Make This an Allergy-Free Easter

By Kelley Lindberg

Don’t look now, but another food-oriented holiday is coming up this weekend. Yep, it’s time for the Easter Bunny to make his once-yearly hop down the Bunny Trail with baskets full of goodies.

For kids with egg allergies, one of the first Easter hurdles is the tradition of dyeing Easter eggs. If you’re wondering what to do, you have lots of options:

• Some people I know let their kids wear kitchen gloves to handle the eggs during the dyeing process. For others, that’s just not worth the risk, so they opt for some of the methods listed below.
• Buy wooden, plastic, ceramic or paper-mache eggs from the craft store, then decorate them using paint, stickers, markers, and glitter.
• Use your favorite safe cookie recipe and some Easter-themed cookie cutters to bake cookies, then decorate them. Wouldn’t you rather eat a cookie than a hard-boiled egg anyway?
• Make Jell-O Jiggler eggs using Easter-shaped molds from the craft store, or make them in a pan and use Easter-shaped cookie cutters to cut out shapes. (See the Jell-O box for the recipe.)
• Make safe chocolate shapes by melting safe chocolate chips and pouring the melted chocolate into Easter-shaped plastic molds (available at craft stores). This website uses non-safe chocolate wafers, but you should be able to substitute safe chocolate chips like Enjoy Life Foods’ chocolate chips instead with similar results. 
• Make hard-candy stained glass Easter eggs with some metal cookie cutters in Easter egg shapes and a bag of safe hard candy. Here is a website with instructions for making hard-candy stained-glass ornaments.
• Try making Easter window clings—just draw your own Easter egg design instead of the rainbow, and you can display a fun Easter egg in your window. 
• Print Easter coloring pages. Low on time, energy, and creativity? No problem. Print some Easter Egg coloring pages from the internet, and let your kids color them while you tackle Easter dinner. Just search for Easter Egg Coloring Pages, and you’ll find more than enough to keep any kid busy for a while.

The next hurdle is finding safe Easter candy. Your best bet for nut-free chocolate bunnies is always Hershey’s, and Target always carries several nut-free Hershey’s candies. The safe bunnies are all 6-inch style (Snapsy, Speedy Bunny, Princess Bunny, and Hollow Bunny), and they all contain milk and soy lecithin, but they are peanut-free and tree-nut free. I also found a package of 6 Hershey’s solid chocolate bunnies that are nut-free and contain only milk and soy lecithin (but avoid the package of 6 “cookies and cream” bunnies – they have additional allergens). Some flavors of Hershey’s kisses are also nut-free, as well as Hershey’s mini foil-wrapped chocolate eggs. But double-check labels – many Hershey’s products have nut warnings, so don’t assume they’re safe until you check. And remember, all Hershey’s chocolate includes milk and soy. Those Cadbury mini eggs are also nut-free, although they contain milk, soy, and corn. But only the mini eggs are nut-free – the larger sizes tend to have nut warnings. Target also has cones of Hershey’s chocolate drops coated in white candy, sold in a cellophane cone (contains milk, corn, and soy lecithin).

Looking for a 6-inch bunny for the basket, but don’t want chocolate? Try a Strawberry or Blue Raspberry gummy bunny, which I found at Target! (Contains soy and gelatin).

Many of our “tried and true” candy manufacturers are jumping on the jelly-bean band wagon, which means more safe jelly beans for our kids. Look for jelly beans from Jolly Rancher (contains soy lecithin), Jelly Belly (contains soy lecithin), Starburst, Life Savers, and Swedish Fish Eggs (I found these at Target). Target also had green “Easter grass candy” from Twizzlers (contains wheat).

And finally, remember that you don’t have to fill those plastic eggs with candy. Kids love to find small novelties like tattoos, money, dice, jacks, army parachute men, Hot Wheels cars, Polly Pockets, bracelets and rings, whistles, bubbles, and other toys in their eggs.

My son’s favorite Easter tradition was when I would type up clues and hide them inside eggs. Each clue led to another egg with another clue, until finally he was led to his basket filled with toys or games. Less candy, more fun!

Easter is a time of traditions, but that does NOT mean you have to stick with the old, dangerous ones. In fact, it’s a wonderful experience to invent brand new traditions for your family that are safe, fun, and meaningful to you. So enjoy your holiday with the people you love best, and say “Hi” to the Easter Bunny for me.

Allergy-Free Easter Candy Round-Up 2014 (Local Stores)

By Kelley Lindberg

Last week, I listed some good sources for ordering allergy-safe Easter and Passover candy online. There may still be time to order that candy if you’re quick. But if you’re like me and find yourself procrastinating, never fear… there are some allergy-free options close to home, too.

If you’re looking for nut-free chocolate bunnies, but you can tolerate milk, your best bet locally is, as always, Hershey’s. I found a good supply of safe Hershey’s bunnies at Target. I also found a Hershey’s chocolate cross at Walmart. The safe bunnies are all 6-inch style (Snapsy, Speedy Bunny, Princess Bunny, and Hollow Bunny), and they all contain milk and soy lecithin, but they appear corn-free. I also found a package of 6 Hershey’s solid chocolate bunnies that are nut-free and contain only milk and soy lecithin (but avoid the package of 6 “cookies and cream” bunnies – they have additional allergens). Some flavors of Hershey’s kisses are also nut-free, as well as Hershey’s mini foil-wrapped chocolate eggs. But double-check labels – many Hershey’s products have nut warnings, so don’t assume they’re safe until you check. And remember, all Hershey’s chocolate includes milk and soy. Those Cadbury mini eggs are also nut-free, although they contain milk, soy, and corn. But only the mini eggs are nut-free – the larger sizes tend to have nut warnings (although Target has a Cadbury Hollow Milk Chocolate Egg Filled With Mini Eggs that is nut free, but contains milk, soy lectithin, and corn).

Walmart did have bags of Sixlets, which are small nut-free candy-coated chocolates (similar to M&Ms), that contain milk and soy lecithin. And Target has cones of Hershey’s chocolate drops coated in white candy, sold in a cellophane cone (contains milk, corn, and soy lecithin).

As far as other Easter candy, I was pleasantly surprised to find that more and more allergy-free candy options are appearing every year. Many of our “tried and true” candy manufacturers are jumping on the jelly-bean band wagon, which means more safe jelly beans for our kids. I was especially happy with the amount of new and interesting safe candy items at Target, although you can find at least a few safe candy options at all the big grocery stores, like Walmart, Smith’s/Kroger’s, and Fresh Market.

If you’re avoiding corn as well as the Big 8, your best bet is to order online (see last week’s blog), but you can also try these:

• Pixy Stix
• Fluffy Stuff Cotton Tails (I found them at Smith’s and Target)
• Cotton Candy (Walmart)

If you can tolerate corn, then more options open up. The following are free from the Big 8 allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, milk, egg, soy, wheat, fish, and shellfish) unless otherwise noted. But please remember, READ EVERY LABEL EVERY TIME! Because the same company may use many different factories across the country to make their products, never assume that if one package is safe, all of their packages will be. Peeps are a great example. Some flavors and pacakges and styles of Peeps will be milk-free, while others in the same store – sometimes on the same shelf – will contain a milk warning. Anyway, here are some allergy-free Easter candies you may want to take a look at:

• Jelly Beans:

• Jolly Rancher (contains soy lecithin)
• Jelly Belly (contains soy lecithin)
• SweeTart
• Starburst
• Life Savers
• Nerds Bumpy Beans
• Swedish Fish Eggs
• Mike and Ike
• Giant Gummy Bunny (Target) – Looking for a 6-inch bunny for the basket, but don’t want chocolate? Try a Pink Lemonade or Blue Raspberry gummy bunny! (Contains soy and gelatin)
• Dum-Dums
• Easter Egg Surprise Lollipops (Walmart)
• Wonka Springtime Fun Dips
• Life Savers Gummies Bunnies and Eggs (contains gelatin)
• Smarties
• Gummy Butterflies in a large egg-shaped tin (Target) (contains gelatin and coconut)
• Haribo Happy Hoppers (Target) – traditional gummi bears in individual packets (contains coconut and gelatin)
• Rain-blo Bubble Gum Eggs
• Pez Dispensers (contains soy lecithin)

Looking for pre-filled Easter Eggs? Walmart has a package of 28 eggs filled with candy that might work for you. The Noah’s Ark version says “Soy may be present,” but the “Bunnies and Chicks” version doesn’t carry that warning. And Sam’s Club has pails of 36 pre-filled plastic eggs that might work for you. Check the labels for your allergens.

Of course there are other safe candy options, like regular Starbursts or chewing gum, but I focused on Easter-specific candy for this round-up. Hope it helps! And if you run across a great allergy-free find, be sure to share it with us in the Comments!

Allergy-Free Easter Candy Round-Up

by Kelley Lindberg


Last week, I posted some links to good online sources for allergy-free Easter candy. This week, I hit a few local stores to see what’s available. I focused on Easter-specific chocolate bunnies, eggs, jelly beans, and similar treats. I hit Sam’s Club, Smith’s and Target this year. Most of the products I found are national brands, so chances are good you may find the same products at your local stores.

Just remember to always check the ingredients – some companies use different manufacturing plants around the country, so the same product may have different factory warnings. In addition, some varieties of candy may have safe versions or sizes, and unsafe versions and sizes. For example, I found Cadbury mini eggs that are nut-free, but the larger sizes had nut warnings. So always double-check!

And if you are trying to avoid candy completely (a great idea for everyone, allergies or not!), you might want to see my post from last year, which offers lots of ideas for non-food Easter Egg and basket ideas. See the post here: Creative Easter Egg Fillers.

For nut-free and egg-free chocolate bunnies, your best bet is Hershey’s. I found several Hershey’s chocolate bunnies at Target (including Speedy Bunny, Princess Bunny, Snapsy Snap-apart Bunny) and a package of 6 Hershey’s solid chocolate bunnies (but avoid the package of 6 “cookies and cream” flavored Hershey’s bunnies, because they have a nut warning). Some flavors of Hershey’s kisses are also nut-free, as well as Hershey’s mini foil-wrapped chocolate eggs. But double-check labels – many Hershey’s products have nut warnings, so don’t assume they’re safe until you check. And remember, all Hershey’s chocolate includes milk and soy. Those Cadbury mini eggs contain milk, soy, and corn, but they’re nut-free (I found them at Smiths and Target). If you need milk-free chocolate bunnies, your best bet is probably to order them online (see last week’s post for websites), and order this week so they’ll arrive in time for Easter.

For the rest of the candy I found, I focused on candy whose labels don’t list any of the Top 8 allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, milk, egg, soy, wheat, fish, shellfish).

If you need to avoid corn as well as the Top 8, I found these options:

• Pixy Stix (Target bag of 35 for $1)
• Charms Fluffy Stuff Cotton Candy (Smith’s $1)
• Wonka Springtime Fun Dips (Smith’s 16 pouches for $3.49)

The following options contain corn, but appear to be free from the Top 8:

• LifeSavers Jelly Beans (Smith’s $2.49, Target $2.19)
• Mike & Ike Jelly Beans (Smith’s $2.39)
• Wonka Spree Jelly Beans (Smith’s $2.39)
• Wonka Nerds Bumpy Jelly Beans (Smith’s $2.39, Target 2 for $4)
• Wonka SweeTart Jelly Beans (Smith’s $2.39)
• Wonka SweeTart Jelly Beans – orange beans in a carrot-shaped bag (Smith’s $2.39)
• Starburst Jelly Beans (Smith’s $2.49, Target 2 for $4)
• Starburst Crazy Beans (Smith’s $2.49, Target 2 for $4)
• Jolly Rancher Jelly Beans (Target 2 for $4)
• Kroger’s Jelly Beans (Smith’s $1)
• Push Pop Toppers (with cute Easter figures on top) (Smith’s $1)
• Hubba Bubba Cluckers (Windup chicken that walks and lays bubble gum eggs) (Smith’s $2.39)
• Individual Plastic Eggs with Swedish Fish, Skittles, or Starbursts (Target 5 for $5)
• LifeSavers Gummies Bunnies, Chicks, & Eggs (Target 2 for $4)
• Rainblo Bubble Gum Eggs (Target 2 for $4)
• LifeSavers Hard Candy Spring Mix (Target 2 for $4)
• Swedish Fish (Target 2 for $4)
• Daily Chef Gourmet Jelly Beans, 41 flavors (Sam’s Club 4 lbs for $10.98)

If you’re a fan of Jelly Belly jelly beans, check out the Daily Chef Gourmet Jelly Beans from Sam’s Club. They have 41 flavors, and advertise that the beans are free from nuts, peanuts, dairy, egg, soy, gluten, trans fat, gelatin, and high fructose corn syrup (although they do contain regular corn syrup). You also get twice as many for the same price as Jelly Bellys.

Also, Sam’s Club has premade Easter Baskets filled with a few toys, and some candy, like Mike & Ikes, Fun Dips, and a “candy egg bouquet,” and the ingredients list corn and soy, but none of the other Top 8. They are $19.98 each, so if you are looking for an easy solution (and you aren’t allergic to corn or soy), those are an easy idea.

Food-Allergy-Safe Easter Candy Round-Up

by Kelley Lindberg


Once again, it’s time for my annual food-allergy-safe Easter Candy Round-Up! Easter is still six weeks away, but don’t wait too long, especially if you have to order online.

Every year I hit a few stores looking for typical Easter candy – specifically jelly beans and chocolate bunnies. What I find varies from year to year. Just because something was allergen-free last year doesn’t mean it will be this year, because manufacturers can change factories and suppliers with alarming frequency. And sometimes different package sizes and packages in different parts of the country will carry different ingredient warnings, too, because they were produced in different factories. So double-check every single ingredients label before you buy anything, even if I’ve included it in my list here.

For nut-free and egg-free chocolate bunnies, your best bet is Hershey’s. I found a 6-inch solid Hershey’s “Magic Bunny” at Walmart, and a package of 6 Hershey’s solid chocolate bunnies at both Wal-Mart and Smith’s (but avoid the package of 6 “cookies and cream” flavored Hershey’s bunnies, because they have a nut warning). Target has several nut-free Hershey’s chocolate bunnies – a Princess Bunny, Speedy Bunny, Snap-Apart Bunny, etc. Some flavors of Hershey’s kisses are also nut-free, as well as Hershey’s mini foil-wrapped chocolate eggs. But double-check labels – many Hershey’s products have nut warnings, so don’t assume they’re safe until you check. And remember, all Hershey’s chocolate includes milk and soy.

To avoid additional allergens like milk and soy, head for the online candy manufacturers. There are several online sources with really yummy allergen-friendly chocolate in lots of fun holiday shapes. (See my list below.)

Looking for jelly beans or mini egg- and bunny-shaped candies? Here are some that are free from the Big Eight. All contain corn, however, and most contain artificial dyes. A few may contain soy lecithin, but I tried to screen for that (but I apologize if I missed one or two). I checked Wal-Mart and Smith’s, but I know most of these are also carried by other grocery stores.

• Skittles Blenders (Wal-Mart $1/box)
• Sour Patch Bunnies (Wal-Mart $1/box)
• Swedish Fish Eggs (Wal-Mart $1/box)
• Starburst jelly beans (Wal-Mart and Smiths)
• Jolly Rancher jelly beans (Walmart and Smiths)
• Jelly Belly gourmet jelly beans, smoothie blend, and sours (Wal-Mart $2)
• LifeSavers jelly beans (Smiths $2.19)
• LifeSavers Gummies Bunnies & Eggs (Smith’s $2.19)
• Kroger jelly beans (Smith’s $0.79)
• Nerds Bumpy Jelly beans (Smith’s $2.19)
• Wonka Spree jelly beans (Smith’s $2.19)
• Private Selection Gourmet Jelly Beans, 41 flavors (Smith’s $3)

Walmart also has some cute giant marshmallow lollipops for $1 that were free from the Big 8.

Luckily, several great online manufacturers and grocers offer allergy-friendly chocolates and candies for every holiday and just about every type of allergy. So check out these sites, but be sure to order in plenty of time (Easter is April 24).

• Allergies and Me:  This is a great find for gluten-free candy and other allergen-free candies.
• Vermont Nut Free:  Their chocolates are peanut-free and nut-free, but they do have milk and egg warnings on them.
• Divvies: Nut-free, dairy-free, and egg-free chocolate bunnies, and jelly beans.
• AllerNeeds.com:  This online grocer sells allergy-friendly foods from several vendors, but they also sell some candy manufactured in Canada’s nut-free and peanut-free factories, so it’s worth checking out.
• 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, nut-free, egg-free, and gluten-free.
• Chocolate Emporium: Read the ingredients carefully on this website, but they do offer a lot of kosher (parve) chocolate items for Passover and Easter. Call before you order to ensure you get what you need, allergen-wise.
• 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 allergen-friendly groceries.
• Yummy Earth: Yummy Earth candies (lollipops, gummy bears) are corn-free, as well as being free from the big 8, and they use natural colorings and flavorings. They’re available in health food stores, and from Amazon.com here: Yummy Earth Organic Lollipops. Yummy Earth Organic Gummy Bears.
• Indie Candy: Check out the gorgeous crystal sugar flower-shaped lollipops on this site (no dyes or common allergens at all!). They have a large selection of confections and let you search by your specific allergy needs.
• 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.

Hope this helps. Next week, I’ll offer some ideas for non-food Easter Egg hunts. Hoppy shopping!

Allergy-Friendly Easter Candy

by Kelley Lindberg


Easter is just around the corner, so that means it’s time for my annual Easter candy round-up!

If your kids are only allergic to peanuts and tree nuts, you can find plenty of safe Easter candy at grocery stores like Target or Smith’s (Walmart had very few choices this year, for some reason). Look for Hershey products – not all Hershey’s products are nut-free, but several are. At Target I found Hershey’s chocolate bunnies (a hollow gold-foil wrapped bunny and a solid Princess Bunny), Hershey’s foil-wrapped chocolate eggs, Hershey’s candy-coated chocolate eggs, a 6-pack of Hershey’s milk chocolate bunnies, and a 6-pack of Hershey’s marshmallow eggs. You can also find nut-free jelly beans, such as Starburst Jelly Beans, SweeTart Jelly Beans, and Nerds Bumpy Jelly Beans in the grocery stores.

However, if you need to avoid milk, eggs, corn, or gluten, it gets harder. I did find three different flavors of Enjoy Life Foods' Boom Choco Choco bars at Whole Foods on 400 South in Salt Lake City this weekend, however, and those are free of the top 8 allergens, plus corn. (They're expensive, but great for a chocolate treat in an Easter basket!)

Luckily, there are several really good manufacturers and grocers online who offer allergy-friendly chocolates and candies for every holiday. So check out these sites, but be sure to order this week. Most sites say they can only promise delivery in time for Easter if you order by March 21.

 Allergies and Me: This is a great find for gluten-free candy! Lots of gluten-free and other allergen-free candies, like licorice vines (in several flavors), lollipops, and bubble gum. This site is also a great place to find all sorts of gluten-free and allergen-friendly groceries. Update: Jamie Stern, from Allergies and Me, commented about some new chocolate they've added: "We have added several chocolate bars from Yamate Chocolatier - many are egg, diary, lactose, yeast free in addition to being gluten free..and some are vegan. They are good for those with a diabetic diet as well." (I added her update here in case you miss it in the Comments. Thanks, Jamie!)

 Vermont Nut Free: Their chocolates are peanut-free and nut-free, but they do have milk and egg warnings on them. But their selection of nut-free chocolates is great – chocolate pops on a stick, bunnies, truffles, gold-foil-wrapped coins, toffee crunch bark, cream-filled chocolate eggs, etc. Even complete Easter baskets!

 Divvies: Nut-free, dairy-free, and egg-free chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, gummy stars, and chocolate chips! Oh my!

 AllerNeeds.com: This online grocer sells allergy-friendly foods from several vendors, but the best part is they sell Enjoy Life! Foods’ Boom Choco Boom chocolate bars in a variety pack of six bars. (Enjoy Life! Foods are free from the top 8 allergens.) They also sell some candy manufactured in Canada’s nut-free and peanut-free factories, so it’s worth checking out.

 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, nut-free, egg-free, and gluten-free!

 Chocolate Emporium: Read the ingredients carefully on this website, but they do offer a lot of kosher (parve) chocolate items for Passover, all of which are dairy-free, and most of which are gluten-free. Most of the Passover chocolates do, however, contain nut contamination, and some contain egg whites. The only Passover chocolate items that didn’t contain eggs, nuts, gluten, or dairy that I could find were the chocolate-covered raisins, chocolate-covered apricots, and chocolate chips. Their Easter chocolate list has a much larger number of items that are milk-free, nut-free, egg-free, and gluten-free, including bunnies, pops (chocolate shapes on a stick), foil-covered mini eggs, jelly beans, a bunny-shaped chocolate box filled with jelly beans, etc. Call before you order to ensure you get what you need. As an added bonus, all Easter items are kosher. Go figure.

 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 allergen-friendly groceries.

 Yummy Earth: Yummy Earth candies (lollipops, gummy bears) are corn-free, as well as being free from the big 8, and they use natural colorings and flavorings. They’re available in health food stores, but the lollipops are cheaper on Amazon.com here: Yummy Earth Organic Lollipops; Yummy Earth Organic Gummy Bears.

 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 their Easter sale is going on now – need 24 Easter finger puppets for $3.99? You’re in luck!) And for the ultimate in time-saving, you can even buy plastic eggs pre-filled with little toys (2 dozen for $7.99). Now THAT’s a helpful Easter Bunny.

Hoppy shopping!

Bring On the Chocolate Bunnies!

“Here comes Peter Cottontail, hoppin’ down the bunny trail! Hippity hoppity, Easter’s on its way…”

Lucky for you, this blog is text-only, so you don’t have to hear me sing. My son isn’t as lucky, however. Ha! I can’t wait to sing in front of his friends and embarrass him completely.

Okay, so Easter is still five weeks away. But when you have children with food allergies, now’s the time to start planning for those egg hunts and Easter Baskets – or for your Passover Seder feasts – because to find egg-free, milk-free, and nut-free chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, and other goodies, you almost certainly have to order them from an online manufacturer.

So today I’ll offer some ideas and links to places to shop for Easter and Passover goodies, so you can get the jump (ha! I slay myself) on ordering. Trust me, you don’t want to wait until the last minute. Last year, some of the allergy-free chocolate makers ran out of bunnies, so if you waited too long to order them, you were out of luck. This year, many of them have notices saying “Available before March 28 or until supplies are gone.” So this year, we’re all going to be smart little bunnies and do it early, right? Right!

If your kids are only allergic to nuts, you may find Hershey’s chocolate bunnies in the grocery stores – check the label carefully, but I can usually find a nut-free Hershey’s bunny without having to order it. And this year, Hershey’s has a bag of candy-coated chocolate mini eggs that are nut-free. (I got a bag at Smith’s.)

However, if you need to avoid milk or eggs or gluten (or all three), it gets harder. Luckily, there are several really good chocolate manufacturers online who offer allergy-friendly chocolates and candies for every holiday. So check these out:

Vermont Nut Free: Their chocolates are peanut-free and nut-free, but they do have milk and egg warnings on them. But their selection of nut-free chocolates is great – chocolate pops on a stick, bunnies, truffles, gold-foil-wrapped coins, etc. Yummy!

Divvies: Nut-free, dairy-free, and egg-free chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, gummy stars, and chocolate chips! Oh my!

AllerNeeds.com: This online grocer sells allergy-friendly foods from several vendors, but the best part is they sell Enjoy Life! Foods’ Boom Choco Boom chocolate bars in a variety pack of six bars. (Enjoy Life! Foods are free from the top 8 allergens.) They also sell some candy manufactured in Canada’s nut-free and peanut-free factories, so it’s worth checking out.

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, nut-free, egg-free, and gluten-free!

Chocolate Emporium: Read the ingredients carefully on this website, but they do offer a lot of kosher (parve) chocolate items for Passover, all of which are dairy-free, and most of which are gluten-free. Most of the Passover chocolates do, however, contain nut contamination, and some contain egg whites. The only Passover chocolate item that didn’t contain eggs, nuts, gluten, or dairy that I could find was the chocolate-covered raisins. Their Easter chocolate list has a much larger number of items that are milk-free, nut-free, egg-free, and gluten-free, including bunnies, pops (chocolate shapes on a stick), foil-covered mini eggs, jelly beans, a bunny-shaped chocolate box filled with jelly beans, etc. Call before you order to ensure you get what you need. As an added bonus, all Easter items are kosher. Go figure.

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. (Anyone need 144 smiley-face bunny erasers for only $4.99?) And for the ultimate in time-saving, you can even buy plastic eggs pre-filled with little toys (2 dozen for $7.99). Now THAT’s a helpful Easter Bunny.

Hoppy shopping!