It’s amazing how positively kids react when you do something as simple as changing the shape of one of their favorite foods. There’s obviously nothing that needs improving when it comes to a delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwich, BUT try mixing a bit of cream cheese into the jam, spreading it onto a flat piece of lavash, rolling it into a cylinder and then cutting it into wheels, and it becomes a totally new take on a lunchtime classic that’s even more fun to look at and eat!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Pinwheels (Serves 4)

1/4 Cup Regular or Whipped Cream Cheese
2 Tbsp Jam, Jelly or Preserves
1/3 Cup Peanut Butter, divided
Lavash, preferably whole wheat (can be found in the bread section at your grocery)

1. Place the cream cheese and jam in a bowl and combine until smooth.
2. Spread 1/2 of the peanut butter on a piece of lavash and top with 1/2 of the cream cheese/jam mixture.
3. Roll the lavash lengthwise into a roll and slice into bite-size wheels, about 1 inch each.
4. Continue to make the second pinwheel sandwich and slice.
5. Serve.

It’s Day Two for weelicious’ new, out-of-the-box and exciting PB&J school lunch recipes. Yesterday’s recipe was PB&J Pancake Sandwiches, something I think your little ones are going to love. But it got me to thinking: do you really need bread to make PB&J? That led me to the idea of mixing it with yogurt.

Plain yogurt is packed with calcium, protein and is easier to digest than milk, but it can also be just that to kids: plain. In order to get most kids to eat yogurt, you have to entice them with those flavored yogurts that are sold at the grocery. But many of those are packed with sugar and preservatives. So I thought it would be fun to see how healthy plain yogurt tasted with a swirl of low sugar preserves and nutritious peanut butter mixed in. I’m happy to report that not only is it mind-blowingly delicious, it’s beautiful to look at too!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Swirled Yogurt (Serves 4)

2 Cups Plain Yogurt (I like using greek yogurt)
¼ Cup Jelly, Jam or Preserves
¼ Cup Peanut Butter (I use natural peanut butter)

1. Divide the yogurt between 4 bowls.
2. In a saucepan heat the jelly or preserves over low heat for one minute or until liquefied (this can also be done in the microwave for 30 seconds) and allow to cool.
3. Drizzle the jelly and peanut butter equally between the bowls of yogurt and swirl the contents together.
4. Serve.

* If using store bought peanut butter such as Jif or Skippy, melt in the microwave for about 15 seconds to soften. I use organic peanut butter which tends to already be a bit more liquified then most name brands.

Recently, I was asked to come up with five recipes using peanut butter and jelly for LilSugar. Not only did they ask that the recipes be different than the standard PB&J sandwich that gets stuffed into most kids’ lunch boxes everyday, but they also wanted them to be healthy.

I had the best time coming up with the recipes and my in-house testers were more then thrilled with the results. These Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches were such a hit with Kenya that I barely heard him mumble “I WOVE these” as he stuffed bite after bite into his mouth with Strawberry Preserves dripping down his chin. I hope you get to see the same results with your little ones on their first day back to school!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Pancake Sandwiches (Serves 4)

1 1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/4 Cup Peanut Butter
1 Large Egg
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 1/4 Cup Milk
Jelly, Jam or Preserves*

* I like to use my own Strawberry Preserves

1. Whisk the first 3 ingredients in a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl whisk the peanut butter, egg and sugar until combined, then whisk in the milk until incorporated.
3. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined (it’s okay if there are a few lumps).
4. Heat a large sauté pan or griddle over medium heat and grease with oil (Vegetable or Canola).
5. Pour about 1/4 cup of the pancake mixture onto the griddle and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side.
6. Take a cooled pancake, spread 1-2 tbsps of jam on one side and top with the other pancake to make a sandwich.
7. Continue to do the same with the remaining pancakes and serve.

Food allergies are a serious problem in this country — nuts being a particular culprit. Most schools in our area (and many around the country) have banned nuts all together, regardless of whether or not the kids are known to have nut allergies. Thankfully, safety measures like those or having designated nut-free areas in school cafeterias help protect the ever increasing number of America’s allergic children, but it can make life difficult for busy moms who rely on protein-filled snacks for their kids that are made with nuts. I can’t imagine how challenging it must be for parents who deal everyday with food allergies, so I’ve been spending a lot of time developing recipes which use protein and nutrient-rich seeds as an alternative to nuts.

I think these bars deliver the goods: sunflower seeds are packed with protein and Vitamin E, pumpkin seeds with magnesium, and flax seeds with an off the charts amount of omega-3 fatty acids. Add in all of the other healthful ingredients in this recipe, and these fruit and seed bars are just as sweet, crunchy, healthy, and delicious as any nut-filled protein bar you’ll find in stores. Even if you or your kids don’t have a food allergy, try making a batch of these bars. My guys can’t seem to get enough of them. And, it’s a treat that most schools will be happy to welcome.

Fruit and Seed Bars (Makes 20 Bars)

1 Cup Old Fashioned Oats
1/2 Cup Raw Pumpkin Seeds (also known as Pepitas)
1/2 Cup Raw Sunflower Seeds
2 Tbsp Flax Seeds
1 Cup Dried Fruit (blueberries, raisins, currants, cranberries and/or cherries)
1/2 Cup Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
1/3 Cup Honey
1/2 Cup Sunflower Butter

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. In a food processor, pulse the first 6 ingredients until finely chopped (it’s ok if there are few coarsely chopped pieces).
3. Add the honey and sunflower and pulse until starting to combine.
4. Pour the mixture into a 9 x 9 inch pan, greased then line with parchment and press down into the pan until completely even.
4. Bake for 25 minutes.
5. Let the bars completely cool before cutting with a serrated knife into bars.
6. Serve.

*Cool, place in Ziploc bags, label and freeze. Defrost to room temperature and enjoy!

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!

Kenya must be part squirrel or bird because he loves nuts and seeds. I love how good they are for kids, providing all kinds of valuable vitamins, minerals, fiber, Omegas and so on. I am always surprised, however, at how expensive packaged nuts and seeds can be. Next time you’re making trail mix or packing a healthy snack, why not toss in pumpkin seeds? I got the enormous bag in the picture at Whole Foods (also known as “whole wallet” or “whole paycheck”) for only $1.99. Most of the other nuts and seeds in the dry goods aisle were $5.99 or more for bags that were even smaller than mine! If you munch on a quarter cup of pumpkin seeds, also known as pepitas, you will get 46% of the daily value for magnesium, 28% for iron, a whopping 52% for manganese, 17% for protein and 17% for zinc. And since pumpkin seeds are smaller and easier to chew then almonds or cashews, they’re better for little mouths — still always make sure your kids chew all nuts and seeds thoroughly. So, forget about waiting until October 31st to enjoy this sweet and nutty flavored treat. Go on and munch away!

I literally have hundreds of cookbooks I started collecting when I was a 
little girl and continue to this day. I admit that after all these years, it’s gotten a little out of 
control, but I love the endless variety and different styles of books out there. There are also some genuinely odd and funny ones as well. The Elvis 
Presley cookbook “Are you Hungry Tonight” is great. Just looking at the table 
of contents makes your arteries feel like they are clogging, but the one recipe Elvis is best 
know for is the “fried peanut butter and banana sandwich”. I’m not 
saying that it doesn’t sound incredibly delicious, but it’s not 
exactly one of the first dishes I would want to turn my son on to given the “fried” approach. So, always in service of trying healthy approaches to not-so-healthy classics, I think I came up with a good one: Mini Elvis Paninis.
I recently had over a group of 
little ones ranging from 15 months to 4 years old and they devoured 
these sandwiches faster then I could make them. Since I still haven’t 
given Kenya peanut butter (our Doctor recommended we wait until he’s over the age of 2 in case of allergies), I made his with almond butter (feel 
free to replace it with peanut, soy or cashew butter if that’s what your 
little one prefers). Almond butter is an ideal first nut for babies to 
try since it has a low allergic potential and almonds are packed with 
calcium, vitamins B and E. 
By using the panini press, the heat melted the banana and almond 
butter together while pressing the sandwich together for smaller 
mouths to get bigger bites. And….same great taste, no frying. These mini sandwiches are delicious and 
will give your little one tons of energy for playing.

Elvis Panini (make 4 mini sandwiches)

2 Piece Whole Wheat of Ezekiel Bread, 7 grain or cinnamon raisin
1 Tbsp Almond Butter
1/3 Banana, cut into several slices cut lengthwise

1. Spread almond butter on one side of bread and cover with 3 slices of banana.
2. Top with the second slice of bread and place in a panini press on medium/high heat.
3. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until sandwich is pressed and golden.
4. Cool thoroughly and cut into 4 squares and serve.

We used these to make this recipe:

Krups PG70 Panini Maker, Brushed Stainless Steel