Nowadays, with food allergies being so prevalent, it can seem almost impossible to come up with a “safe” snack to send into school with your children. In addition to that, the government has created new mandates requiring only “healthy” foods to be distributed at schools. This has many people stumped!
I, myself, am a food allergy sufferer (allergic to 11 different foods that I know of so far!) and have been living on a restricted diet for almost 15 years now. I know how hard it is to find foods that I can eat, especially when I’m on the go!
This no-bake recipe makes enough mix to fill two 9″x13″ pans. From there, you can cut it into bars, roll it into cute little energy balls, or use a little less sunflower seed butter and crumble it into granola for snacking or for cereal! If you find the mixture is not sticking together well, add more sunflower seed butter.
These delightful little energy balls are my FAVORITE new snack!!! I just came up with the recipe 2 days ago as I was preparing to send a treat into school for my youngest daughter’s birthday.
Peanut butter is one of the foods that I cannot eat, and with peanut allergies being so severe, it’s really not a good idea to send in anything to school that contains nuts. There are, however, a lot of peanut butter substitutes now. They are made from sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, cashews, almonds or even soy beans!
Since I didn’t want to choose anything that was a common allergen, I steered clear of the nuts and soy and went straight for the sunflower seed butter.
This recipe is very forgiving. What I mean by that is, you don’t need to be super exact with your measurements. If the mixture is not sticky enough to hold together in balls, add more sunflower seed butter. If the mixture is too sticky or gummy, add more rice cereal and/or oats. You can also easily switch out the dried fruit for any type of fruit or raisins that you like.
This no-bake recipe is super simple, with minimal ingredients. It is also super healthy, and meets all of the requirements for being an appropriate school snack (or anytime snack for that matter!) I hope you enjoy them as much as my kids and I do!
Free of the most common allergens, super healthy and school appropriate.
- 4 cups Gluten Free Oats (I use quick cooking oats, but if you want a crunchier texture, you can use regular)
- 4 cups Gluten Free Rice Cereal
- 24-36 oz. Sunflower Seed Butter (Start with 24oz. and see if you need more to make it stick together.)
- 1/2 cup Honey
- 5 oz. Dried Cherries (find a brand that doesn't have additives. I like Stoneridge Orchards)
- 4 oz. Dried Blueberries (find a brand that doesn't have additives. I like Stoneridge Orchards)
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Combine the oats, rice cereal, sunflower seed butter and honey in a large bowl. Stir to combine
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Fold in the dried fruit until combined evenly.
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FOR SQUARES: Use a spatula or wax paper to press mixture into 2 parchment-lined 9"x13" baking pans. Cut into squares.
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FOR ENERGY BALLS: Scoop out small amounts of mixture and roll into balls.
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FOR GRANOLA: Use a little less sunflower seed butter and crumble the mixture with your fingers into the desired sized clumps. Enjoy as a snack or as a cereal.
No-bake, gluten free, soy free, dairy free, nut free, egg free... and still delicious!!!
For questions or comments, please email me at anne@blessingsinsurprise.com. Happy snacking!