I’m just recovering from Christmas and my daughter’s three-week winter break and I can’t believe I’m ordering food allergy safe Valentine’s Day treats! We maneuver Valentine’s Day with safe treats at home and a fun crafty item for school. Even though I’m a self-proclaimed connoisseur of chocolate, I really enjoy non-chocolate delights for Valentine’s Day. Living with food allergies calls out for planning, so as early as it feels, now is the exact time to start ordering. If you wait for UPS and FedEx the way I do, then you might enjoy this round-up of food allergy safe Valentine’s Day Candy Ideas. Special note: call each manufacturer yourself to ensure products you are interested in meet your food allergen safety standards and needs in addition to confirming no ingredients changes!!
Vermont Nut Free Valentine’s Day Heart
Allergen Savvy Valentine’s Day Candy Ideas
[unordered_list style=”green-dot”]- A Real Treat Candy Boutique. This resource is an actual candy store that features all natural, non-GMO candy including nut free, egg free and dairy free options. You call the store and they will put together a custom order or gift basket for you.
- Surf Sweets. This is company is an organic, non-GMO and natural Gummy and Jelly Bean heaven and they sell gummy hearts to boot. Everything is made in a nut free and gluten free facility and are free of the top 10 common allergens – including sulfites and sesame.
- Vermont Nut Free. Caramel Rose Hearts, Chocolate hearts, Pretzel bark, Toffee Crunch bark, chocolate lollipops, individually wrapped chocolate hearts and gorgeous traditional hearts filled with nut free chocolates are offered for spectacular gift giving. Peanut free and Tree Nut free.
- Divvies. Chocolate hearts, gummy hearts and cupcakes with hearts can be found here. One of my most favorite Dairy free, Nut free and Egg Free Candy, Cookies and Cupcake sellers on the planet. Even though the Benjamin Bars are not Valentine’s Day themed, I am wishing for a stack of those!
- Amanda’s Owns Confections. Individually wrapped chocolate hearts, chocolates in heart boxes, chocolate heart lollipops and a Valentine’s theme chocolate bar. There were the first safe chocolates my son ever ate! Nut Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free, Soy Free, Gluten Free and Sesame Seed Free.
- Premium Chocolatiers. Large selection of chocolate roses on long stems, boxes of chocolates and chocolate hearts, animal shaped chocolates holding hearts, chocolate dipped Gluten Free pretzels and the list goes on. Nut Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free.
- Peanut Free Planet. This is truly a one stop shopping nut free experience. They sell many of the brands I mentioned above and much, much more! They also offer baking ingredients, nut free granolas and other food allergy staples. Always Nut Free and since they offer a wide variety of allergen free items (gluten-free, dairy free, etc.), you’ll need to read each ingredient carefully to find the items that will work for you.
- Gimbal’s Fine Candies. Gimbal’s claim to fame are their jelly beans and but they sell two types of heart-shaped gummy type candies: Cherry Lovers hearts and Sour Lovers. Free of the eight major allergens.
- Snack Safely Safe Snack Guide. This is not a website offering you safe chocolates, but a list of snack items available in many grocery stores. I shared this so in case you would like to purchase non heart items and place them inside a Valentine’s Day themed item.
Sometimes, I believe the purpose of my purse is to simply hold, EpiPen®s, an inhaler, my driver’s license and chocolate.
Valentine’s Theme Cookies and Cupcakes
[unordered_list style=”green-dot”]- Smiley Cookies. Heart shapes and fun themed cookie designs. All cookies are baked in a peanut free and tree nut free facility and their website stated that they use ingredients that are also not cross contaminated with nuts. You can also order a huge box of 80 individually wrapped cookies if you need cookies for a classroom, sports team, church, etc.
- Eleni’s New York. This is bakery is the Cadillac of upscale creative cookies and are clearly very beautiful. Their facility is peanut and tree nut free and they require their vendors to ensure their ingredients are also nut free. Note: after checking out Eleni’s website, I realized that we went to same church and Sunday School growing up! Tis a small world. This discovery made me smile.
- Fancy Pants Bakery. I ordered a Santa Cookie at Christmas for my son and wow, did that set off WWIII when I failed to order my daughter the same cookie. Their facility is nut free, natural and they do not use artificial dyes (think carrot, beet, etc. for coloring). Their website provides more detailed allergen information.
- Sensitive Sweets Bakery. We made a special trip to this bakery located in Southern California and did our best to order pretty much everything we could-and were pleased. This bakery is gluten free, peanut free, tree nut free, dairy free, egg free and soy free.
Divvies Two Hearts Pack
Happy Valentine’s Day shopping–the safe Food Allergy way, of course!
Disclaimer: This round up is purely for you discover some new options that might appeal to you and/or your family’s needs. Please do your homework and call the manufacturers to ensure the products are safe for your use. I will post these resources under my Food Allergy Resources Tab for ease of access.
One of the hardest things I find about managing both life threatening food allergies and asthma is talking to others. I hate to be the one that might be perceived as demanding, pushing or for asking too much. What I now know, fourteen years later, is that honest, clear information presented with kindness works!..