JIF Peanut Butter Online Taste-Test for Bloggers

Back in August, I had the opportunity to participate in an online JIF Peanut Butter Tasting for Bloggers. I also learned about the Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest, which I’ll tell you about at the end of the post, so keep reading!  JIF sent me a tote bag filled with jars of each flavor of JIF peanut butter -Creamy, Crunchy, Creamy Peanut Butter & Honey, Natural Creamy, and Omega-3 Creamy, and a gift card to purchase additional ingredients for the taste-test.

The goal of the tasting was for us to taste each of the peanut butters and learn new ways they can be eaten with other foods to make delicious, nutritious snacks and treats. As you can see from the above photos, we were going to be trying some familiar combinations like peanut butter with celery, or apples, or chocolate, and some surprising combinations like peanut butter and hummus!  I logged in and was able to see live feed of the Taste Test in the Jif Kitchen with Sarah Donahoe (a Jif kitchens rep) as our host.

We followed along as Sarah demonstrated different creative uses for the different varieties of JIF. We dipped veggies into extra crunchy JIF, and spread JIF with Omega-3 blended with plain hummus onto pita chips. Both of those were better than I thought they would be! Then we got to Kaitlyn’s favorite part – the sweet treats.

First, I spooned JIF Natural Creamy into a sandwich bag,  drizzled in some honey, and sprinkled in some cinnamon. I closed the bag and handed it to Kaitlyn so she could “squoosh” everything together.

Then I snipped a corner of the bag and drizzled the peanut butter mixture onto apple slices, which we then rolled in granola. Here’s a tip – the apple slices need to be patted dry with paper towel or the peanut butter will just slide right off! As you can see from the photo below, Kaitlyn just used the apple slice to scoop up the peanut butter and the granola. It was really good!

And then we made the JIF Peanut Butter combination that was so good, it should be sold in jars as a new product! I’m serious, you can’t even imagine how could this is, you just have to make it yourself and find out.  Here’s how:

Put a big spoonful of Vanilla Frosting into a bowl. Add a big spoonful of JIF Natural Creamy Peanut Butter. Stir until blended.

Yes, it would have been easy to just eat it right out of the bowl, but no, Sarah from JIF had to go and make this EVEN BETTER. She had us spread it on graham crackers and top it with squares of DARK CHOCOLATE.  My mouth is watering just remembering how good it was! I made some for the boys when they got home from school that day and I swear their eyes rolled back into their heads. Here’s Kaitlyn enjoying hers:

Now, on to the Contests!

Jif Moms Voice Their Choice Contest

On July 29th, Jif launched a new Moms Voice Their Choice Contest, where moms (or those inspired by one) can share stories about the choices they make for their families. Adults can visit www.Jif.com to submit an essay – 250 words or less – answering one of the following questions:

1. How do you, as a Mom, make the best choices for your family?

2. How have you observed a Mom making the best choices for her family?

- One grand prize winner will win a trip to New York City to serve as a judge at the final 9th Annual Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest event in March 2011. Hurry, entries must be received by October 22nd 2010!

The 9th Annual Jif® Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest™, is an exciting opportunity for kids ages 6-12 to enter to win a $25,000 scholarship or one of four $2,500 scholarships! Have your child create an original recipe using JIF Peanut Butter and submit it on the site.

Rachel, a 10-year-old of Clovis, CA was selected as the winner of the Eighth Annual Jif® Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest™ for her PB & Fruity says “Let Us Rap” sandwich. Rachel’s choice of sandwich ingredients includes; Jif Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter, apples, grapes and chicken combined in a lettuce wrap. The Top 10 sandwiches are chosen through online voting, then the top 5 finalists win a trip to NYC for a live judging. Again, entries must be received by October 22nd, 2010, so get your entry in soon!

Spanish-speaking entrants can go to www.jifenespanol.com to enter.

I know this post is already super-long, but I want to leave you with one last recipe for a crunchy, sweet, peanutty buttery treat!

Peanut Butter Glazed Popcorn

Ingredients:

- Crisco Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
- 2 (2.8 to 3.0 oz) bags microwaved popcorn, popped
- 1 cup Jif Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter or Jif Creamy Peanut Butter
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. HEAT oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray rimmed baking sheet with no-stick cooking spray.

2. PLACED popped popcorn in a very large bowl or Dutch oven.

3. COMBINE peanut butter, corn syrup, butter and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat, add vanilla and stir to combine.

4. POUR warm peanut butter mixture over popcorn, stirring gently to combine. When all popcorn appears evenly coated with peanut butter mixture, spread evenly on prepared baking sheet.

5. BAKE 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven and allow to cool. May be stored in airtight container for up to one week.

Thank you so much, JIF, for letting me take part in this fun online peanut butter tasting!

I received free product samples and a gift card to purchase additional ingredients from Jif for the online blogger peanut butter tasting. All opinions expressed in this post are 100% mine.

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