Peanut butter lovers, unite!  I’ve made an overnight oatmeal just for you.  This recipe has not just one, not two, not three, but FOUR, count ’em FOUR peanut products in it to bring you maximum peanut flavour and the ultimate peanut butter experience.  (My apologies if you have a peanut allergy; please check out my Nut-free recipes – and yes, I know that technically peanuts are not nuts, but legumes – I’ve got you covered!  Also, my condolences if you are a Paleo adherent and you’re avoiding peanuts, not to mention the dairy in the whey protein powder and the oats as well; this post clearly is not for you, but please check out all of my Paleo goodies instead).  Now, back to the PB love.  I really don’t think it’s possible to cram more peanutty goodness into one bowl, but be sure to let me know in the comments if you find a way!  So, what all is in there?  Let’s find out!

It’s safe to say that I have a “thing” for nut butters (and technically speaking in this case, a “legume” butter, but since “peaNUT” has “nut” in its name, I’m grouping it along with nuts for all practical intents and purposes).  In fact, you might not just call it a “thing” but perhaps a “problem” or an “addiction.”  Whatever you call it, when I’m spooning peanut butter into my gob straight from the jar at midnight it feels like nothing but love, baby.  And my world really expanded when I started exploring Paleo recipes which eschewed peanut butter but embraced and introduced me to almond butter, cashew butter, hazelnut butter (other than the Nutella form!) and walnut butter, among others (I’m excited to try macadamia butter, but it’s priced like liquid gold!).  Of course, I made this realization AFTER moving away from the Bulk Barn, with its glorious back wall of vats of specialty natural nut and seed butters, and stacks of little clear plastic containers with white lids just waiting for you to fill to your heart’s content.

I was spending so much on nut butters on iherb.com* (other than peanut butter, they’re mostly unavailable in Korean grocery stores) that I was able to make a successful argument to purchase our family’s first Vitamix high-speed blender!  (Seriously, the day I came home from work and my husband and son surprised me with the Vitamix box from their bi-weekly Costco grocery shopping trip was like Christmas in April.)  And it won’t be our last, since this 220V version will stay in Korea after we leave and we’ll upgrade to the Professional Series 750 110V model when we get back to Canada.

Peanut butter and I actually go waaaay back…back to childhood (almost as far back as peanut butter and jelly go back).  I loved (and still love) peanut butter and jam sandwiches (we never really had actual “jelly” in the house – it was always a whole-fruit “jam” and my favourite flavour pairing with PB is raspberry – what’s yours?), peanut butter on graham crackers, peanut butter on rice cakes (remember the low-fat food craze of the 1990’s?  No better way to take a low-fat snack like a rice cake than to pile on some creamy, fatty (healthy fats!) peanut butter), peanut butter on toast with honey (I think I have to credit my uncle Ron for introducing me to that particular pairing), peanut butter and anything, really.  For an entire summer I remember my brother eating nothing but peanut butter and banana sandwiches for breakfast (he was the picky eater of the two of us and decidedly NOT a morning person so my mom was always battling to get breakfast into him.  I think she finally relented and just let him buy a stash of Pop Tarts so that he would have SOMETHING to start his day).  I still love to cut an apple in half, core it, and put a generous dollop of peanut butter into the little “bowl” left behind after you cut the seeds out (try it, if you haven’t already – you ARE a peanut butter lover, aren’t you?).

It wasn’t until I was an adult that I truly discovered peanut butter’s versatility as an ingredient in savoury dishes and not just as a condiment.  Welcome to the wonderful world of Asian peanut dishes including your basic boiled peanuts, peanut dipping sauce for satays, peanuts and rice noodles and on and on.  And thank goodness my husband and I made the switch to “natural” peanut butter (you know, nothing but roasted peanuts and maybe a little sea salt) as part of a healthy eating pursuit in 2007.  No added sugar, no added oils (especially not any hydrogenated vegetable oils), no added nothing.  It took a little bit of getting used to, but we’re so accustomed to the pure, unadulterated peanut flavour now that we can’t go back to “regular” peanut butter because we instantly taste all the added not-so-natural ingredients.  Sure, it’s a bit more work to stir the oil back into the butter when it separates (I actually remember my grandmother stocking natural peanut butter in her house and being grossed out by the oily layer on the top), but that’s just a little bit more exercise in the run of a day, isn’t it?  Bonus!  And of course, there’s lifting the spoon to your mouth…four more…

Enough rambling for one post?  Okay, let’s get cracking.  Or shelling, as the case may be. Here are our glorious peanut products: 1) Quest Nutrition Peanut Butter Protein Powder,* 2) PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter* (or substitute Peanut Flour*), 3) Natural Creamy Peanut Butter* and 4) Chopped Peanuts.

Really, how can you go wrong with ingredients like those all in one recipe?

*Please note that I am currently NOT sponsored by or affiliated with any particular brand, company or product. Any ideas, comments or opinions are my own, as mentioned in my Product Review page.  However, if you choose to purchase new-to-you products I recommend using the link(s) I provide, I can earn a small credit.  More information on that is available here.

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