These 3 crops are probably ones you're constantly buying at the grocery store. Why not save money and plant your own instead? You'll know exactly where your food is coming from while getting the full amount of nutrition these crops provide.

Beans

One staple in the cowboy’s diet was beans – a food high in nutrition and protein. There are a variety of bean choices out there, but if you want to grow what the cowboys ate, then try pinto beans.

As they grow, simply let them hang on the plant until dry. After that, they need to be removed from the pod and stored in a cool, dry place. Once dried, beans can last for years without spoiling. Before cooking with them, soak them overnight to reconstitute.

Potatoes

First, they would have stored well on the long cattle drives. Just keep them cool and dry.

Second, they are packed with nutrition. In fact, there are stories of people eating nothing but potatoes for six months, without nutritional defects.

Onions

One popular book with recipes from the Old West – “The Cowboy’s Cookbook” – includes a breakfast recipe of fried potatoes and onions. The ingredients’ list is short: potatoes, oil for frying, onions, and salt and pepper.

Out on the trail, cowboys needed food that not only “stuck to their ribs,” but also offered energy with essential vitamins and minerals. These staple foods, paired with a steady serving of beef, would have kept the cowboys fit and healthy.

Nutrition facts

Pinto beans (1 serving)

• Calories: 245
• Fiber 62%
• Iron 20%
• Copper 41%
• Folate 74%
• Protein 31%
• B1 28%

Potatoes (1 serving)

• Calories: 278
• Carbs 63 grams
• Fiber 26%
• Protein 7 grams
• Vitamin C 48%
• Vitamin B6 46%
• Manganese 33%

Onions (1 serving)

• Calories: 64
• Carbs 15 grams
• Fiber 11%
• Vitamin C 20%
• Manganese 10%

Have you grown any of these easy-storing and essential crops?

Article Source: Off The Grid News