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Community Corner

No More Boring Lunches: Bacon, Banana and Nut-Free Peanut Butter Sandwiches

The trusty peanut butter and jelly sandwich is a main stay of the school lunch. How do you like yours?

The returns to school in just a couple of weeks. Many kids are excited to get back to school and see their friends, meet their new teachers, see their new classrooms. But others are just groaning at the idea of going back to boring school lunches.

Good news, Moms and Dads. We've got you covered--no more boring lunches for your kids!

Check out these interesting twists on an old lunchbox favorite, just in time for the start of the new school year.

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(If these ideas inspire you, head over to the Jif website to enter their Most Creative Sandwich Contest. You might win a college scholarship. And peanut butter. Lots and lots of peanut butter.)

The Gourmet: Use artesian multi-grain bread, homemade peanut butter and organic jelly.  Get Alton Brown’s recipe for peanut butter here. You could find interesting bread at , maybe. 

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The Elvis: White toast, peanut butter of your choice and one smashed banana. Make the sandwich then fry it like a toasted cheese. Get the full recipe here.

The Bacon Apple PBJ: Add fresh bacon crumbles and sliced apple to your PBJ. Follow Martha Stewart’s directions here.

The Fluffernutter: Top your peanut butter with spreadable marshmallow fluff. Best with plain white bread.

French PBJ: Dunk a standard PBJ sandwich in French toast batter (milk, eggs & sugar) then fry. You can call it stuffed French Toast or a Monte Cristo.

Sushi PBJ: No simple sandwich, this contest winner layers peanut butter, strawberry cream cheese and fruit on a crepe. Roll it up and slice into disks.

PB Rollup: Spread peanut butter on a tortilla, add honey, sliced apples and cinnamon. Roll into a tube and enjoy. See more flavor combinations here. Make sure the tortilla is room temp or warmer so it bends nicely.

The ABJ: a more sophisticated cousin of the peanut butter sandwich, this one pairs almond butter and apricot jelly on toasted sourdough bread. See it here.

Hawaiian PJB: Peanut butter, crushed pineapple, cream cheese, grated carrot and hot sauce on Hawaiian bread. See it here.

Nut Free: Who needs peanut butter when you’ve got soy butter? Wowbutter is supposed to taste just like the real thing, but without the peanut allergy worry. Spotted at , or get it online here.

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