Allergies

My daughter’s birthday is coming up and I want to send some treats into her daycare. The problem is that at least one of her classmates has a peanut allergy and I know there’s a severe gluten allergy in her class as well. Do you have any special allergy-friendly treat ideas fit for a child’s birthday?

Good for you for thinking in advance about this. Allergies can be serious and even fatal. Aside from the health component, children with allergies are often left out of birthday treats or special lunches, which can be damaging to their self-esteem. I applaud that you’re being so thoughtful and inclusive about your daughter’s birthday.

There are many gluten-free, peanut-free treats that would work well for your daughter’s daycare. The main thing is to pay close attention to the ingredients in your ingredients. Read labels carefully and remember, with some children, even traces of peanuts or gluten can be dangerous.

Here are some ideas:

• Chocolate Popcorn Fritters, this is a favourite at our home so I’m including the recipe below. I think it’ll be a hit at your daycare too!
• Buy a gluten-free flour (can be found in most grocery stores or health food stores) and make cookies or cupcakes (obviously keep these nut-free and bake in a nut-free kitchen). Also be careful when baking because baking powder can often have hidden traces of gluten.
• Rice-Krispy Squares (made with a puffed rice cereal, check the ingredients because some ‘rice’ cereals are actually made with wheat).
• Fruit Kebabs – this doesn’t sound like a very fun treat but with decorative toothpicks and lots of different colours this will still make the little ones very happy! (AND this is dairy-free too, in case that’s a concern).

Gluten can often hide in store-bought candies so try to avoid those just in case. If you’re still nervous about bringing in edible treats bring in stickers, balloons or little dollar-store knickknacks for each of the children. It’s wonderful that you’re putting so much care into this but you can never be too careful, be sure to check with your child’s daycare supervisor before bringing in any edible treats.

Chocolate Popcorn Fritters

• 4 cups popped pop corn (double check if you’re using a microwaveable brand that it’s wheat-free)
• 2 cups puffed rice (ensure it’s a wheat-free brand)
• ¾ cups sugar
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup cocoa powder (ensure it’s a wheat-free brand)
• ½ cup butter (be careful here, dairy might be an issue as well, it’s safest to use a vegan margarine rather that butter if you’re concerned).
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla

Combine the popcorn and puffed rice and set aside.

Combine the sugar, syrup, cocoa powder, butter and salt in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil.

Let the mixture boil for about two minutes then add the vanilla.

Pour the chocolate mixture over the popcorn and puffed rice and coat well. Spread the mixture onto a baking sheet and bake in a 350° Fahrenheit oven for half an hour.

Let cool and cut into squares.

Share