For more than a century, peanut butter has been one of the most popular healthy spreads — renowned as a food for the wealthy and served for its deliciously smooth consistency and protein-rich attributes. If you’re a peanut butter fan, you might even know that the use of peanuts dates back to the Incas and Aztecs. Many methods of preparation of peanut butter have been developed by pharmacists, doctors and food scientists — now acknowledging Jan. 24 as National Peanut Butter Day.
I, for one, take my peanut butter for granted — never realizing in order to get it to my pantry there are many processes that take place — from planting and harvesting to shelling, roasting and cooling. Continue with blanching and grinding before finally adding other ingredients and packaging before it becomes classic peanut butter!
Tina Parks, a newcomer to Northeast Florida from Smithfield Kentucky, traded in her nursing career to embark on an exciting journey creating www.NuttyScoopz.com. With an undying entrepreneurial personality, she is obsessed with immune system health. She created NuttyScoopz as a functional snack food to decrease the damaging effects of inflammation that riddled her own health and debilitating disability. Her mission is to help others find healthier options without the damaging effects of sugar, so she sweetens her peanut butter dip with monk fruit.
“Monk fruit juice concentrate is a natural fruit juice that is 15-20 times sweeter than sugar while the powdered extract is 150-200 times sweeter than sugar with a clean flavor profile and no bitter aftertaste,” Parks said. “It is used to reduce or replace sugar in a wide range of foods and beverages.”
What better test market could Parks find than when she brought a snack to her neighborhood group at Christ Church in Mandarin. With only peanuts and apples on hand, she created her first batch of peanut butter dip and it was a huge success. Joining SCORE in Jacksonville, Parks met mentors, friends and fans who encouraged her to create her business and move along with her product development at lightning speed.
Parks' attractive heavy-duty gift box with a choice of two or four clear containers of NuttyScoopz, has propelled her newfound business into the spotlight. Her peanut butter is artisan-crafted with no preservatives, sugar free and handmade in small batches in Jacksonville. It’s an added bonus to receive your gift box accompanied by a ‘surprise’ collection of delicious organic snacks that are perfectly used as peanut butter dip “dippers.”
If you’re a foodie who enjoys receiving monthly treats delivered to your door, Parks has created a monthly subscription to receiving her three flavors of NuttyScoopz — regular, peanut butter and jelly or heat.
Giving back to the community is one of the most important facets of Parks' company. Included in the NuttyScoopz box is information about Catty Shack Ranch Wildlife Sanctuary — with a commitment from Parks that a portion of the proceeds of the NuttyScoopz Snack Pak benefits the sanctuary.
So, Happy National Peanut Butter Day! I’m thinking about all of the creative ways to enjoy my NuttyScoopz — pretzels, skewered fresh fruit, organic dried fruit and crispy rice crackers! Bon Appetit!
For more information, email Tina Parks at tina@nuttyscoopz.com or go to www.NuttyScoopz.com.
