The Quest for the Perfect Peanut Butter

Indeed, I had a quest for the perfect peanut butter shortly after I had discovered that the Maranatha brand that I had been using changed the formula of the product. Sure the peanut butter is organic, but I was mortified to see organic palm oil on the label. Most peanut butters with added trans fat sources have them to keep the peanut butter homogenized, so the oil doesn't separate to the top like on most "natural" butters. (Palm, other tropical oils, shortening and hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils all are sources of trans fats which are bad for cardiovascular health. A product with only trace amounts are permitted to advertize as having zero grams of trans fats.)
My sister has taught me to be a label reader. At first I thought she was just overzealous, but her preaching has finally made it into my everyday practice. Cardio problems run in the family tree, I always tease that we don't have cancer in our family, we never make it long enough to get it. I figured since I'm turning to a healthier lifestyle, I might has well do it all. "The experts" suggest doing small steps at a time, but sometimes, for certain people, like me, drastic changes are what stick. Break all the old habits at once, trading them all in for better ones.
Eventually, I did find my peanut butter. It is even made in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, good source of fiber too, 1 gram more than most. When females in my age bracket are supposed to consume 25 grams, every extra one counts. (Males in this age group are supposed to get 38, for anyone who wants to know)

Another item from the kitchen, I tried shiitake mushrooms for the first time today. I'm not all that impressed. I'll stick to portabellas and the common whites. Portabellas are quite good, but whites are a little more budget friendly. (Though I find Sam's Club, where I work, we have portabellas for a good price, and like all our produce, are very good quality.)
Mushrooms are a superfood that grew on me. I purchased a large pack from work to ensure myself a chance to learn to enjoy them. I never minded them on pizza, in Italian cooking, or from a can, but I was never crazy about sauteed ones. Now I have been enjoying the low calorie, (watch the amount of butter they get sauteed in!!) high-in-antioxidant-food almost daily with asparagus when I have my mock-omelet in the morning.



Last Item of business,
the best for last.
I was talking to a friend of mine a few nights ago on IM when I was sending out some emails. I found out some amazing news:
A girl who was going with us to LSC who was talking about getting an abortion after finding out she was pregnant, had and kept her baby : )
When I got wind of her wanting to end her baby's life, I had some words with her. My roommates and I were even willing to make a deal with her. She wasn't very open minded about hearing me out so in desperation and in tough love, I laid out my ending statements to plead with her heart and brain as this: Her baby's heart was beating 18 days from conception.
When that didn't phase her, my final words to her to get her to understand how real of a person her baby was were: Her baby has brain waves at 40 days.

I was sure she proceeded with her abortion on how she blocked me out and then skipped several days of school and eventually dropped out. She shut out a lot of people except school stuff before the very end.

I found out she also has a myspace, which she has a blog about the birth of her baby and how much she loves him. I have decided not to contact her after the terms we left off on, but it enough for me to know that she changed her heart and chose life. This is a HUGE faith lifter. She and her little boy certainly still need prayers; the father is out of the picture now and she leads a little bit of an alternative lifestyle. She does have a good family network though.

God is so good, He has power to change the hearts of men (women too ; ) )
Even if she isn't Christian, at least He could manage to touch her soul enough to let life!!