Some people think crunchy peanut butter has an attitude problem. I think it’s misunderstood.

I grew up eating only smooth peanut butter, the Jif and Peter Pan variety. I never missed crunchy peanut butter because I never knew that it existed.

I didn’t even see peanut butter with real peanuts in it until I went over to my friend Anna’s house in high school. Her family kept organic peanut butter in the fridge, which at the time seemed like putting birthday cake on the grill. Who does that? I thought.

Now, I know better. A couple years ago I decided to buy crunchy peanut butter instead of smooth. What do I have to lose? I reasoned. I can throw it in the trash if it’s bad and never speak of it again.

I took some onto a spoon and cautiously tasted it. The second I tried it, I knew there was no going back. I loved the crunchy texture mixed with the salty peanuts. The crunchy added, rather than detracted, from the whole package. From then on, I became a crunchy loyalist.

I’ve faced some backlash–TRUST me. Last year on Twitter, some friends raged against a Tweet of mine defending crunchy peanut butter. Smooth is the only way to go, they argued. I think I said that nothing in the world was better than crunchy peanut butter.

That could be a slight exaggeration. But honestly, forget the haters. Make this toast with crunchy peanut butter and bananas and you’ll see that I’m right. Or even if you’re a smooth supporter, you’ll at least understand where I’m coming from. In these trying times, we could use some diplomacy.

Crunchy Peanut Butter Banana Toast (from me, to you)

Ingredients

2 slices of toast (I used multigrain)
2 heaping tbsp of crunchy peanut butter (or more, because you’ll love it)
1 banana, sliced
honey and hemp seeds for topping

Directions

Toast the bread and then spread a generous helping of crunchy peanut butter on top. Top with banana slices, drizzle honey and sprinkle hemp seeds on top. Enjoy! (And don’t listen to the haters).