Friday Menu and Meal Plan Ideas: Peanut Butter

Peanut butter contains saturated fat and sodium, so how can it be considered a healthy food? According to the Harvard Medical School and Dr. Walter C. Willett, a nationally known nutrition expert and a member of the Heart Letter's editorial board, peanut butter does not belong in the unhealthy food category.

It does belong with olive oil, wheat germ and tofu. "It’s the whole package of nutrients, not just one or two, that determines how good a particular food is for health," Dr. Willett says.

A typical 2-tablespoon serving of peanut butter has 3.3 grams of saturated fat and 12.3 grams of unsaturated fat. That puts it up there with olive oil in terms of the ratio of unsaturated to saturated fat.

Dr. Willett goes on to say that saturated fat isn’t the deadly toxin it is sometimes made out to be.  The body’s response to saturated fat in food is to increase the amounts of both harmful LDL and protective HDL in circulation. "In moderation, some saturated fat is okay. Eating a lot of it, though, promotes artery-clogging atherosclerosis, the process that underlies most cardiovascular disease."

Peanut butter also gives you some fiber, some vitamins and minerals (including potassium), and other nutrients.

Numerous studies have shown that people who regularly include nuts or peanut butter in their diets are less likely to develop heart disease or type 2 diabetes than those who rarely eat nuts. Although it is possible that nut eaters are somehow different from, and healthier than, non-nut eaters, it is more likely that nuts themselves have a lot to do with these benefits.

Menu for 3 Meals (Recipes not included)

Breakfast:
1. Coffee
2. English muffin and egg

Lunch:
1. Ham sandwich with mozzarella cheese and tomato slices
2. Five Ritz cracker sandwiches filled with peanut butter
3. Three green olives stuffed with red pimento
4. Half of a red apple, cored and sliced
5. Water with Crystal Light lemonade pour-in

Dinner:
1. Boneless pork chops
2. Fried rice
3. Green salad with raspberry dressing
4. Arnold Palmer iced tea

The body needs more than 40 nutrients: vitamins, minerals and water, as well as energy-providing protein, carbohydrates and fats. No one food supplies all the essential nutrients in the amounts needed. Therefore, it is important to eat a variety of foods each day. Suggested meals may not meet recommended nutritional allowances.

When meal planning, choose a portion from each food group. Typically, most adults need 6 to 11 servings of grain products per day; 3 to 5 servings of vegetables; 2 to 4 servings of fruit each day; 3 cups of dairy products every day; and 2 or 3 ounces per day of meat which equals 2 servings.