I wish my dad was here this month because its National Peanut Butter Lover’s Month and like me he loves Peanut Butter. Especially when its Crunchy Peanut Butter but he isn’t. Although, my nephew Jason is and he loves Peanut Butter just as much as my dad and I do. So I will celebrate with him by having a Peanut Butter Sandwich and then making Peanut Butter Cookies with Charlie in his Homeschool Cooking Class. Would you like to make Peanut Butter Cookies with us?
National Peanut Butter Lover’s Month
Peanut butter lovers unite! Before you ask it doesn’t matter if your in love with Creamy Peanut Butter or Crunchy Peanut Butter you can join us in our celebration.
November is National Peanut Butter Lovers Month.
November is a month to eat Peanut Butter morning, noon, and night! By the spoonful, if you’d like or use Peanut Butter to make your favorite foods even better.
National Peanut Butter month was originally just a day until Southern Peanut Growers created Peanut Butter Lovers Day in 1990. The date was November 4th, which just happens to be my Birthday. Honoring the date of the first application for a Peanut Butter patent. Dr. John Harvey Kellogg filed that application on November 4th, 1895.
But Americans love their Peanut Butter! And Peanut Butter was turning 100. So in 1995 the one-day celebration expanded to fill the whole month of November.
Peanuts and Peanut Butter Trivia
Did you know Peanuts aren’t really Nuts. Peanuts are actually Legumes. Legumes are seeds that grow in a pod, like Peas.
Peanut Butter is a paste made from Peanuts. In its most pure form, it’s just ground up Peanuts, with maybe a little Salt and Oil. Peanut Butter contains Honey or Sugar to make it sweeter.
But you can also dress Peanut Butter up with many other ingredients:
- Chocolate, Mint, Coconut, and more to create a “Gourmet” Peanut Butter.
- Other nuts, like Macadamia or Pecans.
- Spices, like Chili Peppers that add heat to the South Indian Peanut Paste.
Peanuts, whether whole or ground up, are a healthy food. Reasons for this include:
- Resveratrol helps keep Arteries healthy and flexible which keeps blood flowing and lowers your chance of Heart Disease.
- Resveratrol is also an Antioxidant, along with P-Coumaric Acid. Antioxidants can prevent premature aging and lower your risk of Cancer.
- Protein helps your body make and repair Muscle Cells, Skin Cells, and more. Each serving of Peanut Butter or 2 Tablespoons gives you 8 grams of Protein.
- Fiber helps keep you regular and it can also help you stay at a healthy weight, which may lower your risk of Heart Disease and Diabetes. One serving of Chunky Peanut Butter contains about 2.6 grams of Fiber ( up to about 10% RDA, depending on your gender).
A few Peanut Butter facts:
- It takes 540 Peanuts to make a 12-ounce jar of Peanut Butter.
- By law a product must be at least 90% Peanuts to be called Peanut Butter in the US.
- Most Peanuts in the US get turned into Peanut Butter.
- The fear of getting Peanut Butter stuck to the roof of your mouth is called Arachibutyrophobia.
- By age 18 the average American child has eaten 1,500 PB&J Sandwiches!
LET”S Celebrate National Peanut Butter Lovers Month
For the entire month of November eat Peanut Butter every day.
Let’s make our own Peanut Butter which is simple to do.
Here is a recipe for you to check out.
- Homemade Peanut Butter: Just 3 ingredients. Uses pre-roasted & salted peanuts.
Use Peanut Butter in cooking or Baking.
Entrees:
Chicken Wings with Spicy Peanut Sauce: Sweet, salty, and spicy perfection. Your new favorite wings sauce.
Desserts:
Animals Love Peanut Butter:
Treat your best friend to Peanut Butter but keep in mind:
- Peanut butter has lots of Calories, and Peanut Butter is not the best treat for an overweight dog.
- Some Peanut Butters use Xylitol as a Sweetener. Did you know Xylitol is toxic to dogs? Always check the ingredient list before giving this to your dog!
- Dogs can be allergic to Peanuts,. Skip this Snack if your Pooch is Allergic.
- Only give small amounts at a time. It may be fun to watch dogs trying to eat sticky Peanut Butter, but eating Peanut Butter can be stressful to our dogs.
Make a peanut butter/lard treat for your Birds and Squirrels. Here is a recipe that uses Chick starter, a high-protein, Vitamin rich feed for newly hatched Chicks.
Here is a easy Craft the kids can do:
Coat a Pine Cone in Peanut Butter and roll in Bird Seed. Add a string. Then hang from a Tree.
Using Peanut Butter in unconventional ways:
You’ve probably heard Peanut Butter helps loosen Gum from fabrics and hair, but Peanut Butter can also get other sticky stuff off other things:
- Loosen gum from the soles of your shoes.
- Remove glue from your hands.
- Remove stickers or labels from about anything.
Clean vinyl or leather. Just rub it with Peanut Butter! Buff it clean.
Did you know you can shave with Peanut Butter? Yes, if you’re out of your regular Shaving Cream, use a dollop of Creamy Peanut Butter.
Celebrate Peanut Butter with Peanut lovers.
If you’re near Dothan, Alabama, you should go to the National Peanut Festival. The annual festival has been happening since 1938! This Festival celebrates the role of Peanuts to the area, which grows almost 2/3 of the US Peanut crop.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
