My children have taken to digging out big glops of peanut butter from the jar and then licking it, straight from the utensil.
I think they may have been influenced by the sight of their mom pushing a dollop of Jif into the puppy’s Kong, upon which the puppy goes wild with pleasure and licks licks licks her way madly madly to the finish.
Whatever the reason, it’s a healthy snack (in moderation) and I don’t mind that they eat it. I do mind the mess when they are finished, though! I feel as if I am stumbling across the archaeological remains of some ancient, peanut butter-imbibing race—one that came and ate and migrated—leaving behind a stack of metal spoons as evidence (and perhaps a butter knife or two).
Look here, I said to my nomads. There’s got to be a better way.
I proceeded to scoop a good cup’s worth of peanut butter in a bowl while my children watched in wonder. I knew what they were thinking. Whoa, Mom, that’s way too much for you! What about your Slim-Fast diet? I then added some powdered Nestle Quik and some oatmeal (known to me but not to them as “filler”).
Hold out your hands, I commanded, and I placed a spoonful on each extended palm.
We rolled our golf-ball sized treats into spheres (Hey! Geometry!) and then rolled them again in powdered sugar.
Eat up! I said, then added, But don’t you dare leave the counter ‘til you’ve finished! (My kids are nomads, remember? They think nothing of scattering their remains across the plains of my house.)
I like this treat because 1) it’s fun and 2) it’s not quite so obnoxious as licking and leaving. You could get even more creative by adding such “gourmet” ingredients as honey, powdered milk, vanilla extract or chocolate chips.
Hey, it beats paying big money for a jar full of this at the grocers!
Ad Jesum per Mariam,
Mmmmmmm! Snack time at Margaret’s house today!
That reminds me of a snack we made as kids. It was a random mix of peanut butter, powdered milk and honey. Not too bad really! 🙂
Mine lick and leave, too and I’ve been terrible about turning it into a gourmet snack, but I need to take your advice. 🙂
We make a similar snack, but relate it to science. Don’t let the name discourage you—owl barf balls. We are making these next week since we are studying birds. Basically they are peanut butter balls with pretzels and coconut. The pretzels are supposed to represent bones and the coconut looks like fur found in owl pellets.
Margaret, you linked my one extravagance.. and I don’t even really like peanut butter! However, WCW (as it is listed on my grocery list) always has a backup in the pantry – it is good enough to eat on a spoon. It doesn’t go in pbj’s (Trader Joe’s or Teddy for those). I have price-booked it and found it for $5/ jar at one market, $3.59 at another and $3.33 at Wal-mart (sigh).
Your quick snack sounds delish, I will have to make some for my own crew of “nomad-lickers-and-leavers.”
Blessings!
I’m smiling at the image of your nomadic children. I’m also laughing at Karen’s line- ‘lick and leave.’ 🙂
Thanks for the good snack idea.
Sounds yummy, and to make it even more healthy you could hide some wheat germ in it!