Allergy Friendly Valentine's Treats
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Did you know that Valentine’s Day is Halloween’s discreet little brother to parents of food allergic children?
Halloween has the benefit of having widespread knowledge about The Teal Pumpkin Project and the risk that the holiday can pose to food allergic kids. For some reason, Valentine’s Day gets overlooked. There is no Teal Heart Project that aims to educate and warn people passing out candy about food allergies.
So as the parent of food allergic children (peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, and a potential rice allergy), I am taking it upon myself to encourage others to educate themselves on food allergies around Valentine’s Day.
Each parent of a food allergic child knows their child’s (and their own) comfort level. Some allergies are so severe that airborne particles can create a reaction. Some people can eat products that say “may contain [allergen]” or “processed in a facility that also processes [allergen]”. The only real black and white element of food allergies is this - if the food explicitly says it contains an allergen, which it is required to do by law for the top 8 most common allergens, the allergic party shouldn’t eat it.
What are allergy friendly Valentine’s Day treats?
Everyone thinks Valentine’s day and immediately goes to candy. As a parent with young kids, I know the pains of sugar rushes and subsequent crashes so I try to limit candy. I am also not above hiding nutritious foods in fun packaging or changing things up a bit. Here are some foods that I love to give my kids to enjoy on Valentine’s Day that are safe for my allergic children:
Starburst jelly hearts
Veggie Chips Hearts
Little Bites Strawberry Muffins
Yogurt Melts
Flavored popcorn - I made regular Orville Redenbacker popcorn and sprinkled pulverized freeze dried strawberries and white chocolate on top of it in the photo above
Graham crackers with pink frosting
Marshmallows
You can also cut pretty much anything that your child loves (like cheese slices or pancakes) into the shape of a heart using a cookie cutter or free handing with a knife. It will instantly be more special and thematic.
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What candies are allergy free?
First of all, thanks for asking.
This is a loaded question. I wish I could give you a list, say thanks for caring, and send you on your merry way to Target. But that is not the case. Food processing changes all the time. Candies from the same brand (think Hershey kisses and Hershey bars) can be processed on different lines in different facilities. And those intricate differences can expose one candy to an allergen whereas another is deemed “safe”.
All allergy parents know the importance of reading labels every time. But if you are new to this or looking to keep your child’s classmates safe (again, thank you!), the safest option is to find candies that say they are free of the top 8 allergens. The top 8 are milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, crustacean shellfish, wheat and soy.
If you’re looking to really get in the weeds, some products can say they are free of the top 8 allergens, but are not produced in a dedicated facility that is free of the top 8 allergens, thus putting some allergic people are risk to exposure through cross contamination. Allergy friendly Valentine’s Day candies that are top 8 free include Amanda's Own Valentine's Day Chocolate Bar, Blow Pops, Dots Valentine Candy, Dum Dums, No Whey Chocolate Heart Truffle Box, Smarties Love Hearts, Surf Sweets Organic Fruity Hearts, and Wonka SweeTarts Hearts.
What candies is safe for nut allergies?
Again, a loaded question. I will just speak from my personal experience with my nut allergic child . He frequently enjoys Skittles, Starburst, Dum Dums, Enjoy Life Products, Swedish Fish, and Sour Patch Kids with no problem.
Each individual allergy is different in severity, so there is no blanket answer for this question. I would direct you to Spokin which publishes lists of allergy friendly Valentine’s Day candy and their exposure, facility dedications if any, etc.
Tips for handing out allergy friendly Valentine’s Day treats
Again, I cannot thank you enough for trying to be conscious of families like mine. Here are some tips when trying to find treats that the whole class can enjoy.
Keep everything in it’s original packaging. Resist the urge to make a Pinterest perfect care package. We will instantly throw it away if we cannot confirm it is safe for our kids.
Looks for products that say things like “Top 8 Free” which is often clearly labeled on the front of packaging.
Don’t buy things that you know have things like nuts or coconut. Even if you just buy a Milky Way over a Snickers, that is helpful!
Food Allergy Resources
If you’re looking to educate yourself more (again, THANKS!), check out these resources: