Keeping Christmas dinner allergy free can be a real challenge but Honey Baked Hams are helping out, here's their message according to their website: We have reformulated our glaze to be considered free of allergens. This means our hams and turkey breasts DO NOT contain glutens.
Many of my readers have peanut allergies. Cross contamination is such a serious threat during the holidays when so many of us are constantly exchanging goodies. It's Nut-Free has some old-time Christmas favorites including Christmas pudding and mincemeat. The good news is: all of their products are produced in nut-free environments with no nuts as ingredients. The bad news is that they are located in the UK and that will incur some hefty shipping costs but sometimes it's worth it if you don't have time to make an intensive dish like mincemeat and it absolutely has to be nut-free for you or your child's safety.
I'm a
Trader Joe's fan and I love their packaged chestnuts which you can usually find near the produce section. These chestnuts are peeled and ready to-do, low in fat, but unfortunately questionable for those with nut allergies. According to
TJ's gluten free list, all nuts are gluten free and certainly they are a nice dairy free sweet tasting snack. You don't have to have them over a roaring fire but the microwave will work too.
This Christmas instead of making a ton of cookies I will be bringing (another Trader Joe's favorite) Coconut Dates, which are dates rolled in coconut flakes with a pecan (dairy free, not nut free). I will also be packing some dehydrated kiwi purchased from my local grocer
Harvest Time Foods. Certainly I could rock out some tasty chickpea flour cookies but I personally prefer to eat more nutritionally dense foods.
While many bakeries sell nut-free fruitcake I think it's safer to make yours at home. The risk of cross contamination is too high at a regular bakery. You can take any fruit cake recipe and substitute the nuts for more dried fruits. One option would adding more tropical fruits like papaya, pineapple, guava and coconut flakes. Personally, I'm not a big fan of fruit cake but if that's your thing, good for you. In fact I sometimes feel like I have failed as an adult because I am just not grown up enough to like the taste of it. Although, I have heard that if you replace the citron fruits with dried apricots you'll end up with a better tasting fruitcake but I'm not that eager to try.
