Peanut Butter

For months now I have been trying to clean up my eating habits. Every conversation I have with a "nutritional expert" they tell me to stop eating peanut butter. Why I ask.

Reasons given-
1 it is a legume not a nut.
2. processed food.
3. It has fungus/mold

I grew up in a generation where peanut butter & jelly or a fluffernutter was lunch. We all grew up healthy and active. Now schools have nutfree classrooms and the cafeterias have special sections for kids who have peanut butter in there lunch bags. Now I am not say peanut allergies are not real, they are very real but I peanut butter seems to now be on the bad list. My child spent lunch in the corner of the cafeteria eating his PB & J. I noticed he is taller, sturdier and has less sick days then his peanut avoiding buddies. His buddies have ADHD etc... are thinner, paler and not growing as fast. Is this a sign that consuming peanut butter makes you healthier? No but it is my observation.





This article discusses the good and bad of peanut butter.
Is Peanut Butter Bad For Your Health? A Look at The Evidence

It seems like everything in the stores nowadays, eat the good stuff. If you have access and the budget the fresh ground peanut butter is the best. Otherwise IMO Skippy ain't gonna kill ya, just don't eat the whole jar.

 

Most of you prolly know this....but a good way to tell if your PB is "real food" is to look for the top of it to be a inch or so of oil. Skippy, kraft etc - uh...no thx.

 

Welcome to Peanut Butter & Co. white chocolate peanut butter. I lock it in the booze cabinet so the kids and others can not get to it. Makes the best peanut butter cookies ever. If the shtf i might commit terrible acts of violence to get my hands on a jar.

 

Peanut butter is a favorite food. High in protein , calorically dense and stores well. In my car survival
Kit I have a big jar.

 

@Mindgrinder I picked up a jar of the "good stuff" today. It is dryer then my Skippy. I had the oil on top and I stirred real good.

@vonslob white chocolate peanut butter..... there just aren't words. Thanks for the link

 

I'm glad you posted this thread...I looked in the cellar to see how many jars we had....
Zero.
Apparently my little brother has been dipping into the house preps and leaving them at his buddies hunt cabin 200+km away....kinda annoyed with myself for not noticing sooner.
I was mad for a couple seconds until I remembered how much venison he puts in the freezer.

*shrugs*
Added to shopping list.....along with real honey if I can find it.

 

I wondered the very same thing, so I called my sister to get her opinion. Quick background- she double majored in Nutrition and Kinesiology, has a masters in Nutrition, works as a dietician on an AFB, and has written articles for various magazines (yes, she was at the deeper end of the Gene pool). Her opinion is simple- if you don't have an allergy to it, then you should eat it. As mentioned, the kind you mix is the best. If you don't have to mix it, read the label- there are all kinds of things added to keep it from separating.

 

My college roommate's mother was a nutritionist, or so she claimed. She got all kinds of mad at me because I stuck the peanut butter in the fridge. According to her, peanut butter that had been refrigerated would give you cancer.

I don't eat much peanut butter... don't like the natural stuff for starters. I keep a bunch of Skippy or Jiff or something on hand, can't remember which, just because the stuff stores forEVER and because it's awesome for hiding pills in so the dogs will eat them. I'd rather Nutella, or cashew butter.

 

I screw the lid from a jar of peanut butter to a tree about three feet high then I screw the jar on and cut the bottom off.
Deer love it and coons will get elbow deep in it!

 

Just to clarify... oil on top is good? Ive only ever seen a small amount after it sits for a long time

 

Right, when you first open the jar there should be a layer of oil at the top- mix it up and keep it in the fridge to stop it from separating again. That's the natural stuff.

 

Right - the oil layer is a good sign it doesn't have a ton of additives.

When in doubt....or if you have a good quality food processor...make your own.

 

I like to mix peanut butter at different times with a bunch of other nut butters. I use almond butter the most, then followed by cashew butter and finally Nutella. Sandwiches, whole wheat crackers, celery, and apples are the main medium of choice for transportation into my system.

Stirring is a pain, and can be very messy when you are in a hurry. I have a lid with an attached stirring rod, but it hardly ever fits any of the jars I get.

I waited until my young ones were two years old before letting them try a little peanut butter (or I would have been hanged by the PC parent police). Luckily they are fine with it.

 

When i go out to play in the backcountry in the winter pre-made peanut butter sandwiches on whole wheat something are a staple. High in fat, high in calories, eating it on the move doesn't bother my stomach. I have gone long distances on nothing more than GU energy gel packs, bananas, peanut butter/ crackers and water.

 

Peanut butter is a perfect 'survival food'. It does not, and should not, be refrigerated. That makes it too stiff to spread or stir. Peanut butter will not go bad in the jar any time soon. I avoid any peanut butter with Canola Oil - a personal preference. Read on it, there are strong pros and cons, and the cons get scary. But plenty of alternatives.
Natural peanut butter is my favorite snack. Some brands have a grittier texture that I like (not the crunchy type). Mixed with a bit of maple syrup it is heavenly! Gotta watch those calories though, but in a true survival situation where you are moving and expending energy, you want the calories. The syrup isn't refrigerated either.
I keep both in my GHB in the van.

 

you are correct sir. hershey chocolate bars do really well in the winter and they are a staple

 

I use salt block brackets screwed to trees. Fits a large jar of the cheap stuff perfectly.

 

I have seen powered peanut butter for some time and finally decided to try it. A 16 oz jar cost about $5. The 16 oz jar will make 37 servings. I compared it to a jar of Jif that I had in the cupboard. The PB2 was healthier, less sodium, calories and fat. To make PB2 all you need to do is add water.
Traditional
2 Tbsp: 190 calories
Calories from fat: 130
Saturated fat: 3 grams

PB2
2 Tbsp: 45 calories
Calories from fat: 13
Saturated fat: 0 grams

I made up some PB2 then went to the experts. The kids tried the Jif then the PB2. One really loved the PB2, said it tasted better almost sweeter. The other thought they were both good and didn't care. I personally thought the PB2 tasted fresher,more like the natural peanut butters you would buy, less the oils.

Here is a link to the PB2 website with the nutritional information. It is easy to make- just add water and I know all the ingredients.
Bell Plantation - Nutritional Facts

I tried to make variations. I do not own cooking oil because I always sub applesauce. This was not good but I will be trying coconut oil and other things besides water. Planters used to have peanut butter that had raisins and granola in it and I think I can replicate it using PB2.