Tender Halloween Candy List (Allergen-free & Vegan)

 

If you are reading this post, and are a parent of food allergic kids, you don’t need me blabbering on about what a pain in the buttocks Halloween can be.  It must be tough to tell your kids that they can’t go trick or treating or that they can’t trade candy with their friends. Your kids just want to belong.  And Halloween is a huge social event.

For some children, however, even the very presence of allergens like peanuts, dairy or wheat could be deadly, so even wrapped, allergen-free candies mixed in a bowl with other candy can cause a reaction.

To help with the candy part of Halloween, we are compiling a “living list” of candy and other treats that are free of the most common allergens.  If you have a favorite that isn’t here, send me an e-jingle.  I’ll research it and add it to the list as appropriate. 

Stay tuned for more from Melanie Potock on creative (and practical) ways to deal with the social side of Halloween.  Read my Interview with Melanie on reducing school & food allergy stress...

NOTE:  Please remember to look at EVERY label to double check that each product is safe for you or your child.  Also, if you see something you like, order it soon! 

Free of the top 8 allergens

The candies in this section do not have any of the top 8 allergens (eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, dairy, fish or shellfish)

INDIE CANDY

Indie Candy really goes the extra mile to make not only safe, but delicious candy.   I've tried several of their sweets.   Their chocolate truffles are delicious and their gummies are fantastic. 

Indie Candy Lime Frankenstein Lollipop (big 8 allergen free)
Indie Candy Orange Jack O' Lantern Lollipop (big 8 allergen free)
Indie Candy Pineapple Ghost Lollipop (big 8 allergen free)
Indie Candy Orange Jack O' Lantern Gummies (big 8 allergen free)

Additional Information on Indie Candy:

• Kitchen free of Big 8 allergens
• Cater to a variety of special diets - GFCFSF, vegan and Feingold
• Kosher certified.
• Majority of our ingredients are organic.

Enjoy Life

 click image to go to coupon.Chocolate Bars

•  Big 8 free
• Made in a dedicated nut- and gluten-free bakery     
  

Yummy Earth Organic Candies 

They sell wholesale allergen-free and organic hard candies with names like "Roadside Rootbeer Barrells" and Pomegranate Pucker".  None specifically for Halloween it seems, but they are in retail stores like Whole Foods, Baby's R Us and many Marriotts around the country. Thanks to NourishMD.com for this suggestion.

•  Big 8 Free
•  No High Fructose Corn Syrup
•  Free of MSG
•  100% Natural Colors
• No chemical dyes
• Real Fruit Extracts   
• 100% Natural Flavors
• Kof-K Kosher Parve
• Processing Plant: no tree nuts or peanuts allowed in the facility.

Gimbal's Gourmet Candies 

The gourmet jelly beans look great, and they make those and their other flavors without the Big 8 allergens.  We haven't tasted them yet, but we like their ingredients and their philosophy.  Their Honey Lover's flavors support a project that keeps the ever-important honey-bee healthy, alive and pollinating.  Gimbal’s donates 5% of Honey Lovers proceeds to the University of California Davis Honey Bee Research.

• Big 8 free
• Gelatin-free
• Kosher-Pareve
• No High Fructose Corn Syrup
• Facility is free of big 8 allergens

Sold online through Candy Direct.

Free of Many Common Allergens

These candies are free of some of the most common allergens.

Premium Chocolates 

Thanks to Audrey Depenbrok for this suggestion.  Audrey has good taste in vegan cupcakes, is a dairy-free Tender Foodie contributor, and a chocolaholic like myself.  So I respect her judgement here.

Located in Lakeside, NJ, or order online:  http://www.premiumchocolatiers.com/

• Soy-free
• Gluten-free
• Dairy-free
• Vegan
• Kosher-Pareve
• Nut-free
• Testing:  Random testing for dairy & nuts

Goody Good Stuff

Gummies, is what I would call these candies, and I heard of them through Saffron's Gluten-free Market.  Deb, from Saffron's calls them "gummie-type thingies". 

• Vegetarian
• Fat-free
• Meat-free
• Dairy-free
• Nut-free 
• Gluten-free
• Egg-free
• Gelatin-free
• Soy-free   

Fancypants Bakery

 

Fancypants makes the cutest nut-free cookies.  Just too cute to eat.

• Peanut-free
• Tree nut-free
• Facility:  Nut-free

Divvies Bakery

Divvies (and their jelly beans) gets mentioned by fans on the Tender Palate Facebook Page every so often, and Halloween has been no expection.  Divvies is a bakery, and they make candy as well.  Including ghosts, goblins and dinosaurs.  Rahr.

• Peanut-free
• Tree Nut-free
• Egg-free
• Dairy-free
• dedicated facility where no peanuts, tree nuts, milk or eggs "enter the doors". And Divvies uses ingredients that are certified allergen-free.
• Divvies conducts routine testing to minimize the risk of any cross-contamination in their certified allergen-free ingredients.

Potential Mainstream Candies

I say “potential” for these, since there is no testing or processing information on the web site.

Dove Chocolate

Rockford Allergy Food Network, a support group for food allergies in Michigan, gave me the heads up that many Dove Chocolate products are now produced in a tree-nut- and peanut-free facility.  Bravo, Dove!  Since they went nut-free in 2009 or 2010, there may still be products on the shelves that were produced with nuts.  So read the label carefully for the "May contain" labeling.

• Peanut-free
• Treenut-free
• Allergen-free facility since 2010 (so read your labels carefully)
• Testing information not available.

Tootsie Products

It would be great if Tootsie offered facility, allergen testing, and processing information - but they don't.  They have so many options that are gluten- and nut-free.  I have two emails into the company to request further information, but have not heard back.  (They are Kosher-certified, which, in my opinion, is a good sign that they are testing oriented.)

• Gluten-Free (All Tootsie products are gluten free except Andes cookies.)
• Peanut-Free
• Nut Product-Free
• “Tootsie does not use wheat, barley, rye, oats, triticale, spelt, or any of their components, either as ingredients or as part of the manufacturing process.
• Corn and soy products are used
• No testing or facility information provided. 
• Tootsie Rolls, Tootsie Fruit Rolls, Frooties and DOTS have become kosher-certified by the Orthodox Union (OU).

Update on Wednesday, October 19, 2011 at 6:34PM by Elisabeth Veltman, The Tender Foodie

Dove Chocolate has been added to the list...

RECIPE: Not Your Mama's Chocolate Mousse Tart (super allergen-free)

"A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch." ~James Beard

A Healthy yet Naughty Tart.  Really.

About two months ago I saw a recipe for Banana Cream Pie from Chef Jenny Brewer.  I am not a fan of banana cream (nor of pie), but many Tender Foodies are.  Plus, the pie was touted as being "better than chocolate cake" and chocolate cake is in my wheel house.  So I posted the recipe on social media for gluten- and dairy-free pie lovers everywhere.

Since a great number of Tender Foodies have developed multiple food allergies, the response I received was, "I wish it were free of {insert allergen here}.  I began to wonder:  Could you make a PIE that is free of the Big 8, plus make it oat-free, corn-free, coconut-free, and sesame-free?  And could that pie be GOOD?  I asked Chef Jenny if she could do it, and she accepted this challenge. 

Chef Brewer specializes in healthy food, dessert included.  So when I tested the recipe myself, I kept thinking, "This pie is really good for me.  How will it taste?  How will it taste?  How will it taste?"  Part of me agrees with the James Beard quote above.  Dessert is supposed to be decadent, shameful, indulgent.  Naughty.   Since this pie is actually a tart, the naughtiness is in its name, without one ounce of naughty in the pie.  Until you taste it.

What is the difference between a pie and a tart?  The short answer is that a pie has sides, but a tart does not.  I like this post from The Kitchn that explains this more in depth.

No one will know that the "cream" in the mousse is actually avocado.  When I finished my first slice, I felt nourished and satisfied, so did my fellow testers.  This is a great quality in a dessert (and a great quality in a saucy little tart, too, I would imagine).

Chef Jenny made a video that demonstrates the finer points of making the tart (see below).  So give this recipe a try and let us know if you like this recipe as much as I do.

Tools

8' Spring Form Pan (the crust is really sticky, and this pan works great)

Food Processor

Spatula

Medium-sized skillet

Toasting the Sunflower Seeds in a Swirling, Dry Pan.

The Crust

1 cup pumpkin seeds, sprouted and/or toasted* (toasting gives great depth of flavor)
(*to toast pumpkin seeds, place them in a dry skillet over medium high heat, stirring until brown, about 5-7 minutes, being very careful not to burn. Alternatively, place in a 375 degree oven and roast for about 5 minutes, or until browned.)

½ cup popped millet**
(**to pop millet, place in a dry, hot skillet over medium heat and stir constantly -don't let them burn- until you hear consistent popping.  See video below for more)

½ cup raisins

1/3 cup dates, pitted

2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed mixed with 4 Tablespoons water and left to gel for 3-5 minutes            

pinch of salt

In a food processor bowl, pulse pumpkin seeds and millet until seeds are ground. Add raisins, dates and pinch of salt and chop until everything is ground together.  Add in flax mixture and pulse until sticky. Wet your fingers and press the mixture into 8-inch pie pan and keep refrigerated while you prepare the filling.

The Chocolate Mousse Filling

2 large ripe Haas Avocados
(if your avocados are small, add another avocado and adjust the ingredients.  Avocados vary quite a bit in size.)

1/2 cup raw cacao powder or cocoa powder

3-4 Tablespoons maple syrup or agave 
(or more or less to taste, depending on size of avocados)

1 TBS vanilla extract
(depending upon the size of your avocados, you may want to start with 1/2 TBS and add more to taste)

Puree all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. 

Spread into crust and chill until ready to serve.

Note: taste it and add more cocoa and maple syrup if desired.  I used a 10" springform pan so that the crust was very thin, then doubled the filling.  If you would like more naughtiness, you can double the filling with an 8" springform pan, too.  It will give you a more voluptuous tart.

Watch the Video Demonstration

Where to find the ingredients:

I used raw cacao powder, processed wtih no preservatives or additives (no alkaline). From Harvest Health.

The pumpkin seeds I used were sprouted and salted from Go Raw, so I cut back the pinch of salt to accommodate.

The whole grain millet is from Eden Organic.  They process their millet in a gluten-free factory and test their millet to 5ppm (the proposed law requires 20ppm).  Thanks to Saffron's A Gluten-free Market for sourcing this for me.  Please note that even though millet is inherently gluten-free, not all brands source, process or test millet as a gluten-free product.  Look for the gluten-free label and check any brand's web site.  Eden's whole grain millet is what I recommend.

Saffrons has an online store, as well.  So if you can't find it, give them a shout, or let us know that you would like them to carry this online and we'll tell them.

Nutrients

Avocado provides Vitamins C&K, B6, folate, and copper, potassium and dietary fiber.  It also provides anti-inflammatory and digestive support and being researched as a blood sugar regulating food.

Pumpkin Seeds are protein and Omega-3 rich. They are one of the healthiest seeds around providing manganese, tryptophan, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, Vitamin K and zinc.  Pumpkin Seeds are also thought to be anti-inflammatory, good for prostate health and may have cholesterol lowering benefits.

Whole Grain Millet has manganese, tryptophan, magnesium and phosphorus and is thought to be heart-healthy like oats.

Organic Raw Cacao contains flavanols and flavanoids that have been studied for cardiovascular health.  The benefits are all in how the cacao is processed, so organic and the less processing the better.

RECIPE: Roasted Delicata and Sweet Dumpling Squash (with Rosemary and Maple Syrup)

Whole Roasted Sweet Dumpling & Delicata (left), Roasted Sweet Potato & Summer Squash (middle), & Delicata with Maple Syrup & RosemayWhen I opened my Doorganics Box last week, I was excited to see a couple of sweet dumpling squashes.  They looked up at me and said, "Roast me!" 

There was also a long, winter-squash-type thingy that I had never seen (nor eaten) before.  It said nothing. 

I needed it to speak, so I turned to the magic of the Internet and discovered that the long, squash-like thingy was a Delicata squash, and that it could be roasted easily, either whole and open-faced.  Then, thanks to four beautiful sprigs of rosemary sitting on the counter, I was inspired me to think, "maple syrup!" (Don't I always think maple syrup?)

I took initial whole roasting guidance from a neat blog called Fanatic Cook.  It is written by an aerospace engineer turned Master of Public Health/Master of Science in Human Clinical Nutrition and Biochemistry.  Say that 3 times fast.  The author ("RB") shows us how to beautifully roast a whole dumpling squash.  I've deviated a bit from RB's instructions, so I could try more stuff at the same temperature. 

Now lets have some fun with squash.  Here's three easy recipes.  The 2nd is a favorite.

Whole Roasted Winter Squash

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Make sure no parchment sticks out past the pan (or it might burn). 

Thoroughly wash one dumpling squash and one delicata squash (or 2 or each, just leave space enough for the squash to breathe and turn).  Use a knife to pierce each squash in several places all the way around to vent.  Place them on the cookie sheet and set into the preheated oven. 

Every 15 or 20 minutes, turn the squash so that every inch can get an even heat exposure.  Turn from top to bottom first, and as it starts to soften, turn side to side. 

When the squash is soft and browning, remove from the oven.  Let it cool down, cut in half, scrape out the seeds and pith.  Then serve hot. You can add a little sea salt, or some brown sugar or maple syrup, or just eat them plain.  Butter lovers can use these dairy alternatives, too.  The dumpling squash is quite delicious roasted and naked (you can even eat the dumpling's skin), so purists like RB might not want to dress it up at all. 

The delicata squash will take about one hour.

The dumpling squash will take about 1-1/2 hours.

Roasted Delicata with Rosemary and Maple Syrup

 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

1 delicata squash

1 tsp. safflower oil

1 pinch of sea salt

*please use sea or kosher, not the variety that comes in a blue cylinder.*

2 TBS of maple syrup

2 large sprig of fresh rosemary

Thoroughly wash one delicata squash and cut it in half, lengthwise.  Scoop out the seeds and pulp and save the seeds (so you can plant in your garden!)  Put a little (a tsp.) safflower oil on your hands and "lightly" (I mean, lightly) rub the inside and the outside of each half.  Sprinkle the insides with a little sea salt - a pinch on each half.  Then spread the maple syrup on the flesh (inside) of each half - one TBS per half.  Make sure you get some up the sides.  Remove the rosemary leaves from the stem and sprinkle on the flesh.  Put in the preheated oven. 

After the first half hour, check every 10 minutes.  Cook for about 1 hour until soft, and carmelized.   This is so, so yummy.

Roasted Sweet Potatos and Summer Squash

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

2 Sweet Potatoes (I used Covington, super good)

1 large Yellow Summer Squash

Safflower Oil

Sea Salt

Line a cookie sheet with parchment and set aside.  Wash the squash and scrub the sweet potatoes, then chop of the stem and butt ends.  Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise, then place face down on the cutting board and slice into 1/4-1/3 inch think slices.  Then cut those slices in half.  All of the vegetables should be slightly larger than bit sized pieces (potatoes smaller than the squash for more even cook time) since they shrink in the oven.  Place on the sheet.  Sprinkle two pinches of sea salt over the vegetables.  Place the oil in the cup of your hand - about 1 TBS.  Lightly rub the potatoes and squash pieces with the oil. 

Roast for about 30 minutes, stirring up occasionally so that they get lightly browned on either side.  Serve hot.  Devour.

This method also works great for turnips!

Do You Shop in Multiple Groceries Every Week? 5 Simple Steps That Could Help.

Nearly every week, I visit several grocery stores just to buy the staples that I need.  If you have multiple food allergies and intolerances, finding the most basic products in one place is nearly impossible.  If you live in a mixed-allergy/non-allergy household, whew, you are probably too tired to actually make dinner!  As I listen to the Tender Foodie Community, it's clear that most of you experience the same huffing and puffing and trucking around town.  You might have to drive across state lines.  Perhaps you also order from multiple internet stores. 

Wouldn't it be nice if we could just go to one or two stores to get what we need?  Here's the kicker:   The individual nature of mutlipe food allergies (along with your personal tastes) make it tough for grocery stores and brands to know what you need. Unless, of course, you tell them.  If we tell them en masse as a Tender Foodie Community, your request has more influence.

To help get your needs to your local grocers (and to the brands that they sell), I've put together a form.  Here's how it works:

1.  Sign up to become an email member in order to access this form.  Its free and we only send out updates once or twice a month.  Becoming a member will help us reduce the amount of spammers hitting our form.

2.  Log in to access the form whenever you find your head about to explode because you can't find X product, or you wished that you could find, for example, a cocoa powder that is non-GMO, non-alkaline, and produced in a factory that does not also process other allergens. 

3.  Twice a month, I'll send your request along with others in your community to your local grocer.  Where appropriate, I'll also send the request to whatever brands you list. 

4.  The more requests for a particular product that a grocer receives and the more requests the brand receives for better allergen processing, the more likely our community will benefit.  So ...

5.  Send this blog post to every Tender Foodie that you know. 

As a community, we are used to taking our knocks, doing our homework, and being silent.  If we have a way to act as a community, who knows, vendors might be swayed to work with allergen-free suppliers, test for multiple allergens, or make their facilities free of multiple allergens.   It could happen (here is one example).  Plus, you might reduce the number of trips you make, the amount of gas you burn and the amount of postage you drop.  Though we can't guarantee any vendor's actions, we think this could be super powerful.

Your input could help greatly expand the "safe" choices out there for Tender Foodies.

Does this Happen to You?

For example, I tend to visit the Meijer store near me for "some" organic vegetables, especially greens like kale and swiss chard.  They sometimes have the dairy-free chocolate chips that I use and sometimes have one of the many gluten-free flours that I use.  I go to one Harvest Health in Hudsonville to get the only truly dairy-free plain yogurt, that isn't processed in a factory that also produces other things I can't eat, even though their location on Burton Street is more "on my way" and both carry many allergen-free staples that I use.  I just gave a jingle to Saffrons, a Gluten-free Marketplace to see if they carried whole grain millet that isnt processed in a cross-contaminated factory, they didn't, but they were happy to get in a case for me.  Saffron's really does their multiple allergy homework.  They review products regularly, and label them for multiple allergens so it saves you shopping (and homework) time.  Although Saffron's is not conveniently located to me, I will drive there to get it and whatever else I can find, since they have great stuff.  For grassfed meats, I just made my first visit to Nourish Organic Market.  Nourish carries local and grassfed meat from local farms and butchers and other great products.  Plus, they are next to my yoga studio (From the Heart).  To try to add some measure of convenience, I now order local and organically raised vegetables from Doorganics - who delivers right to my door every Wednesday afternoon.  They are another new business that, although you can't yet order what you want in your weekly box (she says hopefully), they are helping me to expand my palate and try stuff I don't usually get (like turnips, which I now love).  Plus, their produce is straight from the farm keeping their fruits and veggies packed with the most nutrients.  I've also gone to Horrock's Market to get the Nature Made Frozen Fruit that I use in my smoothies.  For my favorite chocolate of all (Callebaut), and for organic wine I make an occasional trip to G.B Russo's and Son. They have great, higher end, specialty cooking supplies, too.  I used to visit the D&W Fresh Market near me because they were expanding their organic produce and allergen-free items.  However, it is now a Family Fare and they discontinued some of the items that I counted upon.  Several compoundingly disappointing trips later, I stopped trying.  I bet if they knew that, and other people spoke up, they would rethink what they are putting on and taking off the shelves.  Did I mention Trillium Haven Farms at the Fulton Street Farmer's Market in the summer?  Or trucking through Costco for items that might or might not be there from week to week?  Then there are the online stores, the internet searching, the cross-contamination research...

OK.  Now I'm exhausted. 

  (Send me an E-Jingle with your comments on the form, would you?)

RECIPE: Braised Duck Breast & Cassoulet from Bistro Bella Vita (gluten- and dairy-free)

Braised Duck Breast, photo courtesy of Jeff Hage of Green Frog Photo

A Cassoulet, at its most basic, is a bean stew that is cooked in an earthenware casserole dish.  The dish comes from  Languedoc, a region in the Southwest of France.  Although there are many variations on a cassoulet throughout France and around the world, the French actually have committees that sit around and make rules about what makes their national dishes. . . their national dishes.  That's love.

According to a lovely cooking site, CookThink.com, a proper cassoulet is defined as containing 70 percent navy (or haricot) beans, stock, herbs and seasonings like garlic, and 30 percent pork, mutton and duck or goose confit.

For those of us with food allergies, especially to gluten and dairy, we often have to break the rules, and a cassoulet, surprisingly, can adapt very well.  One of my local favorite restaurants, Bistro Bella Vita broke the rules for me and accommodated my rather long list of allergies so I could take part in a version of this French favorite.  I first tried the duck with the cassoulet, and made a second visit to Bistro where the duck was nestled onto summer vegetables (pictured here).

Read Bistro Bella Vita’s Tender review, and the following two recipes for yourself. 

Cassoulet Recipe

Ingredients

-Dried beans (Great Northern, Cannellini or Navy)   - 4 cups

-Chicken broth, no salt added – 6 qts

-Diced bacon – 6 strips

-Diced pork tenderloin – ½ lb

-Minced garlic – 2 T

- Large diced carrot  - 1 ea

-Diced Spanish onion – 2 ea

-Diced celery – ½ bunch

-DRY marsala wine – 1/2 750ml bottle

-Honey – 2 Tbl

-Dried oregano – 1 Tbl

-Dried Basil – 1 Tbl

-Fresh minced rosemary – 1 Tbl

-Kosher salt to taste

-Sherry vinegar – 2 Tbl

Instructions

-Soak the beans in water over night in refrigerator  

-In a large pan cook the bacon over medium heat until it is about halfway cooked, next add the pork and cook for about 2 minutes

-Add the carrot, celery, onion and garlic and sweat for about 4 minutes (Don’t let the garlic brown at all)

-Add the marsala wine to the pan and cook the wine down about ¾ of the way

-Add remaining ingredients (Honey, oregano, basil, rosemary, salt and vinegar)

-Make sure the beans are covered by the broth by at least 2 inches. *

         *You may need to add some water*

-Bring up to a boil then reduce to low/medium heat to a hard simmer

-Cook for about 2 hours. *Don’t let the liquid dry out* Make sure you check occasionally and stir with a wooden spoon and be gentle.

-Cook until beans are fully cooked and liquid has thickened. If the beans are still not done after two hours, you may want to reduce the heat toward the end of cooking and just add some water a little at a time until everything comes together.

Braised Duck Breast

From what I understand from Kyle, the Special Events coordinator at Bistro Bella Vita, the chefs change the braising recipe from time to time, depending who is cooking, their creative whims and the type of product they are working with.  You can change the flavor profile by removing the white wine and herbs, using just the chicken stock to deglaze the pan.  Here is my interpretation based upon what the chefs sent to me.

Ingredients

-4 duck breasts, skin and fat trimmed; seasoned with sea salt

-Mirepoix (1 cup diced onion, 1/2 cup chopped carrot, 1/2 cup chopped celery). 

-½ cup of white wine

-1-1/2 cups of chicken broth

-8 large sprigs of thyme (you could also use sage)

-2 bay leaves

Braising Instructions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

Thoroughly dry the duck breast with a paper towel (external moisture will prevent duck from browning properly).

In a Dutch Oven or a large, covered oven-proof skillet, sear the duck on all sides in 2 tablespoons of oil (or duck fat).  Make sure the pan is very hot before searing duck.  When the duck is seared, remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the mirepoix to the juices in the pan (carrots, celery, onions) to the pan and cook for 10 – 15 minutes, and until the vegetables are a bit caramelized and just tender. 

Deglaze the pan with ½ cup of white wine. 

Add in the chicken stock and herbs, and then bring to a simmer.

Add the duck breasts back into the pan.

Cover and place in the oven @ 300 degrees F.  for 1 to 1&1/2 hours or until the duck is really tender, checking often and adding more liquid if necessary.

Remove the duck to a plate or cutting board, cover with parchment and let rest for 5 minutes.  Slice and serve over vegetables, or with the Bistro Bella Vita Cassoulet (above).

Warmest thanks to the chefs and to Kyle at Bistro Bella Vita for these recipes.   My thanks also to Jeff Hage of Green Frog Photo for providing these shots of the duck.