Powdered Peanut Butter Has 85 Percent Fewer Calories—Have You Tried It?

Powdered Peanut Butter Has 85 Percent Fewer Caloriesâ€"Have You Tried It?

A nutritionist chimes in on one of the newer health foods popping up on store shelves.

First there was chunky and creamy. Then there was reduced-fat. And now there's powdered peanut butter—and it boasts way less (like 85 percent less!) fat and calories than traditional spreads.

The product is made by squeezing the oils out of peanuts and then dehydrating them. You add a little bit of water to the product, mix, and then use it like your standard spread. It's pretty simple. In fact, the brand for one powdered peanut butter, PB2, lists fewer ingredients than even natural peanut butters. And that's not the only brand making low-fat powdered peanut butter these days, either: We found at least two other companies that have their own versions.

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Since the idea of getting your peanuts in powdered form is enough to make any peanut butter-lover wince, we decided to ask an expert about the product.

"I like to use it whenever I can," says Lindsay Martin, M.S., R.D., a registered dietician at Hilton Head Health weight-loss resort. "A lot of people enjoy peanut butter—whether it's as a spread or an ingredient in Thai cuisine. Powdered peanut butter lets you eat it more frequently without overdoing it on fat."

While a two-tablespoon serving of your run-of-the mill peanut butter will set you back about 200 calories and 16 grams of fat, two tablespoons of PB2 contain 45 calories and 1.5 grams of fat (although it's worth noting that once you mix the water in, you'll only have one tablespoon of spread—but still!).

That's not to say that all of traditional peanut butter's fats are bad. Peanut butter is rich in healthy unsaturated fats, which boost satiety to help you eat less later—perhaps explaining why in one International Journal of Obesity study, people who regularly ate peanut butter lost an average of nine pounds over an 18-month span. 

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They key is actually sticking to a standard serving size. "Just taking the knife and going to town like most people do can lead to consuming too many calories and grams of fat," says Martin, who recommends getting 25 to 30 percent of your daily calories from fat. It's also worth mentioning that while peanut butter generally contains some saturated fat, all of the varieties of powdered peanut butter we looked at were saturated fat-free. 

Otherwise, powdered peanut butter really isn't that different from the regular stuff. It's still rich in protein, folate, niacin, and vitamin E, all of which help to keep you healthy and trim. "It's not going to be as creamy as traditional peanut butter, but it still gives you that taste and is very satisfying," says Martin, who uses PB2 in peanut dressings, oatmeal, and as a traditional spread. "You can make it as thin or thick as you want," she says. "Play with it to figure out how you like it." If you're not into the texture, you can combine it with regular peanut butter—it'll still cut fat and calories from your PB&J habit, says Martin.

Have you tried powdered peanut butter? Tell us what you think of it—and how you like to eat it—in the comments below!

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