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!

Top 10 great allergy-free store-bought Snack ideas for kiddos

So, a dear friend of mine asked me to do a few different posts on good foods for kiddos that are needing food that tastes good, but is allergy free... So, here we are. I hope this helps in some way! This is a top 10 list of our favorite, "Tried-n-true" foods and snacks that are ready for you right off the shelf. Some of these are a bit pricey, but they are great for when you are out of an ingredient/time, or just need something available in a pinch, or when you need something to bring to a gathering (like a BBQ). All of these are free of dairy/casein, egg, wheat/gluten, and soy. I hope it helps! If you know of any on great snack we could add to our ever growing list, we would LOVE to know! Please email us, or leave a comment, and we'll add it asap!! WE HAVE UPDATED THIS LIST for new choices, and that can be found HERE

1. "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!
2. "Annies Organic" peanuty granola bar (the only downside to these is QQ. We've had entire boxes of them that were so rock hard, we had to throw them all out, arg! Target carries these at most stores)
3. Fruit shredz by Plum Organics. These are a favorite around our house. They are perfect for throwing in the diaper bag, and both my 1 yr old and 4 year old LOVE them. They taste great, aren't sticky, and are easily picked/vacuumed up if spilled.  
4. Little Cremes by Plum Organics & Gerber Fruit and Veggie Melts , these are the "safe" alternative to the yogurt melts many little kiddos get...
5. Crunchmaster GF multi-grain crackers
6. Enjoy Life Chewy Bars, these are a soft chewy "granola bar". They are a bit small, but very filling and great for little hands
7. "So delicious" coconut milk ice creams & treats. Please make sure you read the label on these as some of them have soy products in them!
8. Plum Organics Mashups (do not mix these up with plum organics as those have dairy)
9. Enjoy Life Plentils!!!! Tasty snack in a small snack pack! If you're looking for something packed with flavor, and crunch, you've got to get your hands on these!!!
10. "Amande" almond milk yogurt. Our favorite flavors are strawberry and peach, or SoDelicious coconut milk yogurts. Our favorite flavors are plain and strawberry..

A few of our other favorite things to make snacks include some of these handy dandy items... Happy snacking!!!

• "Naked" fruit drinks. We love the mighty mango and green machine. Make sure you get the "Naked" brand, as Odwalla brand tends to use soy in a lot of their products! EEKS!
• "Al Fresco" sausages (the healthier and safe version of a hotdog, haha". The sweet apple chicken one is what we get, and we LOVE it. 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 & welches fruit snacks (all flavors)
• "Olivio" coconut spread (It's butter, made from coconut oil, and it's soooooo good. Especially in oatmeal) is amazing if you make fresh popcorn, and use this instead of butter!!! 
• "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.
• Candies:  There are lots of candies that are safe, but the easiest ones to find are Skittles, starburst, Mentos!, and "Haribo" brand gummies. Not all of their gummy stuff is safe, but a large majority is, so take a look at their stuff next time you're at the store. We normally get the gummy bears, gummy worms, & frogs, so I know these ones are safe.
• If you're not having to do the gluten/wheat free Rolls Gold pretzels are otherwise safe, just don't get the flavored ones, as most of those have some sort of dairy.
• Morning Muffins Oatmeal. It's super yummy, and super healthy (though the sugar content is pretty high). They can be found at target and many other health food stores too. They are great for when you're on the road. Just bring a cup that can be microwaved or withstand very hot temps, and a spoon!
• Fresh home made popcorn is a great snack for peeps older than 2 (chocking hazard for lil ones)

I'll be doing an actual Gluten post here in the next few days. We're in the process of moving right now, so bare with me!!! In the mean time, go pic up some treats and relax! With love and admiration, for your willingness to work hard and make food still taste good!
Love, The Allergy Momma

Food for Life Brown Rice Bread!

So, I just wanted to tell you all about a surprisingly yummy little loaf of bread I stumbled upon while at Nugget (can be found at most "health" food stores though, even our family favorite Trader Joes). It was in the refrigerated section, and that's the only place I've ever seen it accept at trader joes. The brand is Food for Life and the actual bread I like is the Brown Rice Bread.  This cute little, 1.5 lb (I know right!), loaf of bread is the best bread I've found thus far, outside of just baking your own. It is very dense though, not fluffy like your typical sandwich bread, but very yummy with E.D. smiths Peach Mango Orange spread that we found at Costco. It is chewy, heavy, and REALLY good with my 2 favorite "butter" Spreads (Earth Balance soy free and Coconut). If you haven't tried either of these, you really should give them a shot. The coconut one is AMAZING in steel cut oats with a little dark brown sugar, and the soy free one is the only spread I've found that is free of wheat/Gluten soy egg and dairy/Casein, that still tastes like butter. I'll do another post on my butters, but that's my kick on them for now. Back to the bread... Its soft and chewy on the inside, and has a nice somewhat crisp top, which is GREAT for toasting. I did find that if you like a toasted turkey sandwich this is a great choice. Though the slices of the bread are quite small, about 2.5''-3'' tall and 3-4'' wide  (typical for gluten/wheat free breads) it tastes GREAT with some deli turkey, butter lettuce and ripe avocado. Something great about this bread is that it does not taste burnt, which oddly is quite hard for me to find in a gluten/wheat free bread. Not sure why, but so many of them taste burnt to me. Only bad thing about this bread is that because of the dense type of bread that it is, it does not soak up much (ie: butter, honey or other things that are more liquid when warmed), so I end up with honey dripping on my hand quite often, though I could think of worse things, when eating toast in the mornings. So, all in all, it's worth a try. We found this cheapest at Sprouts Markets and Trader Joes (between 3.25 and 3.99), with it being most expensive at Sunflower markets and traditional grocers (5.25-5.99).
As always, I hope the incite helps you in some way or another, or maybe even just gives you something new to try. Stay tuned for a post on a few different flowers we've been playing with and a yummy recipe for Gluten/Wheat soy dairy and egg free coconut fried chicken! We love it, and think you will too!
As always, with Love,
The Allergy Mommy

Pumpkin Pie (Wheat-Free, Gluten-free, Egg-Free, and Dairy-Free)

Ok, so.. It' true. I LOVE pumpkin Pie. and lets be honest folks, it's just that time of year. Kind of depressing for me really, but onward and upward! So, in my hopes of finding a way to eat pumpkin pie, I found this little recipe. Now, I'm going to have to REALLY work hard to find an alternate, that tastes right and has the right consistency, for the vanilla soy it calls for... I'm thinking coconut milk is going to be best. We'll see though. Not sure how pumpkin/coconut pie will taste, but I am sooooo willing to give it a try! So, thank you All Recipes for the recipe, and here's crossing our fingers that it turns out yummy! Happy Baking!
Love,The Allergy Momma

Prep Time:
20 Min

Cook Time:
1 Hr 15 Min

Ready In:
3 Hrs 35 Min

Ingredients

• Crust:
• 1 1/2 cups gluten-free all purpose baking flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons french vanilla soy creamer
•  
• Pie Filling:
• 2 cups canned pumpkin
• 1 cup french vanilla soy creamer
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon dark corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Stir together all purpose gluten-free flour and 1 teaspoon salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil and soy creamer until creamy. Pour oil mixture into flour mixture, stir with fork until blended. Pat the crust into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Bake for 15 minutes in preheated oven. Remove and set aside.
3. Decrease oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place pumpkin, soy creamer, brown sugar, cornstarch, corn syrup, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and cloves in a blender. Blend until combined. Pour into prebaked pie crust. Place foil around the edges of the pie crust and bake for 60 minutes or until a knife inserted 1 inch from crust comes out clean. Cool pie on counter for 2 hours then refrigerate overnight before serving.

Allergy free Cheese! (soy free, dairy free, Vegan cheese)

Yes, that's right... you read it correctly. Dairy free, Soy free, Vegan CHEESE,by 2 different companies! Daiya and Galaxy foods! I have longed for cheese for a while now, and stumbled upon these little Jems while searching for food ideas. To be honest, I'm not even sure what I typed in google that got me to them, but SWEET MAN ALIVE, I don't care. haha.
Galaxy foods makes the brand "Rice Vegan", and they have both slices and cheese blocks! I found rice vegan a many of the health foods stores and a few regular grocers including winco! They have 3 flavors *Cheddar *American &*Mozzarella. I have to caution you. There are a few other brands that galaxy foods makes, and they are sold in the same spot as rice vegan. Make sure you read the labels carefully, as to ensure you are getting the ones without soy! I LOVE THIS CHEESE. Granted I haven't had real dairy in ages, but it really isn't bad. I use the cheddar slices for my burgers, and it's great. I do have to warn that it doesn't melt really great by just being put on the burger while on the grill. I normally zap it in the microwave for 30 seconds and it finally melts then. Otherwise it curls upward (I know, strange).
 Daiya is my second favorite... They have 3 different cheeses to choose from Cheddar, Mozzarella, and Pepper Jack! I've listed the info for each below, that I got from the Daiya website. :) Give it a try. They have a "where to buy" link on their page that will tell you where the nearest retailer is that carries it! Mine is just a few miles away! It's about 4.50-7.00 for a 2 cup bag of it, but I did see it at a regular grocery store, and it was 6.50 (ouch!). It melts GREAT. I would say that the mozzarella tastes like a combo of cheddar and mozzarella, but it's not bad. Made a Quesadilla with it, and I think I probably should have put bbq chicken and some salsa in to help with taste. By its self it's not the greatest thing in the world. The texture when melted is much like what you would get with a packaged "fake" cheese, you know, like "american" cheese that is meant for going on burgers kind of thing. It's not real oily like you would expect, but VERY stretchy. All in all, it's worth a try. I'm still yet to try the pepperjack, so if you try that one please let me know what you think. I'm not a spicy food kind of person. I chalk that up to the food restrictions giving me such a plain diet, but I'd love to hear some thoughts, especially for those who are looking for something with more flavor! As always, happy eating, and happy days!
xoxo, The Allergy Momma

Pamela's Ultimate Baking & Pancake mix!

Love this stuff, even though it has buttermilk in it. Great fluffy texture, and yummy taste! You can buy it in bulk on Amazon ( 3, 4 lb, packages for around 33-38 after s&h). 

This is the ingredient info, that Pamela's website has, so you can see if it will work for you or not.

Ingredients

Brown Rice Flour, White Rice Flour, Cultured Buttermilk, Natural Almond Meal (may appear as brown flecks), Tapioca Starch, Sweet Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Grainless & Aluminum Free Baking Powder (Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Potato Starch), Baking Soda, Sea Salt, Xanthan Gum.

This stuff is great! If the ingredients are ok for you, I would definitely give it a try. :) My oldest daughter, who is 3, really liked this, and she doesn't even need the GF stuff. :) Thanks Pamela's for another yummy item!