Ode to Sunbutter

I wrote this post in advance of baby's birthday. I'll give a baby update soon!

Oh Sunbutter, how I love thee.

When my son was first diagnosed with a peanut allergy at 4 months old, I was still nursing and eliminated all forms of peanuts from my diet.  I missed my beloved peanut butter for a long time as I especially love it for breakfast on toast or in oatmeal.  I tried a few different soynut butters, but didn’t care for them.

Then after much searching I found Sunbutter!  For those who have never had it, it’s made from sunflower seeds.  I think it tastes very similar to natural PB, which is the kind of PB I used to eat.  We don’t keep PB in our house any longer since it’s such a messy food that sticks to so much, so Sunbutter is what we eat instead.

Here are details of where I buy Sunbutter and price comparisons:

• Wegmans: Our local Wegmans carries it for $6/jar which is rather expensive (definitely more than the $2 jar of Crazy Richard’s PB I used to buy).  However, they don’t carry organic Sunbutter.
• Whole Foods: Also carries Sunbutter for a little more than $6.  They also carry the organic kind, but I believe it’s close to $8/jar!
• Giant: Carries crunchy Sunbutter only for $7.70 a jar. For some reason they stock it in the PB aisle instead of the organic aisle where the other alternative nut butters are located.  I’m surprised Giant sells it for more than Wegmans, but it’s a nice option since Giant is 5 minutes from our house.
• Online: I’ve heard that you can sometimes find cases of Sunbutter on Amazon for great deals.  I’ve never done this, but it does look like this case of Sunbutter on Amazon would be cheaper than buying it per jar...SunButter Natural Sunflower Seed Spread, 16-Ounce Plastic Jars (Pack of 6). I also found this $1 Sunbutter coupon online, but I’m not sure if it will actually work at the register. I will certainly try!  

How do we use Sunbutter?  Just as you would use peanut butter!  My toddler and I both love Sunbutter and banana sandwiches....

I also spread it on pancakes for a protein fueled breakfast, or even put it in oatmeal.  We also put Sunbutter on bananas, apples or celery as a healthy snack.

My son just LOVES these No Bake Oat Balls made with Sunbutter, and these Banana Sunbutter Frozen Pops.

Since my son is now almost 2 1/2 I felt comfortable giving him the crunchy Sunbutter you see below.  Any kind of nut butter is a choking hazard, but for some reason I thought crunchy might be even more difficult to swallow for a little one.  I LOVE the crunchy kind, and he seems to handle it pretty well, but of course we always try to be careful!

Leave a comment if you have any great Sunbutter recipes (or recipes that can easily use PB substitutions!).