Food Allergy-Friendly Snacks: Fruit and Veg with Two Dips!

Sunflower fruit dip..tastes kind of like a caramel apple.

Back to school time has me thinking about healthy snacks and treats. And lately, I've had many reader questions about processed foods and which ones are safe for nut allergies. (See my previous post for some nut-free suggestions.)

However, with food labels largely inconsistent and requiring additional research (and processed foods filled with so many unwanted additions like chemicals and hydrogenated oils), it's easier and healthier for us to turn to simple, whole fresh foods for snacks and treats. But then there's that age-old parental question: how do you get kids to eat the good stuff?

In the toddler and preschool years, my way to encourage fruits and veggies was with dips and creative plating. Now, I'm no food stylist (and I've got the pictures to prove it) but it's amazing how a little "playing with their food" will encourage a kid to eat healthfully. The other thing that works wonders is dips and dunks for the fruits and veggies. Kids love to dip and dunk their food, so let 'em have at it with these two dip recipes I'm sharing here.

The fruit dip recipe that follows is based on one given to me by a book club friend--she used peanut butter. I replaced this with SunButter, but if that work for you, another really good dip is Greek yogurt with honey swirled in. Can't have dairy yogurt? I've seen more non-dairy yogurts popping up in my local grocery stores lately. One more thing about yogurt: I prefer Greek yogurt and it's pretty easy to find these days. If you can't find it or don't have it on hand, you can create a thicker, creamier yogurt by draining plain yogurt in a coffee filter set inside a strainer. Strain over a bowl in the fridge and discard liquid whey that collects on the bottom.

SunFlower Dip

 

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/4 cup SunButter sunflower seed spread (or to taste)

3 tablespoons brown sugar or honey, or sweetened to taste

 

For serving: crisp apples cut into slices.  Bananas are another good pairing

with this, but whatever fruit your child enjoys is great.

 

Whisk the first three ingredients together until fully combined. Spoon into the

middle of the plate or into a small ramekin (shown in the photo). Arrange the apple slices

around the dip in the center of the plate in a flower shape. Watch the fruit and dip disappear!

Cover any leftover portion of the dip; it will keep for a few days in the refrigerator.

The following herb veggie dip is based on a Greek yogurt and cucumber dip my family loves. If your kids don't mind a little texture, some unseeded English cucumber grated into this dip is awesome! Even if you don't incorporate cukes into this, they are great served with the dip on the side. Use my recipe as a template depending on your child's palate and tastes. You are basically jazzing up plain yogurt so that it tastes more like ranch dressing--only healthier.

Herb Veggie Flower Dip

It's not Picasso on the plate, but it gets them eating their veggies!

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

Minced garlic or garlic powder to taste

 (go easy on the garlic for younger palates)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 shredded cucumber, well drained (optional)

Fresh or dried dill

Fresh minced parsley (optional)

 

Mix all ingredients thoroughly and let sit for about half an hour in the refrigerator to let flavors develop. Serve with your child's favorite veggies, or if you are feeling energetic, arrange a celery stalk and baby carrots as show above. (Tip: Little kids seem to really like this presentation). Cover and refrigerator any leftover dip; it will keep in the refrigerator for a few days.

Food Allergy News: Home Free Organic Treats! Peanut-Free, Treen Nut-Free and More!

The unexpected benefit of having to find peanut-free and tree nut-free cookies and treats for our kids with peanut and tree nut allergies, is that sometimes the alternatives are healthier. And healthier is good--but what about taste? They have to want to eat it, right?


Recently, my kids were given the opportunity to sample some cookies from Home Free Organic Treats. Created by the mother a child with food allergies, these cookies are a wonderful nut-free option that you can feel good about for two reasons. First of all, they are made in a free-from facility--that is, free of nut, peanuts, dairy and eggs. Some of the products are even certified gluten-free, if you have that concern. Everything is made with natural, organic ingredients that are free of the Top 8 food allergens (however, they are processed on lines with soy lecithin. Please see the web site for info on allergen management/cleaning practices.)



Second, these cookies are healthy as well as tasty. They are non-GMO certified, made with whole grains, heart healthy, low sodium--wow. For all that, they taste great! I love the flavor and texture, especially the mini gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. I prefer crispy, crunchy cookies and these deliver. I had to put these cookies in another room before I ate them all.



We sampled the regular sized chocolate chip cookies, the mini chocolate chip GF cookies, gluten-free mini vanilla cookies and mini chocolate chocolate chip cookies. All of these cookies were nut-free, egg-free and dairy-free, too.



My youngest loved the mini cookies the best but my oldest, with allergies loved them all, leaning towards the chocolate chocolate chip and regular sized plain chocolate chip cookies. She told me that "these cookies put a smile on my face." OK--I'll take a smile any way I can get it these days. (Those of you without tweens, you'll find out what I mean someday.)



But seriously, these are a great, nut-free treat. I love to support companies with dedicated nut-free facilities because let's face it--there is way too much label confusion these days. When you KNOW it's safe and nut-free, it just makes life easier.



You can order these online or find them in some stores. Check out the store locator for more details.



Thanks, Home Free for the samples and for making a great option for food-allergic kids.



FTC Note: I received free cookie samples but no other compensation for this post.

To Celebrate Peanut-Free Day: Nut-Free Granola Bar Recipe

Apparently it's National Peanut Butter Day, so for those of us unable to partake, I thought I we could celebrate National Peanut-Free Day. And what better way than with a peanut-free, tree nut-free recipe (and reader favorite): Nut-Free Granola Bars.

My recipe is fast, easy and both kid and adult-friendly. It's also easy to alter to your tastes and food allergy needs. You can omit the SunButter or use soy butter if you need to and replace the chocolate chips (or combine them with) Ocean Spray Craisins or raisins.

If you need to avoid eggs, add a little more honey as a binder and/or even a small amount of unsweetened applesauce (see the recipe below). Experiment with your kids until you find the combinations you like best.

A word about chocolate chips: If you want nut-free chocolate chips only, then check out Vermont Nut Free Chocolate for delicious varieties. If you would like egg-free, dairy-free and nut-free chips, Divvies and Enjoy Life Foods sell them (Enjoy Life is soy-free, too). I also use Hershey brand semi-sweet chocolate chips because we only need to avoid nuts, not dairy. After many communications with Hershey and many years of using certain of their products, I feel confident about them.Make a batch of these for after school snacks, during school snacks and lunchtime treats.

The Nut-Free Mom's Nut-Free Oatmeal Granola Bars

2 cups old-fashioned oats, uncooked

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or dried fruit, or both)

1/2 cup toasted wheat germ; I use Kretchum brand (or in a pinch, use same amount of whole wheat flour but the wheat germ really gives it that "granola" taste)

3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (Morton's makes this)

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup SunButter brand sunflower seed spread (or soybutter), optional

1 large egg (if going egg-free, use 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce instead)

2 tsp vanilla extract (Nielsen-Massey or McCormick's are my faves)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with Pam.

In a large bowl with a wooden spoon, mix oats, flour, brown sugar, chocolate chips, wheat germ or wheat flour and salt until blended. Stir in oil, honey, SunButter, egg or applesauce and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Pat mixture into pan with a wet hand (so you won't stick too much).

Bake until golden around the edges, 18-20 minutes for chewier bars, 25-30 minutes for crispier bars. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

When cool, cut lengthwise into bars of your preferred size. I did four strips, each into four pieces for a total of 16 bars.

Enjoy!