Nut-Free Valentine's Day! A Roundup of Nut-Free Treats, Helpful Links, Ideas and More!

Valentine's Day, the season of love is nearly here. And as those of us coping with food allergies know, it's also the season of potentially unsafe food.

That's why I'm offering this convenient roundup of posts and links that provide some wonderful nut-free alternatives.

Important to note: Seasonal or holiday candy may be made on different lines depending on the brand, and those manufacturing differences may result in a previously "safe" brand becoming "unsafe" due to cross-contact risk. Read the labels, always, every time to make sure your candy is OK to use!

Now onto the links! You will find recipes, treats ideas, non-food crafts (perfect for school) and more. If you are a Pinner, I highly recommend you check out my Nut-Free Valentine's Day Pinterest board. I've been collecting some really good pins from other sites as well as this one. Lots of fun and creative ideas there! The Pinterest link is listed below.

Online Resources for a Nut-Free Valentine's Day

Food Allergies, Valentine's Day and School Party Tips

Pinterest Board for a Nut-Free Valentine's Day

Last Minute Valentine's Day Ideas plus an easy nut-free recipe!

I am proud to say that three of my site sponsors offer nut-free treats. Nutphree's Cupcakes, Surf Sweets and Dean's Sweets are favorite sources of nut-free sweets and goodies for my family. (I've got many more included in the link/posts above). It's nice to be able to count on a nut-free facility -- which these three great companies consistently provide.

And don't forget to click the two Valentine's Day images on the right side bar of the site: the cupid and the box of heart-shaped chocolates. These two images will take you to posts that hook you up with nut-free treats online as well as those you find at the supermarket.

A new one I found this year: Willy Wonka brand Everlasting Gobstoppers in a new heart shape. These may contain allergens other than nuts, but check the label. No nut allergen warnings and I've called this company in the past--they will mark for cross-contact risk. Have any of you found some new nut-free treats at the store? Let us know.

Happy Valentine's Day to you and your sweeties!

Friday Food Allergy-Friendly Supermarket Find: Cybele's Free-to-Eat Cookies! Top 8 Allergen-Free, Gluten-Free and Yes, Delicious!

Cybele's Free-to-Eat ™ Cookies are now available in many grocery stores!

Finding food allergy-friendly foods at the supermarket is an ongoing struggle, but things are starting to change for the better. So I've decided to share "Nut-Free Supermarket Finds" during Friday blog posts. I hope you'll check back often!

Now onto this week's nut-free supermarket find: Cybele's Free to Eat ™ Cookies! If you’re among the growing population of people seeking top 8 allergy-free and gluten-free cookies, you’ve probably had pretty limited options, especially regarding what you can find at your local stores. However, the food landscape is changing--in a good way. Allergy-friendly chef, cookbook author and all around good-eating guru has recently launched a line of delicious cookies, “Cybele’s Free to Eat.” Cybele’s Free-To-Eat cookies are available in three delish flavors: Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chunk Brownie and Oatmeal Raisin.

I recently had the chance to sample these cookies (being the nice mom that I am, I let my daughters do most of the sampling). Just an FYI: Due to my daughter’s severe allergies, we follow a nut-free diet, but do not have to omit any other allergens for medical reasons. So my kids are used to eating things with butter, eggs, wheat, etc. In other words, they are used to “regular” cookies so I never know what they will think when they try a new product free from so many traditional ingredients.

It’s challenging to create delicious “traditional” recipes without using traditional ingredients -- though if you’ve read Cybele’s two cookbooks, she’s taken on that challenge and nailed it. Her amazing cookbooks offer beautiful, delicious recipes FREE of the top 8 allergens and gluten. Visit her web site for more info on that.

So now, back to the cookie tasting. Of course, my oldest the chocoholic went for the Chocolate Chunk Brownie, first. After sampling those and the Chocolate Chip, she said (of Cybele): “These are so good. That lady is a genius!” That’s a big endorsement from a self-described cookie monster.

My youngest had the typical “little sister” problem of discovering that very few of the Chocolate Chip and Chunk Brownie cookies remained after big sis got ahold of them. While not a fan of Oatmeal Raisin (one of my favorite cookies, so believe me, I’ve tried) she decided to give them a go one cold day after school.

To my surprise, she LOVED them and took that box over for herself. Wow. She’s already asking me for more. If you can get my kid -- not a raisin fan -- to eat an Oatmeal Raisin cookie that is also free of so many allergens and wheat flour -- you ARE a genius.

The look, taste and texture of these cookies is like homemade, so no wonder my kids went for them in such a big way. Plus, Cybele clearly cares about food that tastes good and is also healthy. I feel very good giving my kids these cookies as a treat because they are not only nut-free for my daughter, but they are made from, wholesome, natural ingredients. The cookies are made in a gluten-free, nut-free and top 8 allergen-free facility, so no worries there. They are also GMO free, kosher and vegan.

Cybele’s Free-to-Eat ™ cookies are rolling out to many stores, especially Whole Foods, so check your local Whole Foods stores to find them. As far as online availability, stay tuned with the company as they plan to be available on Peanut Free Planet shortly. You can also keep track of stores in your area that carry them by visiting the Cybele's Free-To-Eat web site or e-mailing inf@cybele’sfreetoeat.com for more information.

Thanks to Cybele Pascal for creating such a tasty, quality product that everyone can enjoy -- allergies or not!

FTC Note: Received cookie samples for this review, ideas are my own, no other compensation.

Looking for ONLY nut-free cookies? Made in a nut-free facility, Skeeter Snacks offers
several yummy cookie varieties.  Skeeter Snacks is a supporter of this site.

 

Food Allergy Live Chat on The Motherhood.com -- Here's a Recap!

If you missed our live chat yesterday on The Motherhood.com, you can still benefit from the discussion. Soon, a transcript will be available on The Motherhood site for you to use as a reference, but in the meantime, I encourage you to click the link and read the chat as it happened in real time.

Here's the link you need: http://www.themotherhood.com/talk/show/id/Navigating-Food-Allergies:-When-Family-Members-Don[*]t-Understand

We had some great tips, questions and "been there" advice from our panel of hosts and co-hosts, including the always wonderful Lori Sandler of Divvies and Emily McKhann from The Motherhood.com. Joining us were Kelly Rudnicki of Food Allergy Mama, Kim Lutz of Welcoming Kitchen and Elizabeth Goldenberg of Onespot Allergy.

www.themotherhood.com ... blockbuster parenting web site!
Learn "The Motherhood.com" philosphy here: http://www.themotherhood.com/main/about

We also had some wonderful questions and suggestions from active participants on the chat and we had many more who were participating as viewers. We hope that this chat provided some help and encouragement for you, especially during the holiday season where food is ever-present and family dynamics are an issue.

If you're looking for some food allergy-friendly gifts, I hope you'll click the links for each person above and visit their web sites and blogs as many of them have written cookbooks or offer great products for those with food allergies.

One of the things we spoke about during our chat yesterday was the need to bring our own food and be willing to host others. If you're looking for prepared foods to serve at your party or event, I hope you will take a look at the right sidebar of this site.

I am so happy to have several site supporters who offer fabulous nut-free (and other "free from") foods and sweet treats to make our lives easier and more tasty: Nutphree's Cupcakes, Skeeter Snacks, Vermont Nut Free Chocolates, Dean's Sweets, Cakes for Occasions, Surf Sweets, Sweet Alexis. Plus, if you're looking for medical ID jewelry that is both safety-conscious and stylish for all ages, Hope Paige Medical IDs is a great site to visit. To visit the web sites of each of these companies, please click their respective images to the right of this post. Scroll  down and explore them all! Each of these companies supports people with nut allergies, so I encourage us all to support them.

My e-book is a user-friendly guide to educating others about nut allergies and right now, it's at a reduced holiday price. This concise guide can help see you through the "nutty" holiday season--I've had readers tell me that they are also using it to help friends and relatives understand life with nut allergies. Check  it out today by clicking here.

Thanks once again to everyone who made yesterday's chat happen! We will have more live chats like this in coming months, so please check back to this site often for updates.

This Friday on The Nut-Free Mom blog: A sweet deal from Peanut Free Planet!

Don't miss this Friday's post, where you will learn about a special offer from Peanut Free Planet...just in time for the holidays! See you then.

Nut-Free Cookie Recipe: "Big Bakery" Chocolate Chip

Having nut allergies means having to avoid most bakeries (unless they are nut-free). That's why I love this recipe: it's really easy, uses Enjoy Life Foods Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mega-Chunks (nut-free, soy-free, dairy-free--top 8-free!) and the end result is cookies that look and taste like you got them from a bakery. No, they're better.

Enjoy Life Foods Mega-Chunks are one of the most awesome products to ever enter the marketplace. You simply can't find chocolate chunks at the supermarket that are nut-free. These are so flavorful and they taste delicious.

The following recipe is peanut-free and tree nut-free only, but the back of the Mega Chunks has a great gluten-free and vegan (dairy-free, egg-free) "blondies" recipe. Any recipe you've been using for allergy-friendly cookies for your specific needs would probably benefit from the addition of these chocolate chunks.

The recipe below is a modification of one I was given years ago. It used vanilla beans and walnuts--I am adding more chocolate chunks in place of walnuts and  vanilla extract instead of the vanilla bean. But if you wanted to do that: Take one vanilla pod, split it and scoop out the contents and add it to the dough right after the egg.

I would really recommend using the ELF chocolate chunks in this recipe, since it's a big cookie and it just brings it to a higher level! But a regular-sized chocolate chip works, too.

Nut-Free Mom's "Big Bakery" Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: 1 dozen large cookies

Ingredients:

1 bag Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Mega-Chunks (10 oz)
1 stick unsalted butter
1 large free range or organic egg
2 tsp pure vanilla extract (I use McCormick or Nielsen-Massey)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar (I use Domino's)
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. white sugar
1 - 2/3 cups all-purpose unbleached flour (I usually use Gold Medal)
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp fine sea salt (Morton's now makes this--when I first got the recipe I hadn't even heard of it!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
.

In a medium bowl, blend dry ingredients (except for chocolate chunks) and set aside.

Using a standing mixer with paddle attachment, blend butter and sugars at high speed until creamy. Lower speed; add egg until blended, then vanilla.

Add flour mixture in thirds at low speed. Mix in chocolate chunks.

Using a 1/4 cup measure, scoop dough into balls and flatten them slightly on ungreased cookie sheet. Place the dough at least 2 inches apart.

Bake 10-12 minutes until cookies are set and golden. Leave on sheet one minute, then remove to wire rack to cool.

Store in a tightly-covered container.

Your kids (and you) will love these!

Don't feel like baking? I have a cookie giveaway from a nut-free bakery that is coming up. Check back soon for more details!

Skeeter Snacks peanut and tree nut-free cookies. www.skeetersnacks.com