How to Make Chocolate Sunflower Seed Butter

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Did I hear you say you’re out of ideas when it comes to school lunches? Are your kids tired of the same old same old PB & J? Or maybe you need some nut free options? Maybe you want your kids to eat healthier, without spending all of your money on groceries? If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, try making this chocolate sunflower seed butter and PRESTO! Problem solved!! It’s nut free, vegan, delicious, healthy and super simple to make. This recipe is a game changer when it comes to making school lunches.

The idea of making school lunches used to give me anxiety. When my son was in preschool, I wanted everything he ate to be one hundred percent vegan and healthy. I once made him a vegan mac & cheese recipe using cauliflower and black bean pasta. Yes, you read that correctly, BLACK BEAN PASTA! What was I thinking?

Instead of telling his teacher he didn’t like his lunch, my son solved the problem himself. He stomped over to another child’s table, used his hand as a spoon and scooped up a large handful of mac & cheese. He stuffed it into his mouth, caveman style…

My guess, it was good ol’ Kraft macaroni and cheese. NOT VEGAN! I was crushed. I had made it three years keeping my child on a strict vegan diet, until that moment. Lesson learned.

Well, my son solved his problem and now I am here to help you solve yours…

I now have rules for making my son’s school lunches and today I am going to share them AND my nut free chocolate sunflower seed butter recipe with you!

Five Rules for Making Vegan Healthy School Lunches:

1. When in doubt, keep it nut free – this only applies, if your child’s school implements this rule.
2. The label should say vegan – always make sure the prepackaged snacks you send to school are vegan.
3. Make sure it is delicious – make sure what you’re sending to school is something they like (NOT BLACK BEAN PASTA)!
4. Keep it healthy – always add all of the fruits and veggies they like to eat to their lunches!
5. Simplicity is key – it should only take five minutes to make their lunch for the next day, as long as you do the meal prep on the weekends.

1. Making Chocolate Sunflower Seed Butter for School Lunches

Last year, my son could have nuts at school so I made my creamy vegan chocolate hazelnut spread for him ALL THE TIME! Check it out here, if your kiddos school isn’t nut free.

This year his school is nut free. I have been using 88 Acres dark chocolate sunflower seed butter for most of the year. It’s creamy, delicious and my son loves it. The only problem is that it is kind of on the expensive side. The price of food is on the rise and I can no longer justify spending money on it when I can make something similar at home. I still highly recommend using it, though! You can find it at Whole Foods Market or click this link to find it on Amazon.

But if you want an inexpensive substitute, look no further than this recipe!

2. Vegan

I check ALL packaging of everything I buy for my family, especially for my son’s school lunch snacks. They need to be nut free AND vegan. If the label doesn’t state these two things explicitly, I look up any ingredients I am unfamiliar with on the package. A terrific nut free brand that actually adds vegetables to their snacks is Made Good! I highly recommend checking them out. I am particularly fond of this variety pack sold on Amazon!

3. Delicious

You might be saying to yourself, “Girl, you give your child a lot of chocolate.” And YES, this may be completely accurate, but I refuse to send him to school with food that he doesn’t like (refer back to the mac & cheese story). I created this chocolate sunflower seed butter to have a budget friendly option for his lunches, and it’s still kind of sort of on the healthy side. This recipe uses tahini and sunflower seeds to pack plant-powered protein into his diet, the sugar content is low and there are no mystery ingredients that can’t be pronounced.

4. Healthy

Speaking of health! Yes, I give my child chocolate (healthy chocolate), but the rest of his lunch is filled with fruits and veggies! The trick is to fill their lunch with the fruits and veggies that they like. My son likes broccoli, carrots, peas, peapods and green beans, so those are the vegetables I send to school. I save all other vegetables for at home, where he can try them out when we eat together (and he actually does try them)!

5. Simple Chocolate Sunflower Seed Butter

My last rule is to keep it simple. If it takes longer than five minutes to make my son’s lunch for the next day, that’s too long. The trick is to meal prep on Sunday (this day works best for me). I prepare all of the vegetables I will be sending with him, this nut free chocolate sunflower seed butter and make sure I have some healthy bread and a few healthy vegan snacks on hand.

That’s it, my friends! There is no real secret to making a school lunch that is nut free, vegan, delicious, healthy and simple. Just follow these five rules AND make this delicious nut free chocolate sunflower seed butter!

If you like this recipe, please leave a comment below. If you’re looking for more lunch ideas, check out my dedicated Lunch Box section on my site! Just click this link!