Many schools these days are nut-free. This is fantastic news for the roughly 3 million kids and adults in the U.S. with nut allergies, but an occasional annoyance for lunch making parents who rely on the quick-to-prepare and oh-so-delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwich their kids almost universally love. Some time ago, a friend turned me on to sunflower butter. Although I loved sunflower seeds, I wasn’t so sure that sunflower butter would have the same taste appeal as other nut butters. That was until I tasted it. I was shocked by how much I enjoyed it (and, lucky for me, so did Kenya and his friends).
At weelicious, we have featured a number of recipes using peanut and almond butter, so I am relieved that there is a substitute ingredient for them that’s delicious as well as nutritious. Sunflower butter is packed with protein and Vitamin E, important for growing little bodies and it has a texture and consistency similar to peanut butter, so there’s nothing unusual for kids to get used to.
So, the next time you’re considering making Rice Crisp-Wee Treats, Banana Almond Butter Pops, Elvis Panini’s or any other weelicious recipes featuring nut butters but are afraid because of nut allergies, just substitute sunflower butter and you can enjoy the same delicious treats!
You should be able to find it in the peanut butter section of most groceries! I usually get mine at Trader Joe’s!
i have never heard of sunflower butter until getting a recipe in email and that was one of the items needed. i will have to see where you get this stuff.
My daughter is allergic to nuts and I love using sunflower seed butter. I’ve also used the soy, but I prefer the taste of the sunflower (I usually eat it with her). Just a warning – make sure to read the label. I bought a jar once, only to read the label after I got home and found it is processed in the same place as nuts and might contain them. I believe it was the Trader Joe’s brand. This may have changed, but just a warning to be wary.
We can’t bring peanut butter into the school either, i was so happy to find this because since Monsanto has the monopoly on soybeans and is genetically modifying them and running small farms out of business on purpose we dont buy soy based products. Also the soy acts as estrogen in their little bodies which can cause odd growth in children and can cause cancer later. Who knows the long term result of eating soybeans that are modified to grow in roundup soaked fields but are resistant to the roundup so it kills every other living thing but not the soybeans. Personally, I am not roundup resistant, and ive never heard of a plant growing and not absorbing the things found in the dirt as it grows, therefore, i do not eat anything Monsanto has its hand in.
The sunflower butter really does taste good, my son prefers it to peanut butter and LOVES it with honey on a sandwich. 🙂
You can also get Soy Nut Butter that is processed in peanut free facilities. My daughter had a peanut allergy for about a year (thankfully she outgrew it!) and the allergist recommended we buy soy nut butter. After she got the all-clear for peanuts again, I was surprised to find both kids still asking for soy nut butter and sunflower seed butter. Now we stock all three (we get them all at the grocery store) and I like that the kids get more variety in the same “PB&J” type sandwich.