Last night was lovely. Instead of hitting up the gym for my full body workout and a little cardio…I decided that I actually felt like going outside for a run. My roommate had told me about some new trails that were within walking distance from my house so I knew I had to try them!

They were no West Virginia trails , but for Oklahoma and my area–they work for me. They lead to a big pond where you can fish and one of the loops in the trails is about 1/2 a mile so that works out nicely. They are very close to my new apartment (that I move in tomorrow), so I have a feeling me and the pups will go on many walks there.

Anyways, I ran around 3 miles. It sort of stunk. I wasn’t planning on a run in the heat and humidity and so I did not properly hydrate well at all. But, oh well, it was some activity and I found a new trail.

I kept dinner simple because I don’t have time to make anything new. All of my extra energy needs to be on packing.

Spinach Salad with broccoli, carrots, and a slice of turkey bacon.

Veggie Burger with turkey bacon

Nothing too exciting, but it was good and did the trick.

The real fun in this post comes from my breakfast this morning. When I was packing I came across my Peanut Butter & Co. cookbook.

I browsed through it and got peanut butter aroused. It all look so good. My eyes first settled onto this masterpiece.

There were a million other things that looked good in this cookbook. I hope Sean is ready to consume a lot of peanut butter in the near future because I plan on making a ton of these recipes.

I saw this recipe and I pretty much had everything on hand to make it. I made some changes to make it a little healthier.

Peanut Butter & Jelly French Toast

Makes 4 servings

• 1 can (12 ounces) frozen grape juice concentrate (I used frozen berries…didn’t have any grape juice concentrate, plus berries are better for you)
• 1/2 cup Smooth Operator Peanut Butter (I used cinnamon raison swirl)
• 8 slices Challah Bread ( I WISH I had challah bread. I used regular whole wheat)
• 4 large eggs (I used 1 egg and some whites)
• 1/4 cup whole milk (I used skim)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I used none)

1. Pour the grape juice concentrate into a small saucepan and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Stir constantly, being care not to let the juice burn. (I microwaved my frozen berries and used that for the syrup instead).
2. Spread about 2 tablespoons of peanut butter on the 4 slices of bread. Place the other 4 slices of bread atop those covered with peanut butter, pressing down on them lightly and set aside.
3. In a shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Dip both sides of the sandwich in the mixture so that the bread is coated evenly.
4. Melt the butter in a large frying pan or skillet over medium heat. Place the sandwiches in the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes per side, or until golden brown.
5. Cut each sandwich in half diagonally and serve with the grape syrup (or in my case…the berry syrup).

My version of Peanut Butter & Jelly French Toast

Wow, this breakfast was SO good. It made my morning one hundred times better than usual. I can’t wait to dig more into this cookbook.

Peanut Butter Random Facts

• In 1904, C.H. Sumner introduced peanut butter into the world at the Universal Exposition in St. Louis. He sold $705.11 worth of peanut butter at his concession stand.
• 1928: Peter Pan peanut butter is introduced.
• 1932: Skippy Peanut Butter is introduced.
• 1968: Smuckers introduces peanut butter with stripes of jam and jelly in the same jar.
• 1958: Jiff peanut butter is introduced.
• When making a peanut butter sandwich, 96 percent of people put the peanut butter on before the jelly.
• It takes about 747 peanuts to make one 16 ounce jar of peanut butter.
• and my favorite peanut butter random fact: The world’s largest PB & J sandwich was created in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on September 7, 2002 by the Oklahoma Peanut Commission and the Oklahoma Wheat Commission. The sandwich weighed in at nearly 900 pounds and contained 350 pounds of peanut butter and 144 pounds of jelly. Oklahoma knows how to do it right ya’ll. .

How do you make your peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? Are you one of the 4% who put the jelly on first? I always toast the bread. Then, I put peanut butter on first on just one side and then I put the jelly on top of the peanut butter and put the two pieces of bread together. I can’t stand when the jelly is put on a slice of bread without the peanut butter on it first. I won’t eat the sandwich that way.

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