Peanut Butter helps the planet

Different types of foods impacts differently on the environment. What might be the tastier ones may not be the best food for the environment. Peanut Butter & Jelly Campaign website says eating peanut butter & jelly sandwich is not only healthy, tasty but it is also good for the environment.

• If you eat a peanut butter & jelly sandwich instead of a grilled cheese or chicken sandwich, saves 2.5 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. That is half the amount you would have saved if you switch your car to a hybrid one.

• Peanut butter & jelly sandwich will save 280 gallons of water, since growing peanuts uses less water than a livestock.

• Growing peanuts also takes up a minimum land than raising animals in the farm; it needs more living space and grazing areas. Eating this peanut butter & jelly sandwich will help conserve 12 to 50 acres of land, which can be used for growing more peanuts or other crops.

Thus eating a peanut butter & jelly sandwich tastes good and costs less also compared to eating meats.

Besides these sandwiches are healthier as long you don’t eat too much of it according to WebMD, an online health site. WebMD says peanut butter is high in fat content, but they are healthier fat types, helps the heart with their unsaturated fat. Peanut butter has plenty of good nutrition without the unhealthy trans fat content. However one should limit the amount of peanut butter intake to a two tablespoon portion size, which should be good enough for a sandwich.

Over 80% of the fat in peanuts comes from monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats -- both kinds shown to be beneficial in lowering blood cholesterol levels.

In addition to being better for the environment, they’re also very healthy as long as you don’t eat too much.

FDA approved a health claim that says, "Diets containing one ounce of nuts per day can reduce your risk of heart disease," due to the overwhelming scientific research supporting the nutritional role of nuts.

Peanut butter offers an inexpensive solution for this; it has plenty of protein and healthy fats and packed with many nutrients such as Vitamin E, folate, niacin, copper, potassium, selenium, zinc, magnesium and fiber.

Try to add peanut butter to your diet, both ground and crunchy types offer the same kind of benefits. Just make sure you don't eat more than the maximum allowed, 2 tablespoons of peanut butter serving size.

What kind of peanut butter & jelly sandwich you like? Instead of jelly I use banana slices and honey, makes a great sandwich.