COMPLETELY NUT-FREE "Peanut" Butter!?

Story time!

A few weeks ago I was standing in the checkout line at Trader Joes. Completely and utterly bored, I started investigating food labels at the checkout- you know, they always put food there so you might just buy a little extra something before you seal the deal with your payment. So I picked up this little yellow package that looked something like this:

I turned it over in my hand, and saw on the side it said, "Vegan!"

I didn't get my hopes up. Just because it's vegan doesn't mean it doesn't have soy, gluten, or any of my other allergens in it.

But as I scanned the ingredients list, there was no soy. No gluten. It was basically cocoa, sunflower seeds, and sugar. 

(The full ingredients are:)

DARK CHOCOLATE†** (COCOA MASS, CANE SUGAR, COCOA BUTTER), SUNFLOWER SEEDS, POWDERED SUGAR (CANE SUGAR†, TAPIOCA STARCH), COCOA BUTTER†, SEA SALT.

"Okay then," I thought. "We'll see if they're any good."

So I convinced my mom to buy a pack. They come in a pack of two cups, so once we got out to the car we each snatched a cup and tested it out.

It was love at first bite.

These Sunflower Seed Butter Cups are as close to peanut butter cups you'll ever get. Honestly, I can barely tell the difference. They're that good. And my mom loved them too: non-allergic person approved!

So it was perfect. Score of the day- I was able to eat an almost-peanut butter cup for the first time in 6 and a half years. YES!

But that got me thinking. If someone was able to turn sunflower seeds into the fake peanut-buttery center for these little chocolate beauties, couldn't they... maybe they...

Sunflower Seed Butter?

Almost like...

Peanut butter??

There are two things that, since I found out I had a million allergies, I've never been able to find an alternative for. Two things that I love to death. 

Fettuccine Alfredo.

And PB&J's. 

I can have the jelly (most jellies), and I have everything-free bread. But I can't have peanut butter. I can't have almond butter. I can't even have cashew butter. If there's such thing as pistachio or walnut butter, can't have those either. The only nut I really can have is coconut (if that's even technically a nut). And I'm pretty sure coconut butter is just... coconut oil.

So the next day my mom and I trucked back to Trader Joes so confirm my suspicions. 

Sunflower Seed Butter.

There it was, next to the nut butters. Not one, but two different options for Sunflower Seed Spread:

 

I got both.

The first one with the blue label is sweetened. It contains sunflower seeds, powdered sugar, and salt- that's it! The green label, unsweetened, is just the seeds and salt- no sugar. Since I couldn't decide, I got both. Upon trying it, I almost cried. I mixed the sweetened and unsweetened together on the sandwich, just so the sugar was a little diluted, and paired it with Trader Joe's new Banana Fruit Spread (it's like banana jelly!)

The Sunflower Seed Spread is smooth, creamy, and very, very sticky. Just like peanut butter! It's absolutely incredible, and the possibilities are endless with what I'm going to put this stuff on (like pretzels, cookies, chocolate, basically everything :)

Definitely a 10/10. I'm so excited to finally have a peanut butter alternative. I've nicknamed it Seednut or Seenut butter! 

Thanks for reading! Please make sure to follow my... 

Instagram @Theeverythingfreegirl 

Pinterest- The Everything-Free Girl

And if you're new here, check out my other blog posts for more foods and recipes!

-The Everything-Free Girl

My food sensitivities include...

All Dairy

Eggs

Soy

Peanuts, Cashews, Pistachios, Almonds, Brazil nut, Walnut, and Hazel nut

Garlic, Chili Powder, Cayenne Pepper (and basically all other hot pepper things)

Goat milk, Buffalo milk (Seriously?)

Flax Seed, Aniseed

Gluten/Wheat

Oat, Barley, Spelt

Strawberries, Apples, Cherries

Radish

Lime

Everything-Free Crunchy Snacks!

 I love snacks, I mean, who doesn't? Especially ones with a good crunch. Here are some of my favorite gluten-free, dairy-free, everything-free snacks!

Quinn Pretzels

These pretzels are absolutely amazing! My favorites are the Classic Sea Salt Twists, Classic Sea Salt Sticks, and the Touch of Honey Pretzel Sticks. The two classics are just like your regular pretzels, but the touch of honey have this little extra flavor that makes it both sweet and salty- they're so good! 

Quinn Snacks also has some other pretzel options. They have peanut butter filled, which my mom has tried and said they aren't very peanut-buttery. Their pretzel chips are alright, but not my favorite. You definitely can't go wrong with their just regular ol' pretzels though!

Dang Coconut Chips

Dang's Thai Coconut Crunch Sticky-Rice Chips are... indescribable. They're crunchy, they're coconutty, they're sweet, they're everything amazing packed into little everything-free bite-sized pieces. Seriously, just try them. 

In addition to the coconut flavor, they also have Aged Cheddar (which has milk), Original (which is everything-free, I haven't tried them though), Savory Seaweed (um... what?), Sriracha Spice, and Toasted Sesame. 

Dang also has a bunch of different types of regular coconut chips, their chocolate flavor being my favorite. 

 

Siete's Tortilla Chips

Since I don't eat corn, finding tortilla chips has been pretty much impossible- until Siete, with their grain free, gluten free, vegan sea salt tortilla chips came and saved the day. These are made with avocado oil, which I like a lot better than any of the canola or sunflower oil most chips contain. 

Siete also has a ton of other tortilla chip flavors, seasonings, hot sauce, queso, and even everything-free crunchy taco shells, which I've already ranted about in my Tortillas and Taco Shells post. 

Trader Joe's Ridge-Cut Potato Chips

TJ's ridge-cut potato chips are my go-to snacking potato chips. They're just a classic, plain, and utterly perfect potato chip that aren't too greasy or salty. You can read all about them here.

Costco's Himalayan Salt Chips

A couple weeks ago at Costco I found a ginormous bag of these Kirkland Signature Krinkle Cut Kettle Chips in their... chip aisle (wherever that is, since Costco rearranges their entire store at least three times a week). Haha. Anyway, I was intrigued since it said they were made with Himalayan Salt, so I got a bag and holy cow! The amount of chips inside ONE bag is insane. I got this bag a couple weeks ago and I'm still not done. And they're so good too!

Thanks for reading! Please make sure to follow my... 

Instagram @Theeverythingfreegirl 

Pinterest- The Everything-Free Girl

And if you're new here, check out my other blog posts for more foods and recipes!

-The Everything-Free Girl

My food sensitivities include...

All Dairy

Eggs

Soy

Peanuts, Cashews, Pistachios, Almonds, Brazil nut, Walnut, and Hazel nut

Garlic, Chili Powder, Cayenne Pepper (and basically all other hot pepper things)

Goat milk, Buffalo milk (Seriously?)

Flax Seed, Aniseed

Gluten/Wheat

Oat, Barley, Spelt

Strawberries, Apples, Cherries

Radish

Lime

Everything-Free Pizza!

 When you can't eat dairy, egg, soy, gluten, and garlic (and a lot more! My full list of allergies are at the bottom of this post), pizza is pretty much out of the question. Pizza, with it's egg/gluten filled crust, garlic tomato paste, and dairy filled cheese. But luckily, I've found a way to make my own amazing everything-free pizza over the years that I can safely enjoy. So without further ado...

The Crust

There are two different products I'll use as my pizza crust. The first is Ener-G's Rice Pizza Shells. These are great because they're already pre-made and you can just slather on your ingredients and pop them in the oven!

Ener-G also has Focaccia Crusts, which are a little smaller but equally delicious! 

Tomato Sauce

For a long time, finding a pizza sauce without garlic was impossible- until Fody came along and created not one, not two, but three different types of garlic-free, onion-free tomato sauce! I've only tried the Marinara and Tomato Basil, but I'm sure the Arrabbiata is great too! I buy these at Sprouts in the gluten-free section.

P.S. I have an entire post on different sauces and condiments I use. You can check it out here.

Cheese

I have an entire post all about different cheeses I use that are allergy-free, but my top picks for pizza are VioLife's Mozzarella and Cheddar Shreds. Sometimes I use one or the other, but I usually put a little bit of both. And if you want to get really cheesey, VioLife's parmesan is an excellent addition to the pizza party! You can find VioLife's cheese at Whole Foods and Natural Grocers.

As always, please make sure to follow my Instagram @Theeverythingfreegirl and my Pinterest- The Everything-Free Girl. And if you're new here, check out my other blog posts for more foods and recipes!

-The Everything-Free Girl

My food sensitivities include...

All Dairy

Eggs

Soy

Peanuts, Cashews, Pistachios, Almonds, Brazil nut, Walnut, and Hazel nut

Garlic, Chili Powder, Cayenne Pepper (and basically all other hot pepper things)

Goat milk, Buffalo milk (Seriously?)

Flax Seed, Aniseed

Gluten/Wheat

Oat, Barley, Spelt

Strawberries, Apples, Cherries

Radish

Lime

Tortillas and Taco Shells

 I don't know about you, but tortillas and taco shells have got to be one of mankind's greatest inventions in the culinary department. They can make a heap of random and completely unrelated ingredients come together in a small little bundle, enter your mouth, and send your tastebuds into frenzied celebration. Whoever invented them must have been pure genius. 

Except.

I can't have them.

Since 6 years ago I found out I have food sensitivities to nearly every food on the planet (that might be an exaggeration- but scroll to the bottom of the post to check out my official list of sensitivities), tortillas and taco shells were among the many casualties of allergic war. No gluten = no flour tortillas. And though I'm not technically "allergic" to corn, it never really agrees with me. So corn taco shells were sadly out of the picture as well. 

No tacos. 

No quesadillas.

Heartbroken.

For a little while I tried to satisfy my Taco Tuesday obsession with taco bowls- a fancy term for ground turkey meat and greasy dairy free cheese microwaved in a bowl for about 30 seconds. Disgusting. I still shiver when I remember my pathetic attempts to clean exploded cheese and meat from the microwave turntable. 

Luckily, over the years I've found some alternate-ingredient tortillas and taco shells that I'll share below. R.I.P. microwave taco bowls!

Trader Joe's Brown Rice Tortillas

You can find these in the- you guessed it- tortilla section at Trader Joe's. These are great for quesadillas. I'll put chicken, dairy-free cheese, and occasionally some bacon between two tortillas and grill it up on the stove. Don't try to use these for tacos or burritos, though- when you begin to fold these, they'll break clean down the fold. Also, they start to mold quick, even in the fridge. So it's best if you eat them within a couple days.

Food For Life's Brown Rice Tortillas

These tortillas are super similar to Trader Joe's, although in my opinion are a little less starchy. They still break when you try to fold them, so again, they're best for quesadillas. 

Coconut Flour Tortillas by The Real Coconut

Up until a couple years ago, I was stuck with eating the above two tortillas, which like I mentioned are not bendable. When I stumbled on these coconut flour tortillas by The Real Coconut, I was apprehensive that they would do anything different. But here's the thing- they don't break! I mean, sure, they'll break if you want them to, but they're perfectly able to bend into soft taco shells or fold into a small burrito. I'll put these in the oven with chicken and they crisp into perfection. Or, fold them with some meat of choice and some garlic-free BBQ sauce for a BBQ burrito. Amazing!

Siete Grain Free Taco Shells

These are absolutely INCREDIBLE grain-free crunchy taco shells. I'm not even going to say any more about it. You have to taste to believe. You can find them at Sprouts and Natural Grocers.

Sprouts' Grain Free Taco Shell

I'm not going to talk about how amazing these are, because they really aren't compared to Siete. They kind of taste like rice cakes. But, they are grain free, and it's another option, so I thought I'd just throw these in here as a bonus. 

As always, please make sure to follow my Instagram @Theeverythingfreegirl and my Pinterest- The Everything-Free Girl. And if you're new here, check out my other blog posts for more foods and recipes!

-The Everything-Free Girl

My food sensitivities include...

All Dairy

Eggs

Soy

Peanuts, Cashews, Pistachios, Almonds, Brazil nut, Walnut, and Hazel nut

Garlic, Chili Powder, Cayenne Pepper (and basically all other hot pepper things)

Goat milk, Buffalo milk (Seriously?)

Flax Seed, Aniseed

Gluten/Wheat

Oat, Barley, Spelt

Strawberries, Apples, Cherries

Radish

Lime

Coconut Aminos (Soy-Free Soy Sauce)

 Now, I've never been one to eat a lot of Chinese food, or its closest counterpart: the all-important soy sauce. But years ago I discovered this stuff called Coconut Aminos, which I always jokingly call my "soy-free soy sauce." 

Does it actually taste like soy sauce? I couldn't tell you, I really have no idea what soy sauce tastes like. But I do use Coconut Aminos on rice, cook meat with it, use it in stir-fries, and pretty much any other dish that could use a little extra hint of flavor. Because I can't have garlic, chili powder, or a lot of other spices that make things more flavorful, these Coconut Aminos have definitely helped make my food a lot more enjoyable!

So what exactly are "Coconut Aminos?" Basically, it's a seasoning sauce made from coconut sap, salt, and water. That's it! Even though there are only a handful of ingredients, definitely don't underestimate the amazing flavor contained in that little bottle.

You can get it at Trader Joes (they have their own brand of it), but you can also get the main brand by Coconut Secret online (Amazon, Thrive Market, etc).

And if you really fall in love, you can get some gigantic bottles too!

As always, please make sure to follow my Instagram @Theeverythingfreegirl and my Pinterest- The Everything-Free Girl. And if you're new here, check out my other blog posts for more foods and recipes!

-The Everything-Free Girl

My food sensitivities include...

All Dairy

Eggs

Soy

Peanuts, Cashews, Pistachios, Almonds, Brazil nut, Walnut, and Hazel nut

Garlic, Chili Powder, Cayenne Pepper (and basically all other hot pepper things)

Goat milk, Buffalo milk (Seriously?)

Flax Seed, Aniseed

Gluten/Wheat

Oat, Barley, Spelt

Strawberries, Apples, Cherries

Radish

Lime