These are products that we either use or have used in the past. We don’t use Bob’s Red Mill anymore as much because of the danger of almond contamination, but if it weren’t for that, I would use their products. Everything else you can find in my house! I promise! I’m not getting a kick-back from these, I’m just sharing what we like in our house.
Babylegs Leg Warmers- I know this sounds strange, but my son has a pretty bad grass allergy and if he plays in the grass (what 3 year old doesn’t?!) his knees break out pretty bad. We used these when he was crawling and sometimes now when it’s a little too warm for pants to protect his knees and legs from the grass. Plus…they are so stinkin’ cute!
Authentic Foods- I first found out about this company through a sale on Amazon. I needed to see how they processed their flours as to avoid contamination with some of the other allergens we have to watch out for. When I called the company they patched me right through to the owner and he spent a few minutes chatting and even gave me some really good tips. They are gluten, peanut and tree nut free. From what they told me, they sell almond flour, but do not process it in the same facility with the other flours. I use sorghum flour in my all purpose mix, and this is one of the only places we can order from.
Bob’s Red Mill- This is by far one of the biggest companies to produce a wide variety of gluten free oats, mixes and flours. However, they do produce almond and soy flours in their facility, so if you have an allergy to either one of those, you should look at other brands.
Enjoy Life Foods- There are SO many items that we love from this company. They make great snack bars and cookies that my kids love, but they also produce chocolate chips, candy bars, granola and several other things.
Sunbutter- Both of my kids LOVE this stuff. It has a really great flavor to it, the new formula doesn’t seperate like other butters do and it substitutes in any PB recipe. This is also a great alternative if your child’s school does not allow PB due to peanut allergies in other students. The only thing that you have to watch for is that the shape of the jar is the same as PB and sometimes the lid is even the same color. I say this as a warning because the ONLY ER visit we have had that is allergy related was because of this. We no longer have anything but Sunbutter in our house, but please check the labels carefully when purchasing as it is most likely shelved with peanut or other nut butters. Also, if you have a soy allergy, their sunflowers are roasted on equipment that also roasts soy.
Ener G Foods- We use several products from the Ener G Foods line. Sometimes I just don’t have time to bake a loaf of bread for my son and this is one of the only brands that carries a gluten free and egg free bread. We usually buy the Brown Rice bread, but they also have White Rice, Corn and Tapioca. We also use tapioca starch and potato flour/starch from this company. And the one thing I couldn’t bake without? Egg Replacer. I combine each “egg” with 1 tsp of baking soda and it froths up just like a whipped egg white! This is really my go to product when it comes to baking.
DAVID Sunflower and Pumpkin Seeds- I discovered last fall that it is hard to find sunflower seeds that aren’t contaminated! Every company produces their snacks on the same line! After a little research, I did discover that DAVID Sunflower and Pumpkin seeds are made in a DEDICATED facility and on DEDICATED equipment! Here is an email that I got from a customer service representative on September 3, 2010:
Dear Mrs. Stewart,
Thank you for your email concerning our DAVID® Seeds product, a product of ConAgra Foods.
There are no peanuts, tree nuts, or sesame used in the plants.
David brand Pumpkin Seeds as well as David Sunflower seeds do not share equipment with other products containing peanuts or tree nuts. The manufacturing facility that
produces David brand Pumpkin Seeds and David Sunflower seeds does not produce products containing peanuts or tree nuts.
Thank you for your interest in our products.
Sincerely,
Gina
Consumer Affairs
Ref: 053012075A
Cherrybrook Kitchen- I discovered that this company had some egg free cake mixes totally by accident. We bought a mix while we were visiting family so that my kids could participate in birthday celebrations. I bought a mix and a box of Ener G Egg Replacer. I started making the cupcakes and realized that there were no directions for the eggs because the egg replacer was IN the mix! The cupcakes were great (and freeze well, since we don’t feed the expensive stuff to anyone else!) and now I have something I can tell the grandparents to buy and they only have to buy ONE thing! Cherrybrook Kitchen has cake, brownie and icing mixes and they are all made in a dedicated facility. They are wheat free, gluten free, peanut free, tree nut free, dairy free, egg free, sesame free and Vegan. They even have an allergy card that you can print and fill out when you go to a restaurant so the servers and cook staff know EXACTLY what to avoid.
