As a kid, I never really cared for Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches. My parents never did prepare it much for me and my sister, and my mother would have this running joke that we were sometimes so broke that we’d have to eat Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches for dinner. As much as she had said that, she never prepared it for us because despite my parents struggling with money in the early years of my youth, food was one of the few luxuries our parents let us have as kids. (Not speaking for my sister, it definitely showed in my appearance as a kid…heheh.) So anyway, I grew up with this connotation that PB&J would be the precursor to some destitute life and I therefore never really wanted to eat it as a kid.
Having no fondness for the popular meal in my youth, I never prepared nor ate a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich up until about 8 years ago, when I tried one prepared by the late night eatery Miki’s in Pearl City. I have to say, that first bite really changed my perception of Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches. Even with all its “poor man’s food” connotation, it turned out to be a tasty treat. It didn’t get me hooked on PB&J sandwiches, but it certainly switched my aversion to it.
Over time, I would partake in the occasional Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich, most recently when we had our big Tsunami warning ordeal this past month. In grabbing my emergency rations that very morning, I wanted to get something that wasn’t too quickly perishable. I ended up buying some strawberry jelly, peanut butter and bread. I had to watch the sugar and carb content because of my diabetes, but in moderation it turned out to be fairly gentle to my blood sugar levels. Though we had no tsunami (thankfully) I was stuck with the goods and had Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches for days.
That was a little while ago, and the craving for Peanut Butter and Jelly has set in once again. When I was perusing `Umeke Market in Kahala, I came across Almond Butter and wondered if this would be a somewhat healthier alternative to Peanut Butter (since it supposedly has more fiber and slightly less carbs.) First thing I noticed was that it was a whole lot more expensive. I’m talking 4x more expensive than PB. Granted this was your “organic” fare, which I really don’t pay THAT much attention to, but still I was intrigued. Without even trying it, I bought it and am probably going to be eating Almond Butter Jelly Sandwiches for the next few days. I definitely am going to be watching my blood sugar like a hawk as I try this new food. I definitely love almonds more than I do peanuts, so I’m expecting that this should be fairly good. If not, I’m out 15 bucks but at least I can say I tried it.
terri 8:09 pm on 2010/04/01 Permalink
It’s actually pretty good! I definitely like almonds and so it makes sense that I would like this. The texture is kind of strange and it’s a little hard to spread, but it definitely tastes better than peanut butter — to me, anyway.