2019 Top 10 store bought allergy free snack foods for kids and toddlers!

I've done a few of these posts over the years, as we have made more and more friends with food allergies, and sensitivities. It seems like our "Food-free" and "allergy" community is growing bigger by the day... It makes me a little sad inside that there are so many children that have so many issues with food, no matter where they stem from, but I know that food companies are getting better and better, and even some new companies have surfaced in that time too! Below is our 2019 top 10 favorite snack for young kids and toddlers, that are store bought, ready to eat snacks, without you having to do ANYTHING! It's great, because sometimes we just need a break... or we're going on vacation, or our kids are going to play at a friends house... The reason we want something quick and easy are nearly unending, so hopefully this will give you some new ideas to keep little hands full, and tummies happy, all the while giving you a moment to breath and relax.  Please note that some of these yummy snacks have peanuts, and a couple of the foods below our top 10 contain egg. Links are available for almost every product listed so you can look and make sure each is safe for your family. With love and admiration, for your willingness to work hard and make food still taste good!
Hugs and Love,
The Allergy Mommy!

TOP 10!!!!
1.) Kind Kids chewy granola bars! (Honey vanilla, chocolate, and PB chocolate chip) These are at most big box stores and online. Around here they average $5 for a box of 10 or $3.50 for a box of 5)
2.)Trader Joes Fruit Buttons (Strawberry, grape, and mango) These are only at Trader Joes, but are $.59 each, and my kids all LOVE them! I even love them haha!
3.)So Delicious coconut milk yogurts. When the kids were younger I only gave them 1/2 the container since they are a bit pricey, but they are at most stores and I haven't had a bad flavor yet!
4.)Cascadian Farms chewy Vanilla chip Granola Bars & Crunchy Honey oat Granola Bars (Cascadian farms has several other safe options, these are just our two favorite by them) These are easily found at Target, and sprouts, as well as vitacost.com and run about $3.50 a box at most places.
5.)"Enjoy Life" Snicker-doodle cookies. These are typically found the gluten free section at the store (walmart does have them in the GF section), but not every store carries them. Also give the ginger-bread cookies a try, they are great too! Check out the whole cookie line HERE They are very soft & chewy!
6.)Gerber Fruit and Veggie Melts , these are the "safe" alternative to the yogurt melts many little kiddos get... They are super tasty, and my kids are always wanting more. Walmart and target both have them, and many other stores have them.
7.)Plum Organics Mashups & Plum Organics Teensy Fruits(do not mix these up with regular plum organics as those have dairy. These are normally found on the fruit cup/fruit pouches isle in most grocery stores, and the teensy fruits are on the baby food isle.)
8.Earth Balance Aged white cheddar puffs (my little ones safe "pirate booty")
9.)Kind Fruit Bites (No sugar added, and truly scrumptious!)
10.)Trader Joes Apples and Cinnamon Instant Oatmeal


Some of our other favorite store bought foods are below. These include things that even you adults will want to munch on. :)

• "Naked" fruit drinks. We love the mighty mango, Red Machine and green machine. Make sure you get the "Naked" brand, as Odwalla brand tends to use soy in a lot of their products!!
• "Al Fresco" sausages ( These are chicken sausages. Aidells also has some chicken sausages that are safe. We love these sausages, especially when we're going to a BBQ with friends, and want to be able to eat something.
• "Stretch Island Fruit co." fruit leathers 
• Trader Joes Mayonaise, and it's soooooo good! (This has EGG!)
• Earth Balance Soy free buttery spread. It's our butter substitute. (red container)
• "Tostitos Natural" organic blue corn tortilla chips w/Herdes mild salsa
• "Dole" Fruit cups. We typically do pears as they are easier on the digestive tract than many fruits
• Corn Tortillas (Not all brands are soy and wheat free, so make sure you read the label) for tacos.
• Cascadian Farms Fruit and Nut, and French Vanilla Almond granola Cereals
• Trader Joes Gluten Free egg Fettuccine pasta (CONTAINS EGG)
• Breanna's Dressings (The poppyseed, and honey Mustard are our favorites)
• Preggo "Market Fresh" Tomato Basil Spaghetti sauce

Dairy free soy free egg free banana oat pancakes!

Hey Friends, I've have a few different posts today, and I couldn't not post my kids favorite pancakes. They are the easiest thing you'll ever make that low allergy, and I feel like they are on the healthier end of "pancakes" haha. So, here they are, Easy as can be!

Banana Oat Pancakes!

Ingredients needed:
One large Banana
Oats (You can do quick or old fashioned, they give different textures so play with them to see what works best for you)
Honey
Cinnamon
vanilla

That's IT! Whew! Now, throw the banana into a cup or bowl and mash it up till it's creamy and add 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Add oats till it's a bit sticky, but mostly oats. The banana is the binder. Turn on your stove, and use coconut or avocado oil in the pan, these guys LOVE to stick to the pan, so make sure you have oil down. cook on low until golden on both sides. Pour honey over the top, and add any fresh berries you're not allergic to and EAT UP! Simple as that! They are my favorite, not only because they are simple, and yummy, but they are also pretty inexpensive too!
Hope this finds you having a lovely day!
Love,
The Allergy Mommy!

Good Belly, the probiotic drink I'm jazzed about, that's dairy and soy free!

I've always been a HUGE proponent for probiotics. They are so important to bodies, but they are even more so for sensitive bodies. We used to take prescription probiotics, but found that with time, they gave a strange burp aftertaste that made my kids want to throw up... which, as I'm sure you've guessed, is not great. haha. I've periodically used a drink called goodbelly, that comes in a quart sized container, and was easily found at places like sprouts, and whole foods, but stumbled upon a product that is newer for them, at (of all places) walmart! That's right, Walmart. They are probiotic shots. Small little cups of probiotic drinks, that my kids are happily willing to drink. I take one a day, and they do one every other day, unless they are sick, or around people that are sick. Since my middle kiddo has the most sensitive immune system out of the three kids, she's almost always taking one a day. At our local walmart these guys come in a 4 pack, in 3 different flavors, but there are a lot more flavors available elsewhere. My son loves the PlusShot blueberry and acia, and the girls and I love the StraightShot lemon drop and yumberry! I'll list all of the flavors available below... All in all, we've been able to kick germs faster, and thankfully, avoid some pretty nasty bugs. We still get some, but since starting up on a regular set of these, have greatly lowered the instances, and for $2.79-$3.49 for a 4 pack, it's totally worth it! I'm not affiliated with Good Belly, just really like them, so... Good Belly has a lot more products, all of which are quite tasty, available. If you want to see where you can buy them near you, this is a link to their sites "Store locator".

PlusShot falvors!

Organic PlusShot is packed with billions of belly-balancing probiotics PLUS essential vitamins and calcium. It’s a deliciously fruity, dairy-free shot — the perfect daily dose of the good stuff you need to maintain a healthy, balanced system.* Just a few sips and you’re set for the day.!

StraightShot Flavors!

GoodBelly StraightShot is a gently flavored, dairy-free oatmilk with 20 billion live and active probiotic cultures per serving and no sugar added.† Embrace the feel-tastic freedom you get from GoodBelly StraightShot. It’s everyday probiotic goodness for your gut.

Milk alternative worth trying! Oat Milk!

Good morning Everyone, How am I finding you today? How are the kids? Over here in Anderson-ville, we have a little cold, but life is good. Can I just say, life with MFPI is getting easier as more time goes on... Not that it's an easy thing to deal with, but what stores are offering, that is actually worth eating, is getting better. One of my favorite finds recently is that Oat milk is becoming easier and easier to find, and where is used to be cost prohibitive, it's coming down to where most milk alternatives are. Even silk has it in it's lineup. Some of the great things about oat milk are that it's high in both protein and fiber, but low in fat. A lot of the milk alternatives now days are made from some sort of nut (almond, cashew, coconut), which while nice and high in protein, is also very high in fat. Rice is another alternative, but depending on who is drinking it, and how much, it's also high in sugar, and has the downside of rice having small amounts of arsenic in it. There's some controversy over the whole rice and arsenic thing, so feel free to do your own research on that, and come to your own conclusion. It's not right for us, but it works great for others. :) ANYway, back to milk... Since milk is one of the big sources for kids of both vitamin D and calcium, it's really important that you know how much they are getting, and from what sources. You don't want all of the vitamin D and Calcium to come from "Fortified sources" because their body won't uptake and utilize as much of that, but some is perfectly acceptable, and necessary... Oat milk is also VERY easy to make at home if you are worried about the "Gluten free" side of oats, as I'm sure you've figured out that not all oats are grown equal. If you make it at home, it's a super easy way to ensure that you, or your little one, aren't being "Glutened" as we like to call it. Now, one of the things we love so much about the oatmilk is it's creamy luscious texture. If you have texture kiddos who don't do "grainy", this is a great option to give a try.  One of my FAVORITE oatmilk products actually comes from my favorite dairy free brand, SoDelicious. They sponsored a contest I did a few years back, and they have always been super supportive of my little blog. They make great products, that are becoming easier and easier to find, and that makes life, well, easier. So, I bet you're wondering what my favorite oatmilk product is, aren't you? It's, of course, Ice Cream!!! SoDelicious now has an oatmilk ice cream line, and when I tell you that it's AMAZING, I wholeheartedly mean it. I'm not affiliated with them, I just LOVE their stuff! So, check them out, I promise, THEY ARE AMAZING. haha.

Just for examples sake, we're going to take a look at the silk oatmilk. I'm not in any way affiliated with, nor do I gain benefits from silk in any way, by posting this, so my info is purely for your sake. The information listed is from the info on their website, so feel free to visit them with any questions about their products.
They have 3 "Flavors" available, plain, vanilla and chocolate.

 

Plain Ingredients: Oatmilk (Filtered Water, Oat Extract), 2% or less of: Sunflower Oil, Vitamin and Mineral Blend (Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D2, Riboflavin (B2), Vitamin B12), Malt Extract, Dipotassium Phosphate,  Gellan Gum, Sea Salt, Sunflower Lecithin, Locust Bean Gum, Ascorbic Acid (to protect freshness).

Vanilla Ingredients: Oatmilk (Filtered Water, Oat Extract), 2% or less of: Cane Sugar, Sunflower Oil, Vitamin and Mineral Blend (Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D2, Riboflavin (B2), Vitamin B12), Malt Extract, Dipotassium Phosphate,  Sea Salt, Gellan Gum, Sunflower Lecithin, Locust Bean Gum, Natural Flavor, Ascorbic Acid (to protect freshness).

Chocolate Ingredients: Oatmilk (Filtered Water, Oat Extract), Cane Sugar, 2% or less of: Cocoa (Processed with Alkali), Sunflower Oil, Vitamin and Mineral Blend (Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin D2, Riboflavin [B2], Vitamin B12), Malt Extract, Sea Salt, Locust Bean Gum, Gellan Gum, Sunflower Lecithin, Ascorbic Acid (to protect freshness), Natural Flavor.

Diet changes... Stick with what works

Stick with what you know, this keeps your child safe and pain free! I have moms asking me regularly "How do you do it?" "isn't it so hard?" "What do you eat?" and myriad other questions... One that I get asked regularly from allergy moms is "What works for you? We can't seem to get our little one under control, and we're getting frustrated/hopeless!"  What I tell each of them is that each of our journeys, though similar, are very different.  We each have things that work, or do not... Don't look at other moms and think "I wish I could have kids like theirs... no allergies... no regular doctors office visit, etc". But, to answer the question in a light that I dream gives you hope this is what we do...

We are crazy about keeping the stuff our kids cannot have out. There are NO "well, maybe just a little" moments in our life. If you do more than one of those, than you will never know how much of what your child can handle. IF, and this is a BIG IF, we are attempting to add something new to our kids diets, it starts with either a visit or a call over to our ped-GI specialist. She does a weight check or has us go to our local pediatrics office to do one, so that we have a base line. Sometimes reactions are easier to follow when you know where you started... Once we get the ok from her, we have 3 to 4 days of absolutely NO illness, contamination, reactions. This allows for the new food to be isolated, so that we know if there is a reaction, what it has been caused by.  We go 3-6 days on, see how the foods is going (sometimes we don't even make it to three days before knowing it is just not going to work), we then go off for 1 week and see if there is a change in either direction. If it gets to this point without issues, we go for another 7 days with that food. Its also important to note that when we start the food we give them only the smallest amount. Though we have an epi-pen, and do not have any foods thus far that cause an IgE response (anaphylaxis or severe hives), we still have one because of how reactive our children can be. Some doctors prefer to have the child introduce a new food at their office so that if there is a severe reaction there are health professionals immediately there to help.

So, outside of this very controlled introduction to new foods we do not put random things into our kids diets. We have, through trial, error, and removal, found what works for us... If you find something that works for your sensitive little one, look for other foods in the same family (ex: our kids do really well with black beans, so naturally we tried black, pinto, kidney and white beans to mix up the flavors a bit for them while staying in the same family which is normally a great way to stay safe).

Find what works, and stick with it... You know your kiddo best, so be your child's best advocate and give them the best foods while doing everything you can to keep them safe!
Good Luck, and remember, you're an amazing parent that is doing your best, and there will always be good and bad days (inevitably).  Don't be hard on yourself, just keep your head up and give yourself credit for doing the things that you have, to keep your child healthy and happy! :)
Hugs and Love,
The Allergy Mommy!

Recipe Winners!!!!

Ok, so... it has taken us a bit longer to narrow down the recipes we loved most for our 2 weeks of recipes... We are happy to announce the winners, and congratulate them on their incredible ability to make something yummy, out of practically nothing! We know our food lifestyle isn't an easy one, but our "food free" community is making it's little place, and loving it!

Congratulations to Anatolia Gargruten on her So Delicious coconut milk tropical fruit sticky rice... Not only was it Heavenly, but it was safe, and it doesn't get much better than that!

Congratulations to Lana Millson for her Bobs red mill Allergy free Corn Bread. Tastes like the cornbread your mom used to make for you when you were a kid, and they didn't have the gross store bought allergy laden cornbread mixes.

You ladies are a true rare talent, and we are so glad to give prize packs to such wonderful women in our food free life style!

Keep up the hard work everyone, and stay tuned for our next giveaway!!! For now, stay healthy, and stay safe!
Love,
The Allergy Mommy

Week 2 of the Recipe Contest has begun! Bobs Red Mill 4-flour Gluten free Pack to winner!

Week 2 of our recipe challenge has begun,and this week we're focusing on Bobs Red Mill Gluten Free!. Thank you so much to those who submitted recipes for our week of So Delicious! The response was overwhelming, and we are grateful for your enthusiasm! We will be making and testing recipes this week, and a winner for the So Delicious portion will be announced this weekend! 

Today marks the start of week 2 in our Allergy free recipe contest. Each recipe will need to be submitted by email to theallergymommy@gmail.com with the subject line "recipe".

Each submission needs to comply with the following rules:

Submitter must "Like" Bobs Red Mill on Facebook
Become a follower of theallergymommy.blospot.com

Recipe must be submitted by Monday April 8th at 11:59pm MST

Needs to include your full name, email (only to be used if you win to contact you)

The recipe must be:

1. Gluten/wheat Free
2. Egg Free
3. Dairy Free (casein & lactose)
4. Soy Free

During our 2 week of the recipe challenge we will focus on the use of Bobs Red Mill GF flours! products! This week of Bobs Red Mill will run from Today (Tuesday April 2nd) through Monday (April 8th) night at 11:59pm MST. Any submissions received after the close on Monday, will not be accepted in to be a part of this weeks challenge. Bobs Red Mill has been so wonderful to give us a gift pack of four Gluten Free Flours that will be awarded to this weeks recipe winner. So, get to cooking & baking... The winner of the Bobs Red Mill portion of the contest will be announced and contacted within 1 week of the close, after recipes have been tried and found true!  If your recipe does will, but has not complied with the rules stated above, we reserve the right to disqualify your entry, and decide an alternate winner. Last to be noted, but very important, please do not "steal" or copy someone elses recipe, this needs to be your own. We respect the intellectual property of others, and expect you to as well. Big shout out for Bobs Red Mill! Now, get to cooking!