Healthy Ideas for Trick or Treat

These days it’s just assumed that you when you sign up to bring food to your child’s school function, it will have to be allergy friendly. As a mom of a celiac son, I have to say that seeing the transformation that has gone on in classrooms to make them more inclusive is not only welcome but frankly, long overdue. The even better news? Making allergy-friendly foods isn’t hard to pull off or “less fun.” With today’s products and great recipes, your school event will be a fun time that everyone can enjoy. I’ve written about allergy-friendly gatherings before, but as we approach a new school year, an allergy-friendly resource to turn to is sure to be a must-have on your back-to-school list.

5 Tips for Making Allergy-Friendly Foods

Control for cross contamination: Use fresh ingredients (like new butter that hasn’t touched potential allergens), well washed utensils and new, never used disposable tins or platters.

Ask, ask, ask: It’s very important to have a clear understanding of the allergies present that need to be controlled for. In some cases, families may prefer to avoid home-made foods altogether.

Make the recipe available: Your teacher will thank you when they are able to answer the “What’s this made from?” question easily.

Half scratch & fully delicious: Baking allergy-friendly foods can be challenging. Lean on the boxed brands that are doing it well to ensure the result is not only allergy friendly, but tasty too. Likewise, if you are using alternative cooking methods (to make something egg-free, for example) seek advice from folks who have more experience about which products lead to the best result.

Practice makes perfect: It’s hard enough to make something that will appeal to a class full of kids. Doing it at the last minute is even harder. Practice allergy friendly recipes ahead of time to ensure that unexpected cooking factors are controlled for (such as cooking times or how crumbly a food gets when its cut).