If you're like me, you look forward to those shelves filled with pastel colors at the grocery store every year. You know the ones I mean - the ones laden with chocolate bunnies and marshmallow chicks and all the jelly beans a person could want.
I used to load up with whatever candy caught my fancy in the days after Easter (I try to avoid the stuff during Lent - In my opinion, it just ain't right to eat such celebratory food during such a season of contemplation, prayer, and self-denial...). I'd throw in a bag of gummi bunnies and a carton of malted milk ball eggs and whatever those miraculous cream-filled easter chocolates are.
Then I discovered my gluten intolerance. And just throwing bags of sweets into the cart didn't work anymore. I had to do a bit more research.
The good news is, tons and tons and TONS of delicious candy is gluten free. But you do have to be a bit more careful in what you select. A few rules to live by:
Rule #1: Just Because it was Gluten Free Last Year, Doesn't Mean it's Safe This Year
Read labels, read labels, read labels. When in doubt, Google the product, just to be safe. More than once I've gotten tripped up by a manufacturer changing its ingredient list. Always double-check. Always.
Rule #2: Don't Hesitate to Call the Candy Company
Some products look safe, but have possibly suspect ingredients like modified food starch (which can come from wheat) or even glucose syrup (which often does come from wheat). Many companies, especially higher end ones like See's Candies, will happily fill you in on what is safe and what isn't.
Rule #3: Just Because the Regular Candy is Gluten Free, Doesn't Mean the Easter Version is
This seems like a mean trick to pull, but some companies change the ingredients of their standard products from season to season. For example, regular grocery-store-checkout-aisle Reese's peanut butter cups (the ones that come in 2-packs) are gluten free. The seasonal Reese's Christmas trees, however, are not. Check ingredients not only from company to company, but from product to seasonal product.
Rule #4: Remember - there is LOTS of Gluten Free Candy! If One of Your Favorites Isn't on the "Safe" List, There's Probably a Substitute
Easter is about joy and resurrection, after all. For me, at least a very small sliver of that is about the feast of Easter. Since I'm a sweet-tooth girl, that includes candy. I celebrate in chocolate. I celebrate in marshmallow. And that's okay. Some of my old standbys aren't safe anymore, but there are some great stand-ins out there, and some incredible new products to try.
So... without further ado... I give you the Safe Easter Candy List of 2012!
From Gluten Free Life and My Gluten Facts comes the best 2012 Easter Candy List. Check it out and be encouraged! There's still lots of tooth-rotting deliciousness to be had!
A few of my favorites weren't on the list, so I wanted to share them with you:
I love these Trolli Brite Crawler Eggs. One caveat, though: you have to read the back label. Some say "produced on equipment that also manufactures products containing wheat." These have made me sick in the past, even though the ingredient list is safe. Others have no such warning, and are produced on dedicated lines. If you're as sensitive as I am, it pays to check the packaging. If there's no warning - you're home free!
I mean, really - how could you not want to gobble these up? My husband alerted me to the deliciousness of See's candies when we were first dating. After we were married I was super excited to discover that my husband's aunt chooses a box of See's truffles as our Christmas gift every year. Nothing beats that box arriving on December 11 or 12. I drool a little just thinking about it...
Anyway, nearly all of See's candies are gluten free, including their special Easter ones and those scrumptious eggs pictured above. Check out their allergen and ingredient list here: See's Allergen Info.
That's it for today! And with all this sugar in my life, I just had a dentist appointment on Tuesday and guess what? No cavities!
What's YOUR favorite Easter candy?
I am so excited I stumbled on your blog I was just diagnosed with celiac disease about a month ago, and have been looking for a great place for advice!
ReplyDeleteA suggestion...negotiate that the children have to brush after eating each piece. This will slow down the consumption rate. Colorful toothbrushes with favorite comic characters, are a great addition to an Easter basket, and add some flavored dental floss.
ReplyDeleteGlad to help, Sarah! Take heart that things do get easier. Now, almost three years in, it feels like a new normal for me. And all is better if I can still eat a little Easter candy!
ReplyDelete