While the jury may be out on whether or not peanut allergies are over-diagnosed, there are those among us who know the hard way, beyond a shadow of a doubt that their kids can't have peanuts. We've got not such allergies in our family, but decided to go peanut-free "lite" last year to be more hospitable to a good friend (and frequent visitor) who does have a serious peanut allergy. We replaced peanut butter with cashew butter and peanut oil with sunflower oil and choose non-peanut alternatives when buying a rare bag of candy or trail mix and the like. What we don't do is scour every label for that ominous "manufactured in a facility that processes peanuts" and toss the offenders out.
But some folks have to go that extra step and for them, Easter can be as scary as Halloween. In fact, it was just last Easter when our peanut-allergic pal found herself at the business end of an epi-pen and on a frightening trip to the ER, after tasting a playmate's Easter basket booty.
In response to the need of some folks to have peanut-free Easters (and the desire of others to be sensitive to those with whom they are egg-hunting), we've found a few good sources of safe candy for the allergic set.
Vermont Nut-Free candy offers a wide variety of chocolate candy, including some cute ideas for a non-traditional Easter basket. Tired of bunnies? How about workbench tools or "creepy-crawlies?"
Peanut-Free Planet offers a pretty violet Easter basket safe and filled with chocolate. They also offer a lot of other allergy-sensitive products for those with dairy, wheat, or other sensitivities.
For those of you north of the 49th parallel, or wistfully longing to be, Canadian Sweets will ship your favorite Canuck delights anywhere and offer a large allergy-sensitive selection including several Aero bars and Dare candies.
I know not everyone celebrates Easter, but everyone loves candy--well everyone I want to be friends with, anyway. So even if Easter is not your basket, may you find something delicious (and safe) to indulge in this week.
