Peanut butter sandwiches are a staple of elementary school lunches, but can still be a healthy part of an adult diet. As a source of protein and healthy fats, try peanut butter for weight gain.

It's easy to find and you can add it to a variety of meals from savory to sweet. Use peanut butter to add nutrients and calories to snacks and meals.

1. Peanut Butter for Weight Loss

Gaining a healthy weight requires a disciplined diet and exercise. Sure, you can gain weight by eating excessive amounts of chips, soda, pizza, and desserts, but these unhealthy foods are loaded with sugar, fat, and few nutrients.

Combine nutrient-dense foods with exercise to support muscle growth and bone strengthening, not just weight gain.

Whether you're looking to gain weight after an illness, fill out a naturally sparse figure, increase athleticism or become stronger and less fragile, peanut butter can help you achieve your goals.

To make your weight gain 1/2 pound to 1 pound per week, add about 250 to 500 nutrient-dense calories per day instead of junk food, as the University of Colorado suggests.

2. Eat Breakfast and Snack

For breakfast, spread peanut butter on toast or a bagel. Use it to top whole-wheat pancakes or waffles. Pour 2 tablespoons of tablespoon into hot cereal, such as oatmeal. Dip thinly sliced apples and bananas into nut butter.

Serve with peanut butter and braided wheat crackers for a quick snack. Make peanut butter, banana and honey sandwiches on whole-wheat bread and stash them in your backpack or purse for a snack. When traveling, carry a small packet of peanut butter with you for a more convenient snack.

3. Add Peanut Butter to Meals

Peanut butter sandwiches make an easy-to-pack, high-calorie lunch. Serve it with foods such as apples, chopped carrots, yogurt and milk to make meals with peanut butter for weight gain.

For a bigger meal, make a dipping sauce with peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, garlic and ginger. Serve it with grilled meat, Asian-style noodles or fried rice.

Make homemade hummus with peanut butter instead of sesame paste and chickpeas, lemon juice and garlic. Serve hummus with whole-wheat pita chips or whole-wheat crackers.

4. Recover with Peanut Butter

Resistance training is key when you're trying to gain muscle weight. However, you will inevitably burn calories during your workout, which can interfere with your ability to produce excess calories.

Eat a post-workout snack that contains carbohydrates and protein to replace those calories, promote muscle growth and facilitate muscle repair.

5. Try these alternatives

While peanut butter is a good choice for weight gain, try other nut butters or nut butter blends made from a variety of nuts for added flavor and nutrition. Almond and cashew butter have roughly the same number of calories as peanut butter.