The good ole classic school lunch: a PB & J

In elementary school and into middle school, my mom always packed us a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread with Jif peanut butter & Welch's grape jelly.

Oh how I miss the days of being the "milk girl" and collecting my classmates' milk from the coolers near the office and eating lunch in my first-grade classroom with lunch mom's helping us open our little milk cartons. Ok, I'll stop being nostalgic.

Anyway, now that I am older, I have come to realize that PB & J's don't quite fuel me like they used to when I was younger. I love "healthifying" this classic lunch sammie and making it more nutrient dense by making a few simple swaps for the old school white bread, Jif peanut butter, and Welch's jelly! And you don't need grain-free bread or sunflower butter (unless you're allergic to peanut butter of course) to up the nutrition of this classic sandwich!

Here are 3 simple swaps to increase the nutrition of a PB and J while still enjoying its deliciousness!

Bread: A few months ago I found the brand Alvarado Street Bakery and I absolutely LOVE their breads. The wheat in all the loaves is sprouted, meaning that it's soaked in filtered water until it sprouts and begins to grow. During the sprouting activity there is enzyme activity that begins to break down the grains, making it easier for us to digest the bread once we eat it! Look for Alvarado Street Bakery Bread at Trader Joe's or use their store locator to find a store near you!

Jam/Jelly: I highly recommend Eden Foods Organic Grape Butter. It is only made with 1 ingredient (organic concord grapes!) and seriously tastes so delicious. Like raspberry jam more? Try Fiordifrutta Raspberry Fruit Spread!

Peanut butter: my favorite is the Creamy Salted Peanut Butter from Trader Joe's (ingredients: peanuts, salt). If you don't have a Trader Joe's near you, then Crazy Richard's Peanut Butter is a great option too (ingredients: salt)!

Want to really up your PB&J game?! Follow the recipe below for a killer GRILLED PB&J... the bread gets nice and toasty, the peanut butter is meltsy, and it tastes just heavenly!

ENJOY!

Grilled PB & J:

Serves: 1 sandwich

Ingredients:

2 slices Alvarado Street Bakery bread

1-2 TBS peanut butter (or any other nut/seed butter that fits your dietary needs)

1 TBS jelly/jam

1.5 tsp coconut oil or butter

Directions:

1.) Heat a skillet over medium heat.

2.) Spread the peanut butter on one piece of bread and jelly on the another. Press the peanut butter layer and jelly layer together.

3.) Once the skillet it heated, add the coconut oil and spread it around so it coats the pan. Then add the sandwich and cook on one side for about 2-3 minutes. Keep an eye on it- you may need to turn the heat down so the bread doesn’t burn! Flip the sandwich and cook it on the other side for 2-3 minutes or until the bread is golden brown!

Turn off the burner, transfer to a plate, and ENJOY!!

Dont forget to tag me on Instagram, @cooking_emily, so I can see your recreations!

Xoxo,

Emily

Thank you Alvarado Street Bakery for sponsoring this post. It means so much to work with brands that I love who support Cooking Emily!