Well, that was fun!

I let loose the gods of Christmas war. I ate till I hurt. Last night till I almost puked in the car. The good news: it was delicious...all of it.  The gooder news: I have no desire to return to that kind of eating on a regular basis. While allowing myself the overindulgence, I did regular "check-ins" to note how I was feeling, and the answer was nearly always, "not so good, thanks." My stomach hurt, I felt lethargic. It wasn't even guilt--I went on my way guilt-free! It was just a physically rotten reaction. So why would I want to continue that?

I went to bed last night, relieved. Relieved that it was over and that I can now return to reasonable eating behaviors. It's a Christmas miracle.

While gathering healthy food supplies for time at home, I went through the HyVee Health Market. I was looking for a sugar-free jam that I always got in the Iowa City HyVee. Alas, they didn't have it where my parents live. But they did have something called PB2. It's pureed peanut powder with the fat and oil removed, leaving just powder behind. You're supposed to reconstitute it with a 2:1 of powder to water to...well, I had to try that. It's only ONE POINT per tablespoon!

Turns out, the results are a little mixed, which means, of course, that you can file this under "too good to be true." As a peanut butter spread, it's an iffy substitute. It's oddly textured, though it tastes pretty good. I'm going to try a few more times to see if I can make it work better, though.  The better news is that it works great as an addition to other foods! I added it to plain yogurt and cream of wheat, and both had a great peanut butter taste without any of that weird texture issue...or the high points.

Of course, I suppose some of the healthy benefits of peanut butter are probably in the oil, which is what's removed here, so there's that issue as well. But. Sometimes I want peanut butter without tons of calories and this is better than the kinds with all the artificial ingredients, so it's a decent alternative.

I hope you all allowed yourselves some fun over the holidays, and that you're ready for moderation and healthy eating again now that the biggest celebrations are mostly behind us. Except new years. Oops.