Did you know that peanuts are the main source of protein for the majority of the people in the world? Technically they’re a legume, and are one of the top 25 foods to have in your prepper pantry. You can even boil and can them for later use. To grow peanuts, you’ll have to check the times of the year to germinate and plant because it varies on your geographic location. They are a “cover” crop, simply meaning that after a harvest one year of corn, wheat, etc., you plant the next year in peanuts…it promotes the restoration of nitrogen to the soil. That is what peanuts do. I pick up seeds periodically as a backup, and grow some (potted) every three years…. just to seed-save and have a few.
Peanuts are a high protein source
Peanuts are very high in protein. 1-ounce of shelled peanuts has about 7 grams of protein. They’re very high in minerals: Niacin, Magnesium, and Manganese, to name a few, and the ounce gives 20, 10, and 30% of the RDA for these respectively. They also contain sodium and potassium (230 and 180 mg respectively), which is a good indicator of why they’re optimal for hiking and physical exertions, as they can replace some electrolytes.
Create an alternative oil source
Because peanuts have such a high oil content, you can also press them for oil. This oil, understand, can be used for cooking (optimal), as well as lamps, emollients in homemade lotions, ointments, and creams, and in a grid-down, SHTF scenario, nothing could be so useful…for cooking meals and providing light when candles and batteries are a thing of the past. There are hand-presses you can order that will enable you to harvest your oil.
For more information on how to press oil from seeds and nuts, click here.
Another thing of interest: the resultant mass after the oil is pressed out of the nuts can be both eaten and/or used as feed for livestock. Then there’s peanut butter, JJ’s end-all, be-all of existence in some form or fashion. The protein shakes I take for lifting weights taste as the “S” in the SHTF; therefore, I augment it with 2 Tbsp. of peanut butter, adding an additional 8 grams of protein and making it taste really good. Peanut butter is really great for storage and for survival food. The type and grade is your choice. I like to pick mine up in plastic jars, as this is Montana, and I don’t want 500 lbs. of peanut butter and 100 lbs. of cracked, broken glass jars, the former stuck and frozen to the latter.
Seriously, folks, it’s great survival food and will supplement your diet and give you the extra protein and fats your body needs in times of trouble. The fiber (2 g per 1-ounce) will also help to prevent constipation, as peristalsis decreases in times of high stress found during a collapse scenario. And it tastes great. That counts for something, ladies and gentlemen. You’re going to face enough problems when it hits. You need something to mentally buoy you through the tough times. Something that is good for you and fits the bill for a survival food that actually is enjoyable to eat is a definite plus that will help you mentally.
We’d love to hear about your experiences with the peanut, and how you have incorporated it into your preps. As you probably may have guessed by my exuberance on the subject, yes, Reese’s peanut butter cups are JJ’s favorite candy, and those Nutter Butter cookies. Either of them are akin to a can of Macadamia nuts…. you eat until everything is gone, gone, gone! Looking forward to hearing from you. JJ out!
Was wondering what would be the best method of long term storage, vacuum pack them with oxygen abosorbers? And where could I get peanut seeds, and very interested. I knew peanuts and peanut butter were good for you and a quick source of protein. I live in the pnw and am curious if I could grow them here.
I hope you do not consider my response to be demeaning or condescending. The “seeds” for peanuts are the peanuts, in shell and not roasted. I honestly don’t know if you could take the plant nuts out of the shells and plant them. With most nut trees it is the nut inside the shell that is the “seed.” Peanuts are really not in the “nut” family, but are a variety of legume, which are more the bean family. I just know that when I had put intact, non-roasted, and non-salted peanuts out for the birds and squirrels, and some had been dropped into plant containers, they sprouted. I was advised to pull them to keep them from damaging my fruit trees, since they steal the nitrogen the trees need, so none of the got to the point of producing any peanuts of their own.
Oh, and you might consider some of the other nut butters as well. I love almond butter and cashew butter isn’t too bad. I am very hypoglycemic and used to count on peanuts to get me out of trouble when I would have hypoglycemic problems. However I had gotten a dental abscess which spread until I ended up having all my top teeth pulled. Tried dentures which didn’t work and found out the roof of my mouth is lower than it should be, and I would have to have part of my upper palate surgically removed for me to be able to use dentures. That scares me too much, so I keep peanut butter crackers around now, instead of peanuts, since you just plain cannot gum peanuts.
I have been buying human quality, non-roasted, non-salted peanuts to feed the squirrels around here. When humans use them, they have to be cooked first, but I figured the squirrels and larger birds would probably be better off eating them than giving them roasted and salted peanuts. I discovered last year, quite by chance that there will grow, even in flower pots. Some of the birds, likely the blue jays apparently were trying to carry off the entire peanut and dropped a few, over time, into the containers I had my fruit trees in. I saw strange looking “weeds” growing in some of the large containers, and noticed the peanuts had germinated into the ground. I had pulled a few and their roots were huge. I called a friend whose husband had owned a plant nursery and she had advised me to pull them, as they would steal all the nitrogen from the soil and end up harming my fruit trees. I was somewhat amazed. These peanuts were not planted or even under ground, the roots ran from them, on the top of the dirt. All it took to grow them was the water I put on the fruit trees.