Product Review: Wild Friends Chocolate Coconut Peanut Butter

Today while shopping for a client I stumbled upon this pretty packaging.  I like peanut butter, I love coconut and I LOVE chocolate so I bought it.

I spend a lot of time in grocery stores.  Honestly,  I probably visit Harris Teeter, Trader Joes, Whole Foods and Safeway once a week.   As a bit of a health food whore, I get excited by Non GMO & USDA Organic stamps on packaging pretty packaging.

Today we are talking about Wild Friends brand Chocolate Coconut Peanut Butter.  First of all, it tastes like heaven without out all the added sugar.  The ingredients are simple and natural: Peanuts, Coconut,  Organic Agave, Unsweetened Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt.  I bet your mouth is watering.  You will find only 5 grams of sugar in a serving compared to Nutella’s 21 grams.  The taste is natural and rich.  It is the savory kind of sweet that I crave.

We are talking gluten free, dairy free, vegan, Kosher and Non GMO.  Peanuts generally pack a fair amount of GMOs.

The protein content comes in at 6 grams, which is pretty dang good for what I would consider a dessert.  Nutella only has 2 grams of protein.   The nutrition facts are pretty comparable to an organic peanut butter.  You will notice there is a slightly higher saturated fat in Wild Friends.   That is due to the coconut.  Coconut is high in saturated fat but it is one of those healthy fats our bodies thrive on.

So would I buy this product again? ABSOLUTELY.  I will probably have to buy it soon because I don’t think this jar is going to last all too long.  Five Stars.  I would give it six but I only have five to give.

Cheers!

Gluten Free and Vegan Mug Cake

My latest kitchen experiment is another mug cake.  I am always attempting to make something easy and delicious when a craving strikes but it is usually a fail.  Yesterday I rummaged my pantry to see what I could come up with.  To my surprise my concoction was actually delicious! For some reason I had an open bag of gluten free yellow cake mix so I used that as the base.  I don’t even like yellow cake mix but I doctored it up with some creamy coconut peanut butter (by earth balance) and coconut oil.  I don’t consider baked goods a dessert until there is chocolate, so obviously I added a handful of semi sweet chips.  Here is what you will need:

You obviously do not have to go with the brands I used, but I recommend all of them! Here is how to make your mug cake:

• scoop your cake mix into a large mug or glass bowl
• add in the peanut butter, coconut oil and stir
• add 2 tablespoons of water (or more) and mix until your have a brownie batter consistency
• Fold in a handful (about 2 tbsp) of semi sweet chocolate chips
• Microwave from 1.5+ minutes (depending on your microwave). Watch it the whole time,  it is easy to overcook microwaved baked goods
• Remove when it is still a little gooey, more like a blondie than a cake.  Since all of the ingredients are safe to consume raw you don’t need to worry
• Let it set for a minute or two or mix it up while the chocolate chips are hot to create a ooey gooey chocolate cake (see pictures)

batter sans chocolate chips

add the semi sweet chips

After 2 minutes in the microwave

Mix it up

First bite

yummooo