Jif Natural and Jif to Go

With two small children, a vast repertoire of child-friendly recipes (many of which use peanut butter as a sweetener), and an entire family of Thai food lovers, I use a lot of peanut butter. So when the folks from Jif asked me to try two new Jif products, I was totally down with it.

First, we have the all-new Natural Jif. This is the product I was most excited about trying. I have been working hard to improve the quality of every single thing my children put in their mouths. They both are finicky eaters, so I want to make every bite count.

I had tried a few natural peanut butters, including the Smuckers and Kroger brands, and really wasn't happy with the oil that forms at the top of the jar. For one thing, it was inconvenient to stir that oil into the peanut butter simply because generally when a peanut butter sandwich or peanut butter crackers are called for, the kids want them NOW. For another, at least with the Smuckers, the taste and consistency weren't anywhere near the same as regular peanut butter.

As far as the natural options go at the supermarket, I'd say Jif is hands down the best I've found so far. It looks and tastes like regular peanut butter and has no oil at the top. You will tell a difference in the consistency (enough to know it's not the same as regular peanut butter), but your kids will be clueless.

What makes this peanut butter "natural?" Well, take a look at the ingredients:

MADE FROM ROASTED PEANUTS, SUGAR, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF PALM OIL, SALT, MOLASSES.

And now here are the ingredients from regular Jif:

MADE FROM ROASTED PEANUTS AND SUGAR. CONTAINS 2 PERCENT OR LESS OF: MOLASSES, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL (SOYBEAN), FULLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OILS (RAPESEED AND SOYBEAN), MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES AND SALT.

Um, yeah. I think I'll be choosing the Natural from now on.

The second product I tried was the new Reduced Fat Jif to Go. This is a great idea, is it not? The possibilities for this product are endless- Pair a cup with a sandwich bag full of celery in your kid's lunch bag. Keep them at work for snacking. Take them on a picnic. Bring them along to field trips- There are so many reasons that you might want to take a single serving of peanut butter along with you as opposed to an entire jar.

The servings are generously portioned- There's more than enough for a sandwich, and plenty for an adult to enjoy with crackers or other dippers as a snack. As for the "reduced fat,"this product contains 25% less fat than regular peanut butter. So there you go. And taste wise, you won't notice a significant difference. It's slightly less sweet than the regular peanut butter, but I actually like it that way. I don't think your kids will be able to tell unless they're tasting them side by side.

So there you have it.