Barney Butter Giveaway Winner!

And the winner of the Barney Butter giveaway is....

Kelly Arroyo!

Kelly, email your preferred shipping address to peanutfreemama@gmail.com and the good folks at Barney Butter will send you your prize!

Barney Butter Giveaway!

 It's no secret that I love Barney Butter!

So today I'm pleased to have a giveaway for you - my readers - so you can share in the goodness that is peanut free almond butter!

It's easy to enter - just click the link below (or the photo on the left) and you'll be taken to an entry form.  Even if you don't win, you'll still get a coupon for $2 off your next purchase of Barney Butter!  So it's win-win!

Click Here to enter to win a box of 12 single serve packs of Barney Butter!

Winners announced on or around May 10th - good luck!

Product Review: Barney Butter!

Those of you who read my blog know that I LOVE Barney Butter, so when the kind folks at BB asked if I would do a formal review of their product on my site it was a no-brainer. 

For those of you who have just arrived, Barney Butter is incredible almond butter.  But you know what?  Saying that it's just ' incredible almond butter' seems too underwhelming.

I really SHOULD say "almond butter that doesn't look like any other grainy, wierd, flecked almond butter that's already out on the market".  Or maybe "almond butter that looks like peanut butter - seriously, it LOOKS just like it, spreads just like it - and you don't have to mix the jar like those awful organic peanut butters that separate with the oil on top."

Or lastly "your husband who always loved peanut butter and wont have it anymore because of your allergic child and absolutely hates sunflower butter and swore he would NEVER taste another substitute, but took a spoonful of this stuff and actually had teeny little tears in the corners of his eyes when he tasted it?"

Too wordy?

Let me start over.  The kind folks at Barney Butter sent me some 90 calorie sample packs of their almond butter last month to review and I've been finding all sorts of creative ways to use them. 

Here are the details of the 90 calorie packs:

• 90 calories (7.5 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of fiber, 1.5 grams sugar.  Since they are low in calories (2 points a pack if you're on weight watchers) I don't feel guilty having them.
• Ingredients: Almonds, Evaporated Cane Juice, Palm Fruit Oil, Sea Salt
• Gluten Free
• No Transfats
• No Hydrogenated Oils
• Vegan and Vegetarian Friendly
• Made in an almond only facility
• Guaranteed free of peanut particles and contaminants

And here's what I did with them:

• Ate the first one straight from the packet (what? like you wouldn't have?!)
• Gave a couple to my girlfriend who was running a marathon and needed 'fuel' for the race
• spread one on a half a bagel (yum)
• made a dipping sauce for dumplings (added soy sauce, hoisin, chili and rice vinegar - again, yum!)
• added one packet at the end of a stir-fry to thicken things up
• used one to dip banana into
• added one to a smoothie
• and last but not least, made an honest to goodness AB&J (almond butter and jelly)

And that's just in the last few weeks!  Just think of how much more you can do with it.  Actually, just look on their site - there you go!

Here's the thing:  this stuff is great.  Smooth, great flavor, easy to spread.  Easy to bake and cook with and no strange aftertastes.  You could easily fool someone with this.  Trust me, my daughter is STILL a little freaked out by it even though she can read the label and knows it's OK for her to have. 

If these folks ever decide to go out of business I might just need to buy the company and keep it going.

I'm not kidding.

Thanks, Barney Butter, for the opportunity to spread the word about your product!!

Disclaimer:  This is a product review.  Barney Butter provided me with samples of their product to review.  I was not compensated in any way (beyond the samples).

Are You Ready for Me to Rock Your Peanut Allergic World?

So when your child is diagnosed with a peanut allergy, like most folks, you clear your house of peanut products. Why take a chance on having it around if your child could die as a result of accidental exposure?

But maybe you've been used to having peanut butter on toast in the morning, all melty and delicious. Or maybe a secret spoonful at night as a treat?

Ah, I remember it well.

And I thought those days were gone.

But guess what? I've reclaimed that glory and I want to share it with you.

I'd like to introduce you to my new crush: Barney Butter.

I know, kind of a funny name (until you learn it's the name of the founder) - Barney reminds me of that big purple dinosaur and I used to shudder a little when I heard it.

But no more.

I've tried all the spreads that claim to be a great substitute for peanut butter: Sunbutter, soy butter, pea butter, other almond butters. But they never came close. Until now.

Barney Butter is peanut free, all natural almond butter. It is so eerily close to peanut butter that you might REALLY fool someone (and let's face it - anyone who says they've fooled someone with Sunbutter is suffering from a case of wishful thinking - it's good, but it's not THAT good). I think my husband may have actually had tears in his eyes when he tasted this - he was never expecting to have anything as good as this in our cupboards to slather on apple slices or soft white processed bread (yeah, I buy it, so what?!?).

Now if you have a tree nut allergy then this has just been a big tease (and for that I apologize). But if you've been given the go ahead from your allergist to incorporate safe tree nut butters then I highly encourage you to try this. The color is spot on, the consistency is identical (no stirring needed!) and, the taste, oh lordy!

This is so good that I've turned other folks on to this who's kids have a peanut allergy (but were told no tree nuts unless they were free from cross contamination) who stash this in their cupboards just for those times when you just need a little taste of the sweet stuff.

I sound like a pusher, huh?

I just want as many folks to try it as possible so it never goes away. Honestly, it's not the cheapest - it's almost $8 at my local high-end grocery, but it's SO worth it. I can't wait to cook with it - I'm sure the results will be phenomenal.

And what about little miss B - what does she think? She wont touch it - too close to the real thing. I don't think they intended to be a safe alternative for peanut allergy sufferers, but they have found a HUGE fan with me. Thanks Barney Butter!!!

OK, enough gushing on my part.

Have any of you tried it??

p.s. The folks at Barney Butter didn't ask me to write this post, haven't sent me this to review - heck, they don't know me from Adam. This post is truly from the heart.