As a child, peanut butter sandwiches were one of my favorite treats…especially a peanut butter and pickle sandwich! (Weird, yes…but delicious!) As an adult I still loved all things peanut butter, so when my son was diagnosed with a severe peanut allergy, my husband and I went through peanut withdrawl…okay…mostly me.
My son was so young he had never had peanuts or peanut butter to begin with, so in a way he didn’t know what he was missing. Still, my husband and I decided not even to keep peanuts or peanut butter in the house for fear that they would somehow land in the hands of my son causing a potentially deadly reaction.
At a FAAN (Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network) walk, I was lucky enough to stumble upon a vendor stand for SunButter. The vendor had several jars of SunButter on display as well as a few sample cups out for taste testing. For a moment, I was horrified that it might be some form of peanut butter after all…it looked so real. I grew even more suspicious upon tasting it…it tasted just like peanut butter.
After visiting with a representative on hand and doing a little research of my own, I fell in love with SunButter. It is made from sunflower seeds rather than peanuts and comes in all kinds of varieties including natural, naturally omega 3, and crunchy. They even offer snack pack sizes and an economy size tub. All SunButter products are gluten-free, peanut-free, and nut-free. For the most part, I have been able to find SunButter products at all major grocery chains except for Walmart.
If you haven’t heard of or tasted SunButter, I encourage you to visit their website at http://sunbutter.com/index.php where you will find a multitude of tips on their various products as well as innovative recipe ideas for the peanut and nut allergic.
For me personally, my only reservation about faux peanut butter is how much it can resemble the real thing in packaging and appearance…especially to young children. For example, if Billy eats faux peanut butter sandwiches at home that look like the real thing, he might not think twice about tasting a bite of a classmate’s real peanut butter sandwich…without understanding the potentially deadly difference. Keep this in mind and be sure to discuss with your allergist when deciding what is right for your family.
For now, my husband and I are taking extra care to protect my son against his peanut allergies at home by enjoying everything SunButter!
Thank you, SunButter, for making a quality peanut and nut-free product that tastes delicious! Keep up the great work!
The Food Allergy Mom 
Wow, what a great story. As a blogger for SunButter, I love following your posts, and just must coment here. Besides your suggestions, we hear some parents also label their sandwiches as SunButter for school. And as you well know, the key is communication with teachers, staff members and lunchroom personnel. As a fellow mom, too, I appreciate your great tips and your perspective. Thanks.
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Elizabeth, I love your additional suggestions. I am a big fan of Sunbutter and really enjoy reading the blog and surfing the recipes. Thank you so much for sharing your ideas with my readers!
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