Peanut Butter Good Choice For Kids

Men and children prefer creamy, women prefer chunky, and each year Americans consume enough of it to coat the entire floor of the Grand Canyon.

So says the Georgia Peanut Commission, which knows more than a little peanut butter trivia.

But peanut butter is not a trivial matter, especially to the legions of kids who will be bringing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to school every day (1,500 each by the time a child graduates high school, according to the peanut commission). Or to the parents who must figure out what kind to buy.

Just like other foods in the supermarket these days, peanut butter has gotten more complicated. It’s no longer a matter of simply slathering a creamy, nutty spread onto a piece of bread. Now there’s crunchy, extra crunchy, natural, whipped, reduced-fat, low-sugar, low-sodium, honey-roasted, vitamin- and mineral-fortified.

And if that weren’t confusing enough, a larger question always looms: Is peanut butter, which is high in fat, such a great choice, particularly if your child insists on toting it every day?

“People shouldn’t be afraid of the fat in peanut butter,” said Ellyn Satter, a Madison, Wis., dietitian and author of “How to Get Your Kid to Eat … But Not Too Much” (Bull).

Satter says a peanut butter sandwich for lunch is a “stick-to-the-ribs meal that will tide them over. It’s a good choice.” And most importantly, they’re likely to eat it, not trade it.

Consumer Reports agrees. The magazine’s September issue contained a peanut butter taste test as well as a nutritional comparison of other sandwich fillings. Compared to American cheese, beef bologna and ham, peanut butter came out on top, along with tuna and turkey.

“It doesn’t appear to be a bad choice at all,” said Lois Scheiner, the Consumer Reports project leader on the peanut butter story. Most of “the fat isn’t saturated, it’s a good source of protein, it has no cholesterol and contains some fiber. It’s also a good source of niacin and folic acid.” The other fillings are much higher in sodium, contain cholesterol and have little fiber.

It’s not such a bad choice if your child eats it a lot, either. “Parents always freak out when their kids eat the same thing,” said Jodie Shield, a Chicago dietitian. “Personally, I’d be more concerned if they were eating fried nuggets, chips and fries every day.”

There are ways to make peanut butter more healthful, however. To cut the fat in half, use one tablespoon instead of the two listed as a serving size on the label. That amount makes an adequate sandwich paired with another filling.

Think alternatives to jelly: sliced apples or bananas, grated carrots or raisins. One of Satter’s favorites is peanut butter and dill pickles.

Whole wheat is a great bread choice, but Shield sometimes serves her children peanut butter and raisin sandwiches rolled up in flour tortillas. Pair the sandwich with low-fat or skim milk and a piece of fruit.

Once you’ve got the bread and the filling companion picked, then you can figure out the peanut butter. Nutritionists say to go for the taste your child likes. Here are some of the choices:

Creamy and chunky: Most contain 190 calories and 16 grams of fat (3 grams of which are saturated fat, most of the rest are monounsaturated) per two tablespoons.

Reduced-fat: A product must contain at least 90 percent peanuts to be called “peanut butter.” The reduced fat “spreads” usually contain 60 percent peanuts, and have added sugars and soy protein that replace fat and keep the calories up. So while the fat drops to about 12 grams per two-tablespoon serving, the total calories stay the same. Consumer Reports didn’t think the fat reduction was worth the poorer taste and texture.

Natural: These are similar in fat and calories to regular creamy and crunchy, but they contain just peanuts and maybe salt, so they must be stirred before using. Regular peanut butter contains emulsifiers and hydrogenated oils to keep the peanut oil and peanuts from separating.

Very-low-sodium, low-sodium and less-sugar: These reductions aren’t significant for most people, since peanut butter doesn’t contain a great deal of sodium or sugar to begin with.

Honey-roasted: Nutritionally similar to regular creamy and crunchy; the peanuts have been roasted in honey.

Vitamin- and mineral-fortified: One company, Hunt-Wesson, just rolled out Peter Pan Plus, which contains the same amount of fat and calories as regular peanut butter but is fortified with 25 percent of the recommended daily intakes of eight vitamins and minerals. So you can feel a little less guilty giving your kid peanut butter for the 50th day in a row.