Crave-worthy: Product review {+giveaway}

Mark isn't proud to admit it but he's dependent on processed foods. He takes frozen dinners for lunch, cookies and Nutrigrain for the afternoon and lived on Zatarains and frozen pizza before we got married.

As for breakfast? He's happy to make a Jimmy Dean sandwich and content to pop in a few frozen waffles.

This morning, though, he found himself out of the breakfast sandwiches he bought when he went grocery shopping and there were no backup waffles to be consumed. I am sure he was probably dreaming up a trip to McDonald's for breakfast burritos and coffee but I decided to be nice.

nice 
adjective, nic·er, nic·est. 
1. pleasing; agreeable; delightful: a nice visit.
2. amiably pleasant; kind: They are always nice to strangers.
3. characterized by, showing, or requiring great accuracy, precision, skill, tact, care, or delicacy: nice workmanship; a nice shot; a nice handling of a crisis.
4. showing or indicating very small differences; minutely accurate, as instruments: a job that requires nice measurements.
5. Making Peanut Butter Banana Pancakes for your husband and son before having a cup of coffee.

I seriously love these pancakes - they are easy to make, don't require any eggs and are a great way to use up the funkalicious banana that's hanging on the edge.

Oh, and they taste great. They taste even greater when you swap out traditional peanut butter for a half-cup of PB Crave's Cocoa Bananas Peanut Butter. Because, again, I'm nice.

I recently got the chance to try the PB Crave varieties - Razzle Dazzle, Cookie Nookie, Choco Choco and, of course, Cocoa Bananas.

 

About PB Crave

PB Crave is an all-natural, premium peanut butter that is "amazingly" addictive. There are no artificial preservatives, hydrogenated oils, syrups or high fructose corn syrup. It is also gluten and cholesterol free. PB Crave is a subsidiary of Sweet Harvest Foods, a nearly-90 year-old company located in Minnesota. A new and separate plant was built to craft the dizzying blends of premium peanut butters using cutting edge technology and innovation to insure that top quality ingredients reach the package and the consumer in the form they were blended. When you open a jar, you’ll see the pure Belgium chips, yet when you spread the product on bread, it will spread deliciously smooth with little to zero chunks. This craft has been perfected and consumers have given the product rave reviews for taste, quality, and price, especially when you factor in, no jelly needed.

What we thought

I say we because, again, I'm nice and I shared. To say this peanut butter was a hit in our house would be the understatement of the century. The PB Crave seriously elevated the pancakes this morning, and I'm down to a half jar of Razzle Dazzle because it is sublime on a piece of Ezekiel 4:9. Flax Sprouted Whole Grain Bread with blackberry all-fruit spread. (Yes, jelly might not be required but don't take away my blackberry preserves.) Confession: I eat at least one of these combos a day, whether I'm hungry or not.

The Cookie Nookie didn't lend itself to sandwiches in my mind but I loved it in a simple oatmeal breakfast: 1/3 banana and 1/3 cup oats cooked with 2/3 cup water, 2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk, cinnamon and pinch of salt. Once it's to the desired consistency, add sweetener of choice and 1/2 teaspoon maple extract. Top with Cookie Nookie and, if you feel sassy, some chocolate chips (or sprinkles leftover from your son's first birthday party in July).

Some of my favorite things about PB Crave, though, aren't even about the flavor. My favorite things are what's in the jar and where I can get it. It isn't any more caloric than traditional peanut butters, and I can pronounce all of the ingredients. While so many of the fancy flavored nut butters are only available online or at stores such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, PB Crave is available in northeast Indiana. I spotted it at Fresh Market. (It is available, too, at Whole Foods and Earth Fare if you live somewhere cool.)

If my opinion isn't good enough,check out Celebrity Chef Andrew Zimmern's OpenSky Page and video review. 

Remember how I said I was nice? Well, PB Crave is, too. The company is giving one lucky reader a CoCo Banana Variety Pack. (Value $20.97)

To enter

Mandatory: Visit the PB Crave website and, in a comment, tell me which variety you would most like to try.

Additional entries (leave a comment for each of the following, up to 4): Like PB Crave on Facebook; follow PB Crave on Twitter; follow me on Twitter; tweet about this giveaway, being sure to mention @PBCrave and @healthy_strides.

Nitty gritty: Giveaway is open to U.S. residents living in the lower 48 states and ends Friday, Oct. 19, at midnight. The winner will be selected via random number generator and announced on Monday, Oct. 22. The winner will have 72 hours to email me shipping information or a new winner will be chosen. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Void where prohibited by law.