November is such a wonderful month full of cool days, crunchy leaves underfoot, and glorious colors all around! It's full of all good things to eat like pumpkins, cranberries, turkeys, and peanuts. Peanuts, harvested in the fall, are ready to make their way to our homes fresh for the Thanksgiving holidays. In the home, the peanuts are made in candies, cookies, and the famous peanut butter sandwiches. Are peanuts nutritional? You bet!  Peanut butter is a very high in calories, yet very healthy food. Most of the fats contained in peanut butter are monounsaturated which have been shown to improve the cholesterol profile by lowering "bad" LDL cholesterol. This, in turn, decreases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Peanut butter contains high quantities of dietary fiber, proteins, Vitamin E and B3 (which reduces cancer risks), together with Vitamin E, iron, magnesium, potassium, copper, and calcium. So, does peanut butter benefit our body's health? Yes!

Follow up:

One man, Dr. George Washington Carver, saw the wonder that the little peanut contained and began his own personal pursuit to find all of the mysteries the peanut held. In 1916, Dr. Carver published a thin manual titled  "How to Grow the Peanut and 105 Ways of Preparing It for Human Consumption." The manual arrived at just the right time because all of the cotton crops had been destroyed by the boll weevil.  Until the boll weevil was eliminated several years later, people in  the South survived on peanuts made into stews, casseroles, ground as a substitute for coffee, cream cheese, and, of course, made into the candies and cookies we still love today. The animals survived on peanuts and peanut hay. To find a copy of his manual which does include many recipes for peanuts, go to: aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/publications/guides/carver_peanut.html

The history of peanut butter is really interesting. Did you know that

• 540 peanuts make a 12 ounce jar of peanut butter?
• the Inca of Peru used peanuts as sacrificial offerings and entombed them with their mummies to aid in the spirit life?
• peanut butter was introduced to the United States in 1904 at the Universal Exposition in St. Louis?
• Marcellus Gilmore Edison was the first person to patent peanut butter in 1884?
• The Reese's Peanut Butter Cup was first introduced in 1928?
• Two peanut farmers have served as President of the United States? They were Thomas Jefferson and Jimmy Carter.
• Astronaut Allen B. Sheppard carried a peanut with him to the moon?
• Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of getting peanut butter stuck to the roof of your mouth?

Not only is the history of peanut butter interesting but the statistics behind the economics and consumption is also full of interesting facts.
Consuming peanut butter:

*The average American consumes more than 6 pounds of peanuts a year raw, in confections, peanut butter, and raw. This amounts to 1.5 million pounds of peanuts per year!
* The average child will eat 1,500 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before he/she graduates high school.

Diversity of peanut butter:
*Women and children prefer creamy, while most men opt for chunky.
*People on the East Coast prefer creamy peanut butter, while those on the     West Coast prefer the crunchy style.

Economics of peanut butter:
*Peanut butter contributes more than $4 billion to the USA economy each year.
*Americans spend almost $800 million a year on peanut but it's fall. Soon Thanksgiving will arrive. The little peanuts are being harvested for big profits and bigger taste. If you're not an arachibutyrophobia, stop now and enjoy a delicious peanut butter sandwich. Statistics: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu

EDIBLE PEANUT BUTTER PLAY DOUGH
No need to worry about additives such as food coloring and chemicals with this fun play dough nor does it dry out as quickly as the store bought stuff! Big plus, everyone can play with it and eat it!
Recipe 1
In a large bowl, combine:
1 cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup honey
2 cups powdered sugar

Recipe 2

In a large bowl, combine:  12 oz jar peanut butter, 6 tablespoons honey and 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

Steps are the same for both recipes.
Combine peanut butter with the rest of the ingredients. If dough is too sticky, add more dry ingredients. If dough too flaky, add more honey.
Mix until the dough is soft and easy to handle.
Supervise the children and enjoy. Suffice it to say - stay away from carpets and animals!