Hi Mama's.
Apparently the PTO bought the entire school Chcocolate hearts for Valentines day as a special treat. Wonderful Except, my son can not have chocolate.. The school is allowing me to bring in anything Store bought.. but
It has to be peanut free-for schoool and Dye, chocolate, Gluten free for my son. Anythoughts? I want it to be something that we don't do daily .. so it truly is a special treat.
Thanks
ETA-
all the suggestion were great.. I found Gummy Bears by Yum Earh (yummyearth.com) I also talked to the head of the PTO and suggested this company for further "exceptional" snacks since it seems like they are okay for all to enjoy. :)
Thanks for the idea's.
Nothing made is allowed in his school.. peroid. I could make him Butterscotch fudge or something like that .. but NO.. I am not allowed to make anything. I personally think they need to take the chocolate and shove it..
But his class is Gluten free, peanut free.. so their snacks typically are Fruit, Veggies and cheese.. which is perfect in my book. this chocolate is throwing me off.. and frustrating me.
He is in pre-school so there is no lunch.
Sugar cubes?
Or maple candy - that would be a nice treat.
Too late to order it now but this place sells little maple candy hearts:
http://www.piecesofvermont.com/maple-gift-boxes.html
Target has the Angie's kettle corn bags in the Valentine section, as well as the yummy earth organic lolipops and gummy worms.
I would get a fruit tray that's pre-wrapped at the grocery store. It's pretty, fun, and most of the children will probably go for that over the snacks they brought in that day.
EDIT: Do people truly not understand why the school has this rule that there can't be anything homemade?
Peanuts, dyes, and gluten are very serious allergies. For some people/children simply touching those foods, let alone eating them, will make them very ill. Even trace amounts aka amounts that are barely measurable to anyone else or someone with a normal allergy are deadly to someone with anaphylaxis.
When items are made at home or prepared at home, there's no possible way to guarantee that something won't cross-contaminate and end up somehow coming into the path of someone with a severe allergy or intolerance. The school has a responsibility to keep those children safe, and those childrens safety is more important than anyone else's annoyance.
What the school is requesting is perfectly reasonable. However, if the chocolate allergy is severe they should have followed the same policy in refraining from giving it as a treat to all of the children and found something else. So frankly, I change my original answer. I would raise a stink with the school and respectfully ask them to find a different treat to pass out, such as a fancy fruit tray. You don't have to be That Mom in a rude way, but you can still advocate for your child.
I would contact the PTO and ask THEM what THEY are going to have as an alternate for your child. I can not believe they did chocolate with a peanut free environment, cause almost always they said "traces of peanut" could be in it. I might point that out to them as well.
Whole Foods sells some lollipops (Yummy Earth) that are all natural, gluten-free, no dyes (I think veges are used for coloring and taste). That would be something to look into if you wanted to give all the kids something fun/candy.
Popcorn would be a wonderful idea. If you're really interested in getting busy in the kitchen, you could make homemade caramel popcorn (ingredients consist of Karo syrup, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and GF aluminum-free baking soda. If you'd like the recipe, contact me). You pop the popcorn, put it in a roasting pan, make the caramel on the stovetop, pour the caramel over the popcorn, and bake for about an hour, stirring the popcorn two-three times until down. Tastes really yummy! Whenever I make it, it disappears quite fast.
Not quite sure why homemade stuff isn't allowed in the school. Our school here in WI still allows it. In fact, whenever I make homemade treats (we have gluten and casein and soy issues with our family, plus no peanut/nuts for those allergic) I always write down all the ingredients used and take that along with what I take, just so the teacher(s) know what was in the treat.
Just curious ... why does it have to be store bought if it is only for your son? I could understand if it was for a whole class, but it's not. Why couldn't you make something special to take just for him?
Would you be up for popcorn? Kids do love it.:)
I'm with the others that can not comprehend why the treat for YOUR son ONLY has these restrictions based on the circumstances. You're allowed to pack his lunch daily so what's the difference?
Since you can bring cheese, maybe you could use a heart shaped cookie cutter to make cheese hearts? Or maybe try to carve hearts into the red layer on babybel cheese? You could also try to use the cookie cutter to make heart shaped fruit pieces. I see your dilemma!
- Caramels
- fancy schmancy marshmallows (
OMG, only the USA would take a factory made thing & convert it to factory-home-factory. Still. Phenomeyum.)
- snowballs
(Either JUST coconut & marshmallow, or for the cake kind the Asian bakeries make them with tapioca &/or rice flour... Not sure if you mean no wheat gluten or no gluten period).
- vegan Flourless cupcakes
- taffy
- white chocolate strawberries
(white chocolate isnt chocolate, no cocoa beans were harmed in the making of this sweet)
- Pepper Candy Strawberries
- cotton candy
- leichi pops
- coconut icecream
Strawberries or other red or pink fruit
Yummy Earth lollipops are great. I've bought them at Target, Marshalls and T.J Maxx.
Okay, I'm totally NOT savvy on the gluten free stuff, so I'm just guessing. Don't be mad if I'm wrong.
What about a yummy caramel apple?
buy a vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting from a gluten-free bakery
Rice Krispy Treat! You can get the big Costco box. Sometimes stores even sell them home made style in the bakery...really thick,creamy marshmallowy...pure yumminess.
Or apples and caramel...you can get that pre packaged as well.
Happy treat hunting!!
Sweet allies bakery, some stuff available from fruitful yield but it is in hinsdale.
