NY eats: Peanut Butter & Co

How many times have I longingly gazed at the PB & Co jars on the shelves of Whole Foods, never buying any because I didn't know which flavor to choose?
I decided to wait to buy the peanut butter until after I had visited their cafe in the Village. It also just happened to be the perfect place to meet my friend Sam from my Paris program. We used to spend hours talking about chocolate and peanut butter alone... she's a chocolate and Nutella fiend.
I'll admit that while the concept behind the cafe is cute, the food is ridiculously overpriced? If they charge 7 dollars for a sandwich, it better be good, right? The theme of the cafe is pure nostalgia, only slightly more glamorous: enjoy a gourmet peanut butter (or not) sandwich on wheat or white, with the crust cut off, if you like, carrot sticks, potato chips, and if you want milk, they have skim, whole, Lactaid, or soy, with your choice of syrup.
I was tempted by all the sandwiches, but they either seemed too dessert-like (I know, lame reason), or I felt like I could make them at home. I decided on the peanut butter sampler, which includes all their peanut butters with carrots, celery, apple slices, and crackers.

I also ordered a chocolate egg cream, simply because I had never tried one before. If you don't know, an authentic egg cream should be chocolate syrup on the bottom, followed by milk, and finally seltzer-- it's the "poor man's milk shake." The verdict? I personally loved it... It was so refreshing and a good way to satisfy a milkshake craving without drinking an entire liquified pint of ice cream.

As for my sampler plate, I was astounded at how much peanut butter I got-- basically those little plastic containers normally used for ketchup.
And how fresh was the peanut butter? The jars were still warm, and the peanuts had evidently just been ground.
BUT... I would have preferred some cut up pieces of bread or something, since the "Melba toast" was pretty unsatisfying. I didn't end up eating that much, because how much peanut butter can you really eat? I ended up taking all the peanut butters home, and now I can say I've tried all the flavors. I'll review them briefly here--

Smooth Operator and Crunch Time were great quality peanut butters. Just the right texture-- slightly liquid and also perfectly salty.
Dark Chocolate Dreams-- the chocolate overpowered the peanut butter, but this was ridiculously indulgent, like Reeses. I preferred it to Nutella, which has an unnaturally slick and shiny texture.
White Chocolate Wonderful-- I couldn't really taste the white chocolate, which doesn't have much flavor anyway. It was more like sweetened peanut butter. I wonder if there would be a way to bring out the white chocolate taste more.
The Heat is On-- this was definitely one of the best! Savory peanut butter is wonderful. They weren't shy with the spices, either. This was actually hot, and would be great as a dressing for Asian noodles.
Cinnamon Raisin Swirl-- As I love cinnamon in all forms, this was one of my favorites. Studded with raisins, this is definitely fun to eat on its own.
The Bee's Knees-- convenient to eat with banana peanut butter sandwiches because you don't have to add additional honey, but like the white chocolate, the honey added more sweetness than taste. That's the problem with peanuts... their taste is so overpowering.
Mighty Maple-- I don't know if it was just the sample I got, but it was pretty gritty, as though it had maple sugar instead of syrup in it. The flavor was subtle, but also more obvious than the honey. I can see why Erica likes it so much.

Sam, chocolate lover, ordered the Peanut Butter Cup sandwich, which had peanut butter and Nutella (I wonder why they didn't just use Dark Chocolate Dreams). I pointed out that she could have just made it at home, but she told me that the quality was definitely superior to homemade, which is a relief to hear.

They were a little stingy on the carrot sticks, if you ask me.

On the other hand, I loved the decor of the place! Very old school, with a corner of their products (cookbook, lunchboxes, t-shirts, in addition to peanut butter). I would consider coming back and ordering a milkshake or something instead. I consider it more as a source of ideas for sandwich combinations-- the weekly special was Pina Colada: peanut butter, cream cheese, pineapple jam, and coconut.

MINUS 2 DEGREES?

Yes, that is how cold it was today. So freezing that the wind was blowing chunks of hail in my face. The outside running is postponed once again. My mom and I went to the workout room, but for some reason it was also FREEZING in there... guess the radiator was off? Also, something is seriously wrong with my knee. Probably shouldn't have pushed myself when I knew it was hurting, because now I feel like I have shin splints. I wonder what's wrong...
I only did 25 minutes on the elliptical, then did a faster mile on the treadmill... I don't understand. it seems like I can run a 7 minute mile outside, but when I do that on a treadmill, it feels like I'm full-out sprinting...
(Before I left I had half of a rotting banana)
Breakfast was a pretty small bowl of oatmeal-- strawberries, the other 1/2 of the banana, 1/2 cup skim, 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup cottage cheese (cept then I went back and got more because it didn't really fill me up), vanilla, strawberry jam, and peanut butter.

I TOOK MY MOM TO SEE TWILIGHT TODAY! Before the show, we stopped at the most awesome place to open in Hyde Park yet: Zaleski and Horvath Market Cafe.

I knew there was a gourmet foods store opening, but not that it would be so AWESOME! Check out the shelves:
They also have great coffee, sandwiches, soups, salads, and cookbooks.
My mom got a ham sandwich with a bunch of fancy spreads and cheese (She really is eating more meat than usual) and a cappucino.
I ordered a panini on whole wheat with eggplant, red pepper spread, muenster, and greens.
Both sandwiches came with a side sample: my mom got coleslaw and I got veggie slaw, which had chickpeas, raisins, carrots, and all the things i love.
I fell so in love with this place that I APPLIED FOR A SUMMER JOB! I'm not sure what I would do, but that would be amazing if I could work there... put my blog URL on the app...


I rarely eat cheese, but that little bit of cheese in the sandwich kept me full for a good 7 hours! Is this the secret of life?
After Twilight (Which my mom loved, but she kept laughing during all the romantic/suspenseful scenes and I had to keep yelling at her. It would be "hurry! she only has minutes left!" and my mom would start laughing loud enough that everyone could here... I see where I get my cynicism from) we went shopping... I got some amazing Lulemon leggings on sale. It was so unbelievably cold...
While I was cooking, I had an apple.

Happy Hannukah!

For dinner, I made Deborah Madison's lentil-chestnut soup with fennel, which I've made once before. It's perfect for winter, with the chestnuts giving the same starchy sweet flavor that sweet potatoes do (we use Chinese vacuum-packed chestnuts).
We also had brown rice and stir-fried watercress.
It's been ages since I really indulged in some dessert, so tonight I had a big bowl of ice cream: Purely Decadent Cherry Nirvana (nondairy) and nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt (I may or may not have gotten another scoop of this afterwards)... my sweet tooth is now at peace.

IT'S BREAK!

I'M FREE!!! and my mom comes back tomorrow!!!! I must say I haven't been doing exercise these past few days, but it's been too awful outside to run, and I couldn't get into the workout room at school :( tomorrow, definitely.

Thursday
Breakfast was a fabulous oatmeal creation: Blackberry cardamom oats!
These had 1/2 cup of oats, a cup of oat milk, 1/2 banana, blackberries, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, Greek yogurt, and a drizzle of cashew butter, which made the entire bowl!

Snack: Carrots (plus some leftover Kashis)

Lunch: I actually went out for lunch and didn't take a photo :( But I went to the Medici and got a great veggie sandwich on olive ciabatta with goat cheese, roasted red peppers, hummus, pesto, and a ton of spinach. I got cole slaw but didn't really eat it... meanwhile, I ate an entire HUGE sandwich... it definitely kept me full till dinner.
Dinner: We had a fast, simple, LIGHT meal, which was exactly what I wanted. It was a group effort: my dad cut up all the vegetables and I made the omelettes. We had green pepper and mushroom omelettes with Trader Joe's butternut squash soup that I doctored (sauteed some sage in butter, added half a pear and some ginger) and salad.
And toast, of course.


Dessert: an apple
HA, this looks like the Twilight cover!


Friday

Breakfast: Strawberry banana oats
1/2 cup oats, 1/2 cup skim milk, 1/2 banana, lots of overripe strawberries, stevia, vanilla, cardamom (can't get enough!), almonds, Greek Yogurt, peanut butter
Snack: chopped up apple (turned down lots of yummy looking holiday cookies :()
(ignore Luna bar picture)

Lunch: Sandwich with hummus and tempeh mole (I can't believe this is still good but I guess it keeps really well...) and watercress
Carrots and pepper strips
Grapes

I really wanted to work out after school, but like I said, complications arose. I went and hung out with the swim team... so many memories. I really miss these people. They were having pizza and lots of junk food, but I decided to come back early so I can greet my mom in the morning. I was STARVING and ate a ton.
My dad made stir-fried broccoli and a tofu dish with corn, peas, and celery.
Later: a tangerine

Monday and Tuesday in a Nutshell

SORRY I HAVEN'T BEEN POSTING! Now I can post to my heart's content because all my final papers, tests, projects, etc, are OVER! This calls for a celebration... anyways, last night and the day before I was working on my English project, which was actually a research paper on the history of the whale as food-- it included lots of weird recipes, as well as some politics and social history. I really liked the way it came out, so I might even post it on the blog, if people don't find it too boring. Anyways, I'll do Monday and Tuesday before I blog today.
Monday
Breakfast-- gingerbread, blackberries, a tangerine, and Greek yogurt with a sprinkle of grapenuts.

Lunch-- A Caprese sandwich with spinach and hummus to get the spinach to stick... unfortunately, I also added some balsamic, and since this wasn't sturdy bread, when I unwrapped it it kind of fell a part. Guess it's a good thing I take my lunch photos in the morning.

Snack-- A sliced apple, some Greek and Black's, another tangerine, some graham cracker sticks, and a spoonful of peanut butter, with some chai and soy milk. This was incredibly satisfying, but actually pretty light.

Dinner-- Good old comfort Chinese food:
Bok choy and mushrooms
Spicy eggplant, green peppers, and smoked tofu
With nutty brown rice.
Dessert-- grapes


Tuesday


Breakfast: can't get enough gingerbread! This time with this new "skyr" that I bought at Whole Foods-- it's basically Icelandic yogurt... I think the only difference in ingredients is some vegetable rennet. It tasted a bit more substantial, even though it was fat free... a bit like fromage blanc. It's too expensive to have all the time, but every once and a while would be nice. Also had blackberries and a banana with peanut butter.





Snack: Tuesdays I always need a snack because I have all my classes and thinking is tiring. I had a Kashi bar (Trying to use these up).
Lunch: Leftovers! And an apple
I got a pretty good workout yesterday. In yoga we did a Power Yoga video, and then I went home and ran a mile on the treadmill, then did 40 minutes on the elliptical. Sweating feels so good!
My snack was, of course, cottage cheese and grapenuts with blackberries, strawberries, and almonds.
Dinner: My dad made pineapple fried rice, but the problem with fried rice is every bowl I have, I get hungrier! I don't understand why that is... I always feel like I need to have different components to a meal, because I eat more slowly that way. Either way, this rice was packed with vegetables and protein, but it didn't really fill me up. I tried to have some kimchi on the side, but the flavors totally clashed.
The rice had: a combination of all our leftover rices: white, short-grain brown, and brown basmati
eggs
A tiny bit of shrimp
Green peppers
Fresh pineapple
Red onions
carrots
Flavorings: fish sauce, a kind of Thai seasoning (not curry)

Dessert: 2 tangerines (only 1 shown) and some hot chocolate