Jammy Mess
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I reincorporated wraps into my life October of last year, but a sandwich, two slices of bread, nope. Too many variables. Not a neat and tidy package wrapped in a tortilla (or lavash, I prefer lavash). So, my first venture into unfamiliar territory. Something sweet. Something nostalgic. The peanut butter and jelly sandwich, better known as the PB&J. But, why not remix it? Slightly. I’ve made the iteration to be described shortly four times to date (that I can recount) and I’m in love. Instead of angelically soft white bread, I throw in some cinnamon raisin slices. I’ve gone for Food For Life’s EZEKIEL 4:9® CINNAMON RAISIN SPROUTED WHOLE GRAIN BREAD the last two loaves worth but looking to a more budget friendly alternative this next go around. Eyeing Whole Foods version of cinnamon raisin. Yep, the 365 brand is close to a third of the price of Ezekiel. Next, one of the stars of the show, peanut butter. I’ve tried at least five times to reintroduce peanuts into my diet. Twice unintentionally. And they are a hard no. My understanding is that I may have built an intolerance (no where near as severe as an allergy). Meaning, peanuts in any form are hard to digest and flip my stomach. So, I’ve begun familiarizing myself with the universe of nut and seed butter alternatives. They include the likes of mashed almonds, walnuts, cashews, and sunflower, pumpkin, and chia seeds. I recently tried a coconut cashew blend which paired delightfully with apple slices. But, for our purposes, chocolate almond or sunflower butter will do quite nicely. Got to sneak in a touch of chocolate. Though, I am a fan of the sweeter, and not actual chocolate, white chocolate. I know Peanut Butter & Co offers a White Chocolatey Wonderful peanut butter variety (I went through a peanut butter kick in high school and this was a favorite), but not sure about other nut/ seed-white chocolate pairings. I guess I could try my hand at making my own sometime. But, that is extra extra work. Probably worth it though. It’ll go on the low-priority mental list. As for the co-star, let’s set aside the grape jelly for some strawberry jam. Or raspberry or fig or blueberry or blackberry. Or, any other seed-inclusive jam. I was exploring GOOD GOOD’s line of jams until I transitioned to CROFTER’S strawberry spread (challenging the inclusion of natural sugars in my jams). Chia jam is also on the mental list mentioned earlier. Chia seeds go in all of my oatmeal blends (to be described some other time) so I’m fairly confident I’d enjoy them in jam form. An impressive binder and microtextural element of sorts. Anyways, I slather nut butter on one slice and jam on the other. Then, with the sandwich still open, I sprinkle a couple pinches of salt across the jammy, nutty surfaces. I follow with a dash or two of cinnamon. Then, I slice a few strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, or other fruit of choice and distribute to my satisfaction. I’ve found the fruit (fresh or frozen works) sticks better to the nutty half. I place the jam side on top the nutty fruity slice and voila! A supped up PB&J! Or, a CNB&J (chocolate nut butter and jam sandwich)! A coworker recently reminded me of the dreamy combo that is peanut butter and honey so that’ll be one of my next sandwich explorations. Maybe even add some marshmallows and/ or banana slices. Who knows. We’ll see. Ooo, but I do like the marshmallow idea. It’s been too long.
