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Hey Jennifer! I just found your blog from granola chronicles and wanted to say hello and welcome to the awesome blog world! I love your blog name, well because peanut butter is amazing! and plus your name is pretty original, not many people love peppers enough to put it as part of their title! haha i love it! and your dogs are just soo cute!

Jennifer, I stopped in my tracks when I saw your post on Skinnytaste’s blog. Peanut butter and peppers? Who on earth would put those together? I had to find out! So, I clicked and came to your blog. But, that’s not the rest of the story. I LOVE PEANUT BUTTER AND PEPPERS TOGETHER! It all started when I was a working girl, and often ate with other working girls (ok, we were a skirting middle age by then) at a local Deli sandwich shop. As I would go through the line, no matter what else I was asking for on my sandwich, I always asked for extra peppers. Love them! One day, the Deli owner said she’d eventually think of something I would NOT eat with peppers. I challenged her. Fast forward to my early retirement years, and I got home one day hungry for lunch, but undecided what I wanted. (In those days, I wasn’t watching weight, so anything was game), and decided I really wanted a peanut butter sandwich, but I also wanted something with the nice green pepper staring at me so temptingly from the fridge. Oh, heck, why not put them together? When I was a kid growing up, my Dad had always eaten his peanut butter with mayonnaise. I would often choose mayo instead of jam, too, so on that historic day…. tah, dah…. the amazing Peanut-Butter-Mayo-Pepper sandwich was born! Something sweet and gooey. Something tangy. Something crunchy and sweet. All between two slices of multi-grain bread. YUMMY! Now that I’m wearing the results of eating ‘anything’s game’, and trying to get rid of the weight, I am limiting the peanut butter to 1 tbsp, the mayo to fat-free, and eating more peppers than ever! In fact, since I’m thinking about it, I may have HALF of a peanut-butter-mayo-pepper sandwich on mulit grain for dinner tonight! Keep up the good work, Jennifer! Lee

Hi Jennifer! You have a great story. Mine is similar, but I’m in my mid-40′s. I also live in NorCal and have 2 kids and 2 dogs! I started a food blog about a year ago http://www.CopperLanternCooking.com and love the process of creating and sharing recipes and tips. January 2011 my husband booked a trip to Kauai and I really felt like I had to lose some weight. I didn’t quite make my goal before the trip, but a year later I’m still down the 40 pounds I set out to lose!

I don’t think calorie counting is all bad. I try to keep a “general” idea of what I’m eating just so I stay aware and don’t fall back into unconscious eating. That is, not even paying attention. When I don’t pay attention, I forget about that snack I had earlier and I’ll have another. If I write it down, even just a quick list on my iPhone or a notepad, I can keep on track. Losing weight and keeping it off in your 40′s is quite a task and I don’t want to have to go through it again in the 50′s, so I’m paying attention. I run 4-5 days a week, do Taekwondo and Kickboxing and it gives me tons of energy. I need it! I have kids, a husband, a house, a yard, a garden, dogs and me to all take care of! Somewhere in there I found the time to open a cupcake bakery. Well, I lied, I didn’t find the time. I stole the time from my family and after only a few months, I felt like I really had to give it back. I opened a successful business, but then had an unsuccessful role as mother and wife. The business had to go, but now I am back to what I LOVE! Your stories are fun and inspirational and I enjoy your recipes.

Where are you in Norcal? Just wondering how close we actually are. I’m about 30 miles east of Sacramento.

Hi Jen! I just started following your blog, and I think it’s just fantastic! Looking forward to reading much more!

–Stephanie

Jennifer, out of all of the food blogs out there I have become so obsessed with EVERY PART of yours! We have so many similar interests (I am obsessed with food, shopping, fitness, family, dogs, PEANUT BUTTER, and yes even peppers). I also pretty much only shop at Trader Joes and was delighted when I saw that your blog had an entire page dedicated to it! I have made a few of your breakfast recipes and am excited to keep testing out more. You have inspired me to possibly create my own blog! Keep it up.

I like the blog, picked it up on a twitter search for frozen yoghurt as I am opening a parlour in the UK soon. I think you’re right not to count – I weigh everyday and I can tell whether I had a sedentary day and or really pigged out. But I think the (very moderate) exercise plus sensible eating is the crucial thing. You write and illustrate beautifully!

Hi Jennifer,
I hear you about wanting to keep the weight off. I’ve lost about 26 pounds over the last 21 months (still have about 10 more to go), and what I’ve learned is that there is really no good food or bad food. It’s about eating often enough (every 2-3 hours) and getting the right balance of protein, fast carbs, slow carbs and fats. I’ve been struggling with my weight for 50 years or so, and have finally learned enough about how to eat right that I think I can maintain for life, once I reach my goal. That’s amazing since I love both wine and beer. But I’ve also learned that when I get to really enjoy what I eat, and get to eat enough, I don’t need more than one glass of wine or beer. I also don’t need dessert at the end of a meal – a snack a couple of hours later works well for that, if I so desire. The plan we are on has a range of calories for meals and for snacks, for men and for women. We don’t count calories, but I do try to keep general track, so I know that what we are eating is within the appropriate range. I check the nutrition on all recipes I use so I know how to put meals together using those recipes. I’m about to check your blog out further, and am sure I will enjoy it.