Peanut Butter

Ode to Peanut Butter

Shall I compare thee to a plain peanut?

Thou art more creamy and more spreadable.

When spread on bread thou art delicious, but

When licked straight from the spoon, delectable.

See this jar of peanut butter? I just opened it last week. It's my fifth jar of peanut butter since moving to Tokyo 14 months ago. Isn't that crazy? I only went through about two jars the whole three years I lived in Nashville. Why I've turned into a peanut-butter-monster since coming to the land where peanut butter either has to be brought in your suitcase, muled by your visitors, or bought from the import stores at an exorbitant price, is anyone's guess. But that is how it stands. I eat it straight from the spoon, and only sometimes spread it on bread or crackers (or, decadently, on chocolate cookies). It runs out fast.
I feel slightly better about my addiction because this is SMART BALANCE peanut butter, so it's good for me ... right? Let's look at the nutrition information. It has the same amount of fat, calories, and protein as your average jar of peanut butter, but it has a lot less sugar and enough potassium to balance out the sodium (as my brother's nutritionist fiancee pointed out). It tastes a bit more raw than Jif, which I actually like, though it does take a short while to get used to the change. By the way, in the chunky versus creamy debate, I say if you want chunky, just eat peanuts. If you want peanut butter, make it buttery smooth. And if you're headed to Tokyo, would you mind bringing me another jar?