My kids love PB&J! It is great for lunch, an after school snack, and for taking with us on hikes. We all have our ways of making the classic PB&J sandwich. See bottom of post on how your PB&J creation could win you $500! I like a lot of peanut butter while my husband prefers more jelly than peanut butter. Sometimes I add a layer of bananas for a little something extra too. It is also easy enough for grade-school kids to make their own tasty snack. Sandwich
I have been reading labels a lot over the past few months when I came across Welch’s Natural spreads – they contain no high fructose corn syrup! I gave it a try and my family loves it – we don’t miss the high fructose corn syrup! When I was contacted to do a review and post on Welch’s Natural spreads, I was in! We had just finished our first jar of Welch’s Natural Concord Grape and was ready for another!
Welch’s Natural Spreads Review
We were able to sample both the Welch’s Concord Grape and Strawberry Spreads. Both are make with North American Grown fruit – which is another thing I check on labels. Welch’s Strawberry Spreads are made with sweet, vine ripened strawberries from US and Canada and the Welch’s Concord Grape Jelly and Natural Grape Spread are made with Welch’s very own Concord grapes grown in the US and Canada. I also like that the natural spreads contain no preservatives, no artificial flavors, and no artificial colors.
Welch’s is making the classic PB&J even better. It also makes toast for breakfast delicious! This has become my daughter’s go-to breakfast since we started using Welch’s Natural spreads.
Like I said, we haven’t missed the high fructose corn syrup and artificial ingredients found in our old jelly. The spreads taste fresh and sweet. I did notice that the consistency isn’t the same as conventional jelly. It isn’t as solid and thick. It is easier to spread.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Recipes
Since everyone loves PB&J, we decided to try out a new recipe that incorporates the delicious flavor combination in a new way. I have found that the best way to make your family happy is to include items in recipes that you like (like Peanut Butter & Jelly) and exclude items from recipes that you don’t like. An easy way to do this is to use a substituting ingredients book. Pinterest has a fantastic assortment of PB&J recipes, which is where I chose the Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars Recipe. It is a variation of Baked Explorations Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars Recipe that the blog, Cookies & Cups switched up a bit to make it easier. I made a couple changes too. You can find the entire recipe in my post for Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars Recipe but check out the videos below on how to make Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars.
My 6 year old daughter loves to cook and bake with me. My 8 year old son does, on occasion as well. I’ve always encouraged my kids since they were toddlers to help in the kitchen. It teaches so much about science and math while encouraging reading and the important life skill of preparing food!
The Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars includes an easy-to-make cookie crust.
[slickr-flickr tag=pbjcookiedough]Next, we started on the peanut putting filling. This was an easy recipe for kids to help with. Below, Elizabeth helps spoon in 2 cups of peanut butter.
The peanut butter filling is amazing – you’ll want to lick the spoon just like my daughter did below – another benefit that kids enjoy when helping in the kitchen!
[slickr-flickr tag=peanutbutterfilling]After we froze the peanut butter filling on top of the crust, it was time to add our Welch’s Natural Spread.
This was another easy step that my daughter enjoyed helping with – although I sort of took over in the video above – I get a little nervous while on video.
[slickr-flickr tag=addingjelly]I didn’t realize that it had to chill for 2-1/2 hours when we made the dessert last night. We had to wait until morning to test out our PB&J creation! My daughter was a little tired this morning but she was happy to try a taste of this treat before breakfast!
This recipe make a LOT of Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars – a full 9×13 pan full. They are delicious and so rich that you can’t eat a large piece. Having a cold glass of milk with them is just perfect.
[slickr-flickr tag=pbjbarsdone]If you think this looks good, head on over to my Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars Recipe post.
National PB&J Day
April 2th is National PB&J Day! Welch’s is celebrating with the “PB&J Your Way” Facebook Contest! Simply tell them your creative spin on the classic sandwich for a chance to win $500 and a one year supply of Grape Jelly! Wouldn’t that be awesome?! If you aren’t the grand prize winner, you could be 1 of 50 people that will win a sandwich keeper.
Enter now because the winner will be chosen by random drawing on 4/3/2013!
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I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Welch’s. I received product samples to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item as a thank-you for participating.
