Cocoa Cranberry Granola Bars: SunButter Blog Guest Post

Are you looking for a great peanut-free and nut-free granola bar recipe? If so, you're in luck! I recently tried SunButter's Cocoa Cranberry Granola Bar recipe, and I wrote a guest post review of it on the SunButter blog. These granola bars get a big thumbs up from our family. They're satisfying as a snack or even a sweet treat after a meal!

Check out my guest post review of this tasty recipe! 


You may also be interested in these granola bar and snack recipes:

Nut-free granola bars - so delicious an a staple in this house!

Simple oat date bars - an "out of the freezer" sweet treat that's healthy and delicious

Pumpkin chocolate chip granola bars - a favorite!

Nut-free snack mix - hard to resist eating too much!

Quick Dessert, Treat or Gift Idea: Chocolate Pretzel Peppermint Bark

Need a quick dessert, treat or gift idea to complete your last minute holiday list?  Homemade chocolate pretzel peppermint bark is probably one of the easiest things you could make.

Oh, and it's so tasty too!

Of course, I made mine food allergy friendly so it's dairy-free and nut-free.  I used Enjoy Life chocolate chips and chocolate bars which are a staple at our house. I also used Glutino pretzels and Spangler's candy canes which are clearly labeled for allergens.

My recipe was inspired by this recipe from Jules Gluten-Free. My version has a few variations since I wanted mine to be nut-free. Here's how I did it.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag (10 oz) Enjoy Life chocolate chips
• 2 Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate bars
• 1 tsp canola oil
• 2/3 cup crushed pretzels (I used Glutino pretzels but any would work)
• 3 peppermint candy canes (I used Spangler brand)

I'd love to try sunflower seeds and/or Craisins as an option here too.

Directions:

• Melt all the chocolate in a double broiler on low heat (I put a big glass bowl on top of a pan as a makeshift double broiler and it worked just fine!). Stir in the canola oil.
• While the chocolate is melting, cut the pretzels (you can also break them in a ziplock bag, but I found cutting them on a cutting board with a big knife was easiest)
• Break the candy canes in a ziplock bag. I used a big rolling pin to break them up. Probably the hardest part of this recipe!
• Mix all your pretzels and candy canes with the chocolate
• Line your 8 x 8 pan with aluminum foil
• Pour the chocolate, pretzels, and candy cane mix into the aluminum foil lined pan
• Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours

This really tastes like a peppermint chocolate pretzel.  Soft yet crunchy, sweet and salty, and a holiday peppermint twist!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you! Hope you enjoy!

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!).