Nut-Free Supermarket Finds Friday: Easter Treats

Surf Sweets gummies partnered with The Nut-Free Mom (C) blog to create a free recipe e-book.
Check it out at  http://surfsweets.com/blog/2013/03/01/5-delicious-spring-recipes-now-available/

Nut-free supermarket finds Friday is back! Since the Easter holiday is approaching, I'm featuring a few products that will come in handy if you celebrate Easter. Nut-free is the theme, though some of the treats will be free of other allergens or gluten.

 

To keep things simple, I've chosen to focus only on products produced in a nut-free facility. Surprisingly, it is getting easier to find these types of products at your local supermarket.

 

Just in case you might want to order from some of the great online nut-free retailers out there, I've included a short section at the end of the post.
 

 First up is Surf Sweets organic gummy candies (pictured), one of my family's favorites. Free of GMOs, organic, and free of the top 8 food allergens. You can find these at Whole Foods and other specialty food stores. Go to their web site to find stores. Be sure to click this link to find a free e-book with five yummy and creative spring recipes featuring Surf Sweets gummy candies. I contributed my favorite cookie recipe to the e-book.

Skeeter Snacks cookies are made in a dedicated nut-free facility. You can find them at Costco and many supermarkets across the country. Look for the squirrel logo and the "nut-free" symbol. We love these cookies at my house and, based on the comments, they are a Nut-Free Mom reader favorite.

 Enjoy Life Foods Boom Choco Boom bars are yummy for the chocolate lovers on your list, available at many supermarkets and Whole Foods. This dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free chocolate tastes great AND is it free of the top 8 allergens. Or pick up some Enjoy Life chocolate chunks or mini chips and make your own candies, also at many supermarkets as well as Whole Foods. Made in a dedicated, free-from facility.

What would Easter be without jelly beans? Gimbal's allergy-friendly jelly beans are available at Wal-Mart, Safeway and some other supermarkets. Fun, colorful, tasty and free of the top 8 allergens, these are made with natural ingredients and come in 41 delicious flavors. They have candies for every season!

Tootsie Roll(R) candies are a good nut-free option. Their new egg-shaped Tootise Pops lollipops, like all Tootsie Candies, in a dedicated peanut-free, tree nut-free, gluten-free facility. Check their website for a full list of candies and the next time you're at the supermarket, take a spin through the candy aisle. If it is made by Tootside (Andes Mints are also a Tootsie candy), then they are nut-free. Important: always read labels! One of the biggest advantages about Tootsie candies? You can find them just about anywhere.


Online nut-free candies:

Vermont Nut Free Chocolates. For Easter, Passover and any holiday. Peanut and tree nut-free, delicious, gourmet chocolate. They also have other candies like jelly beans and they sell a nice variety of baking chocolate.

Dean's Sweets. If you're looking for a more "adult" treat from the Easter Bunny (say for your or your that favorite allergic adult in your life) Dean's Sweets out of Portland, Maine has an astounding variety of peanut-free and tree nut-free chocolate truffles.

Divvies candies are nut-free, dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free AND kosher. They have so many goodies here (and they are sold at Wegman's grocery stores, too).

Amanda's Own Confections are nut-free, dairy-free, egg-free and gluten-free. You'll find delicious chocolates for every holiday and occasion. Amanda's Own are now sold at some stores, so keep your eyes open and check their web site for details.

Food Allergy-Friendly Supermarket Easter Candy Finds

Easter is this Sunday and for those of you who are looking for allergy-friendly candy, you'll be glad to know that there are more choices in stores than I've seen in past years. For this post, I've chosen only to feature the candies marked as 100% nut-free and allergy-friendly for many food allergies, just because right now there isn't a lot of time to second-guess manufacturing processes, etc. And luckily, for the following candies, we don't have to. Plus, the following candies are all gluten-free.

First up, one of my favorite gummy candies is Surf Sweets (pictured). Free of GMOs, organic, and free of the top 8 food allergens. You can find these at Whole Foods and other specialty food stores. Go to their web site to find stores. My kids clamor for these--they are really tasty! Adults love them, too.

While you are at Whole Foods, go to the candy bar aisle and pick up Boom Choco Boom Bars from Enjoy Life Foods for the chocolate lovers on your list. This is dairy-free, nut-free chocolate that tastes great AND is it free of the top 8 allergens. The candy is made in a dedicated, free-from facility.

What would Easter be without jelly beans? Recently, we featured Gimbal's jelly beans in Allergic Living magazine and I am a huge fan! You can find them at Wal-Mart and some other supermarkets. Fun, colorful, tasty and free of the top 8 allergens, these are made with natural ingredients and come in 41 delicious flavors.

Divvies nut-free, egg-free, dairy-free (and gluten-free) candies are another Easter staple and best of all, they are now available in select supermarkets and specialty food stores including Wegman's. Go to the Divvies web site for a store locator; you can also order online. You can find so many good things at Divvies including chocolate bunnies and rock candy.

Finally, if you are still poking around Whole Foods, don't miss Yummy Earth organic gummy candies and lollipops. These are free of high-fructose corn syrup and free of the top 8 allergens. Right now, Whole Foods has mini packs of the gummy bears (at our store, they were on sale this past weekend!), perfect for the Easter basket.

Nut-Free Candy New: Amanda's Own Confections (Dairy-Free, Egg-Free and Gluten-Free, Too!)

Already stressed about filling your Easter basket with delicious but nut-free Easter candy? Stress no more. My kids and I recently had the opportunity to try the sweet and allergy-friendly treats from Amanda's Own Confections, a wonderful company that produces dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free and gluten-free chocolates and candies. Besides Easter candy, they've got an array of items for birthday parties, St. Patrick's Day, first communion and much more.

I'm always happy to pass on information about companies that are diligent in providing delicious candy that also adheres to nut-free (and other allergy-friendly) standards. It just makes life so much easier when we know that the allergy work has been done for us already. Then we can just sit back and watch our kids enjoy some yummy treats without the worry. Note: Be sure to save some of this delicious dark chocolate for yourself. Studies show that dark chocolate has health benefits for adults. Just sayin'.

What about soy? Here's what Amanda's Own says on their website: "Our chocolate contains soy lecithin, however, the soy protein has been removed." Check with your doctors about soy lecithin if that is a concern for you.

And here is some more information on the company's allergen-free facility: "Our suppliers have certifications from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stating that their facilities are dairy-free, peanut-free, tree nut-free, egg-free, gluten-free and sesame-free.There are no other products in our facility, so there is NO chance for any cross contamination from any other food allergens."

My kids loved the cute shapes and delicious deep dark chocolates we were given as samples, but the company also makes jelly beans and other nut-free, dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free treats.

Best of all, Amanda's Own Confections are available in quite a few stores! Click the link for a store locator, or if it works better for you, you can order online.

FTC Note: Author was given food samples but no other compensation.

Last Minute Nut-Free Easter Basket Ideas for Food Allergies!

With only days to go until the Easter Bunny is due to arrive, parents of kids with food allergies find themselves unable to just grab a big bag of candy off the shelf and go. We've got to get creative when it comes to Easter Baskets since so much candy and food in general is off-limits at this time of year. There are a few candies for nut allergies out there. For example, this year I discovered Hershey mini eggs are safe. Also, Starburst jelly beans and some Sweet Tarts candies. For candy info, always check the labels. If you have questions about specific items, call the company. You'd be surprised how much this helps get labeling more clear. Keep those calls coming, folks!

But what if you don't want to sugar your kids up for the holiday? Besides the question of food allergies, many families aren't interested in over-feeding their kids tons of sugar. Of course, some candy and sweets at Easter are traditional and fun, but they don't have to be the whole show.

I think it's nice to offer food-allergic kids a balance of safe sweets and non-edible items that celebrate the season of spring.

Here are a few nut-free and allergy-friendly suggestions for last-minute Easter basket filling. Note: most are inedible treats.

- Chocolate dipped fruit (like strawberries). Break out the Vermont Nut-Free Chocolate Chips or Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips, melt them down and dip some strawberries in the melted goodness. If you stick a lollipop stick in the end, you have chocolate fruit pops. If you don't have Vermont Nut-Free or Enjoy Life chocolate chips in the house, Baker's Brand baking chocolate and some Hershey's baking chocolate is safe for nut allergies (check the labels for other food allergy warnings.) You can buy lollipop sticks at craft stores such as Michael's--look in the Wilton cake baking aisle.

- Kid-sized garden tools. Encourage your kids to help the garden grow with mini shovels, packets of seeds, gardening gloves, even small decorative garden stakes--Target has gnome and frog garden stakes for $3.99. (Of course, for young kids, be careful with the garden stakes). This is a great way to put the focus on spring and growing your own flowers, herbs and vegetables. One note: some gardening mixes may contain peanut or tree nut materials. Check the labels.

- Small books. Mini books about Easter, baby animals or Spring make a great addition to the Easter basket while encouraging reading. We always have included these in our kids' baskets and they are a hit.

- Windup toys. World Market has a great selection of small, inexpensive windup toys for Easter baskets. Kids go crazy for these!

- Easter or Spring-themed pencils and notepads. Target has some wonderful packs of these in their $1.00 section.

Readers, any other favorites? Let us know.