Monday, March 12, 2012

Allergy-Free Easter and Passover Candy Online

by Kelley Lindberg


My crocuses are blooming in the front yard, the birds are singing in the morning, we’ve set our clocks forward an hour so that the evenings are suddenly feeling longer…Spring is coming! Of course, in Utah, that still means spring is about two months away. But it’s coming, slowly but surely!

Another sign of spring is all the Easter merchandise in the stores. Easter is on April 8 this year, and Passover begins the evening of April 6, so you have less than four weeks to do your candy shopping. That means it’s time for my annual Easter Candy Roundup!

This week, I’ll focus on online sources for allergy-safe Easter and Passover candy, because if you need to order your candy online, you’ll want to order it soon. Next week I’ll look at the candy you might find in local stores.

Several great online manufacturers and grocers offer allergy-friendly chocolates and candies for every holiday and just about every type of allergy. Especially if your family must avoid multiple allergens, these online suppliers might be your best bet.

  • Amanda’s Own Confections: They offer a whole line of chocolate goodies for Easter and Passover, as well as jelly beans and other candies, all dairy-free, peanut-free, nut-free, egg-free, and gluten-free. Their Happy Easter Bunny Box is a tiny 4-oz. box of 11 pieces of chocolate shaped like bunnies, chicks, and ducks, and it’s only $5.95. Their Passover Lollypop is only $2.25. (Deadline for Easter orders is March 27th.) If you’re looking for Passover candy, they state: “All of our products (chocolate and non-chocolate) are Kosher certified. Our facility is not certified as of yet, however, we are working on the certification process.” 
  • Chocolate Emporium: Read the ingredients carefully on this website, but they do offer a lot of non-dairy chocolate items for Easter, and a huge selection of non-dairy Purim and Passover candy. They have bunnies in different flavors and colors, including chocolate, butterscotch, white, and strawberry, as well as foil-covered chocolate eggs. All of their products are dairy-free, and many are nut-free, egg-free, and gluten-free, but it’s a good idea to call before you order to ensure you get what you need, allergen-wise. Regarding kosher products, their website states: “All chocolates produced by Chocolate Emporium are Kosher Pareve under Star-K supervision.” (Easter orders must be placed by March 23.)
  • Vermont Nut Free: Their chocolates are peanut-free and nut-free, but they do have milk and egg warnings on them. Check out their chocolate bunnies, caramel bunnies, buttercream bunnies, chocolate lambs, Easter fudge, chocolate eggs, and chocolate crosses. (Their chocolate is not kosher.)
  • Divvies: Peanut-free, nut-free, dairy-free, and egg-free chocolate bunnies, and jelly beans. (They don’t mention whether their products are kosher.)
  • Yummy Earth: Yummy Earth candies (lollipops, gummy bears, sour beans, sour worms) are corn-free, as well as being free from the big 8, and they use natural colorings and flavorings. They’re available on the Yummy Earth website, in health food stores, and from Amazon.com. (Certified Kof-K kosher parve.)
  • Indie Candy: Check out the cute crystal sugar egg-shaped lollipops and Key-Lime flavored carrot-shaped lollipops on this site (no dyes or common allergens at all!). They also have bunny-shaped gummies, and allergen-free European dark chocolate bunnies! They have a large selection of confections in a rainbow of flavors, like mango and watermelon, and you can search by your specific allergy needs. If you’re looking for kosher candy, their website states: “Indie Candy is currently pursuing Kosher and Organic Certification. Currently the ingredients used fall within Kosher and Organic guidelines, but we have not completed the facility certification process.”
  • Peanut Free Planet: This site sells candy from lots of different manufacturers, including Vermont Nut Free and Amanda’s Own. You’ll find chocolate, jelly beans, and all sorts of allergy-friendly groceries.
  • Oriental Trading Co.: Remember, Easter eggs and Easter baskets don’t have to be filled with candy. Oriental Trading Company offers a bazillion (I counted them) little novelty toys that fit inside Easter eggs or into Easter baskets, and you can buy them by the dozen or more. And for the ultimate in time-saving, you can even buy plastic eggs pre-filled with little toys. Now THAT’s a helpful Easter Bunny.
Hoppy shopping!

1 comment:

Rosie Roberts said...

It's really annoying that on the moment that you are happy with the celebration which is filled with nice foods then suddenly your allergy reacts and it really pisses me off. Those who have allergies can relate.