Our New Fun Summer Snack with SunButter

Thanks to SunButter for sponsoring this post! 

I discovered a fun "trick" recently using SunButter On the Go Single Cups. If you've read this blog before, you KNOW how much we love and appreciate SunButter. It's one of our go-to sources of protein since Little Guy is allergic to dairy, eggs, nuts and sesame. So what's the trick?

Check it out below! 

The new SunButter On the Go Single Cups are perfectly sized to be used as mason jar tops.

SO cool, right!?

All you have to do is:

1. Fill the mason jars with your favorite SunButter dipping snack.

2. Put the SunButter On the Go Single Cup on top of the snack filled mason jar.

3. Screw on the mason jar outer lid (without the middle of the lid, since the SunButter covers the top perfectly!).

And voila! You have the perfect, portable and allergy-friendly snack!

We filled one mason jar with apples, one with pretzels and a few chocolate chips, and one with carrots and celery sticks.

I'd say that's a pretty well-balanced snack for the kiddos (or even adults!).

I'm so excited that we now have this fun way to take along our allergy-friendly snacks and SunButter On the Go Single Cups on summer excursions. 

Little Gal is excited too!

You may also like these posts:

SunButter Baked Oatmeal Cups

Healthy Snack Ideas with SunButter

SunButter Caramel Apple Dip

SunButter Baked Oatmeal (great for brunch!)

Chocolate Cookie SunButter Ice Cream Cupcakes

Free eBook Nov 6 & 7: James and the BIG Battle

Big news today about a free eBook that's perfect for children with food allergies, environmental allergies and/or asthma. The author, Jen Burns, who has a son with allergies and asthma, contacted me with the great news that her book is free today and tomorrow, November 6 and 7.

You can download it for free here: James and the Big Battle: A Children's Book about Allergies

This book is a cute story about how James battles his allergies and asthma in an imaginary video game land. James has a team to help him and always carries his tools (epipens, inhaler, etc.). He faces his fears and learns how to live confidently with allergies and asthma.

I love how this book is written in rhymes, and it keeps your attention with an exciting story as James moves through each land to battle his allergens.  

The book even includes fun free printable activity worksheets and coloring pages for your child.

Take a moment to download this fun and FREE eBook today: James and the Big Battle: A Children's Book about Allergies  

Let me know what you think of it!

KFA Mall Walk & Expo: Strides for Safe Kids

We're going through a busy time in our family now with some unexpected events. So, it leaves little time for blogging. But I still wanted to pass along a few photos from the KFA Mall Walk & Expo event we attended last weekend at the Plymouth Meeting Mall near Philadelphia.

This is our 4th year attending the event. I look forward to it every year because:

• Kyle Dine always performs and creates a fun musical atmosphere to teach kids about food allergies.
• There are LOTS of kids and families who attend. It's helpful to tell your child that all the kids there have food allergies so they don't feel alone. 
• There are some great food allergy-friendly vendors giving away free goodies!
• It's an amazing way to support a worthy cause in person!

You can STILL donate to KFA to help with their effort of raising $50,000 for kids with food allergies.

Thanks so much for your support!!

The great Kyle Dine rocks and uses his entertaining skills to teach kids about food allergies.

Lynda Mitchell, Vice President, Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Kids With Food Allergies Division kicks off the event. Did you know she's the founder of KFA!??  Amazing, huh!?

Missy Chase Lapine, The Sneaky Chef and Honorary Chair of the Event.

The mall was filled with kids and families who deal with food allergies.

I finally got to meet blogger, cookbook author and amazing person all around, Colette Martin of Learning to Eat Allergy Free.
Again, please donate to KFA to help with their effort of raising $50,000 for kids with food allergies!!

Healthy Potato Skins: #Kid-friendly and #Dairyfree

Need a new way to serve your family veggies? Need a new way to get your KIDS to eat veggies?  These healthy potato skins are kid-friendly, dairy free, and a great solution to the same old meals.

Presentation is everything, right?

Little Guy has been somewhat picky lately, and I think he's getting bored with the SAME food over and over again. I understand how he feels since his diet is somewhat limited with food allergies to nuts, eggs, sesame, dairy (and possibly salmon). So, I wanted to try something a little different and fun to get him excited.

Enter...Healthy potato skins that can be filled with anything you and your family like (or that you want your kids to TRY to like!).



I actually showed little guy a photo of these potato skins first. I wanted to get him excited about them, and I called them potato BOATS. I explained they were so yummy and he was going to have his own boat to fill with whatever he wanted. Basically, I tried to build them up before we ate them!

He WAS excited about it, so I knew I already won the first half of the battle.

So how do you make them?

First, wash the potatoes and spray or rub them with olive oil. I used my trusty Misto Olive Oil Sprayer. Oh how I love it!

Then bake the potatoes at 425 degrees for 40 - 60 minutes. Mine took closer to 60 minutes.

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out the insides. I used a tablespoon which was about the perfect size for these potatoes!  Save the leftover potatoes for another meal...something like mashed potatoes or even potato pancakes!?

Spray the insides and outsides with a little more olive oil, flip over the potatoes skin side up on a baking sheet, and sprinkle with a little salt. I used kosher salt.

Broil the potatoes in the oven for 3 - 5 minutes to get them crispy.

Flip over your potatoes skin side down and sprinkle on your favorite cheese. We of course used Daiya due to Little Guy's dairy allergy. Daiya cheddar style shreds worked nicely for this recipe.

Broil the potatoes for another few minutes (about 3) until the cheese melts.

Add your toppings. We had black beans, tomatoes, chicken, avocado, and corn and broccoli not pictured here.

Top your potato and enjoy!

Little Guy loved filling up his boat.

He actually ate it too!  Amazing!

What are some cool things about this recipe?

• You can fill your potato skins (or potato boats!) with whatever you want
• This is a great make-ahead recipe where you can cook your potatoes up to the cheese step, and prep your toppings ahead of time. Just add cheese, broil the potatoes, and fill 'er up!
• You can make a fun and beautiful presentation with these for your family or guests!
• The skins of potatoes are actually VERY nutritious. According to eatright.org, potato skin has more nutrients than the rest of the potato. They contain B vitamins, vitamin C, iron, calcium, potassium and other nutrients.

Ingredients

• 4 potatoes - makes 8 potato skins
• Daiya cheddar cheese
• Salt
• Olive oil
• Toppings: Whatever you desire. We used black beans, tomatoes, chicken, avocado, and corn and broccoli.

Directions

• Wash the potatoes and spray or rub them with olive oil. I used my trusty Misto Olive Oil Sprayer. 
• Bake the potatoes at 425 degrees for 40 - 60 minutes. Mine took closer to 60 minutes.
• Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out the insides. I used a tablespoon. Save leftover potatoes for another meal.
• Spray the insides and outsides with a little more olive oil, flip over the potatoes skin side up on a baking sheet, and sprinkle with a little salt. I used kosher salt.
• Broil the potatoes in the oven for 3 - 5 minutes to get them crispy.
• Flip over your potatoes skin side down and sprinkle on your favorite cheese. We used Daiya cheddar style shreds.
• Broil the potatoes cheese side up for another few minutes (about 3) until the cheese melts.
• Add your toppings. We had black beans, tomatoes, chicken, avocado, and corn and broccoli.

Next time I'd like to add a little bacon for crunch and flavor. What would you put on your potato skin!? 

Here's my favorite Misto sprayer!