Allergy-safe snacks for kids

April 11, 2019 10:06 AM

I'm looking for ideas for things to bring to school events that don't contain any common allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, lentils, sesame, milk, eggs, fish, wheat, soy). In particular I'm looking for ideas that require very little assembly, because my kitchen is not allergen-free. Reliable/trustworthy web resources or apps also welcome!

Fresh food suggestions are great -- I see lots of bags of clementines at these events and they always seem to be popular. I've thought of other fresh fruits, raisins, cut up veggies, and ... that's about the limit of my ingenuity here.

I'm also interested in prepared foods, although for those, sesame and lentils seem to be the sticking points, as I don't think there's any labeling requirement. Is there an interest group that does the research to find out which prepared foods contain what? Or do I just have to call the manufacturer for a given product to find out?

posted by eirias to Food & Drink (17 answers total)

I don't see an ingredients list on Amazon for the MadeGood Granola MiniBars, but they're gluten-free, nut-free, and vegan and said to be free of most allergens. I gave them out at Halloween. I don't know how they went over with the kids, but my co-workers liked the leftovers. You might need to call the company to get the full ingredients list though.
posted by FencingGal at 10:16 AM on April 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

It kind of depends what event?

Applesauce packets are a good one.
posted by bq at 10:19 AM on April 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

For packaged but (relatively) healthy snacks, I like the brands Enjoy Life and That's It.
posted by DestinationUnknown at 10:22 AM on April 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

You could look at pre-popped popcorn or air pop some yourself. The pre-popped ones often come in single-serving bags.
Boomchickapop ingredients
SkinnyPop ingredient info

We often take bags of baby carrots to events.
posted by belladonna at 10:40 AM on April 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

If you can find them at your local store, dwarf bananas are popular with kids because they are, well, baby bananas. The trick is to buy them when they are perfectly ripe i.e. neither hard nor too soft to the touch. Most grocery stores where I live have them (but hide them amongst big bananas).

Personally, I like to take a fat black marker and write "don't eat me!" on each banana.
posted by rada at 10:43 AM on April 11, 2019

Here's the company's web page for Made Good granola bars (mentioned by FencingGal above) with allergy information and links to ingredient lists. They have them at our local organic grocery but I've only seen the "mini" ones there around Halloween. Seconding that the Chocolate Chip variety taste good, to adults anyway! Haven't tried the other varieties. There is a Contact page and social media links on that website too if you want to contact them.
posted by adventitious at 12:17 PM on April 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

Would rice krispie treats work? My sister always made those for her daughter's grade school class because one of her classmates was allergic to most everything.
posted by DrGail at 12:26 PM on April 11, 2019

Rice krispie treats have gelatin which is no good for people who eat kosher/halal/vegetarian/vegan. Not an allergy issue but still something to consider.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:30 PM on April 11, 2019

Seconding Enjoy Life. They don’t have any of the Top 8 allergens or sesame, so you’ll just have to check labels for lentils. I think most of their stuff is lentil free, though avoid their lentil chips of course!

You should be able to just read labels for prepared foods and maybe bring the ingredient list or circulate it to the allergy parents ahead of time. From this allergy mom, thank you for looking out for allergic kiddos!!
posted by bananacabana at 12:41 PM on April 11, 2019

Popsicle are also fun for events where you can bring a cooler.
posted by LKWorking at 1:22 PM on April 11, 2019

Rice krispie treats have gelatin which is no good for people who eat kosher/halal/vegetarian/vegan. Not an allergy issue but still something to consider.

Trader Joe's has vegan marshmallows, which don't contain gelatin, but I don't know how well they work in Rice Krispies treats.
posted by FencingGal at 1:24 PM on April 11, 2019

Seconding Skinny Pop. Amazingly, the White Cheddar flavor is dairy-free.
posted by JoeZydeco at 2:41 PM on April 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: My local Costco usually has these crunchy rice rolls that I regularly stock for sharing on play dates.
posted by Swisstine at 3:20 PM on April 11, 2019

Abe’s school safe muffins are snacks and delicious! They’re designed for schools with allergens. I get mine at Whole Foods.

Abe’s Muffins

Highly recommend the lemon poppy and the apple cider flavors.
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 7:11 PM on April 11, 2019

An Australian chef recently did a really entertaining Twitter thread where he answered this question - egg/nut/dairy free and ready ASAP.

Twitter link
posted by cholly at 8:25 PM on April 12, 2019

Satsumas and baby carrots always go over well, as do corn or potato chips. The important thing is, if you're bringing something with ingredients (like bought popcorn or chips,) is please keep it in the bag so that parents and kids can read the ingredients. There are a lot of things that are probably safe, but if we can't verify it, my daughter won't eat them.
posted by Margalo Epps at 8:26 PM on April 12, 2019

Response by poster: Thanks, everyone, these are some great suggestions. I saw several of the prepared foods you all suggested at Costco today, so we grabbed a couple to try - some MadeGood granola bits and some crunchy rice rolls. Little eirias is also burned out on all the regular snacks we've been sending for just her, so this is a good excuse to try some new stuff (and if she's not into them, there'll eventually be some sort of potluck we can bring 'em to).
posted by eirias at 2:38 PM on April 13, 2019