd really save myself a ton of money making my own!