Peanut allergy questions snack ideas

[Granny_Weatherwax]

I am working with a sports team and one of the athletes has a peanut allergy (epi pen goes with us everywhere). The athlete has been responsible for their own snacks up to this point whereas the team purchases snacks for the rest of the group. I want to purchase snacks for everyone as I think that is the right thing to do. What are some good safe snacks? I have been to the store and looked at labels and almost everything has the warning that is has been processed in a facility that also processes peanuts or nuts. 

I've already purchased fruits and vegetables but would like granola bars, crackers, etc.

I will be Googling and searching but know this group will have suggestions faster than I can research.

[Spryte]

My off the top of my head recommendations fit our needs (which are more than peanut), so there may be good options that are only peanut free — someone else can suggest those.

Anything by Enjoy Life will work. It’s not my personal preference, but I do I like their single serve trail mix packs a lot! https://enjoylifefoods.com/search?q=Trail+mix

Made Good makes granola bars that we like. My kid likes these: https://www.madegoodfoods.com/products/chocolate-chip-granola-bars-40-count

What other types of snacks are you hoping to find?

I think there should be more options if you are only looking for peanut free, and hopefully less expensive!

Edited March 6, 2023 by Spryte

[QueenCat]

I'd ask the parents or the athlete what they can have.

[happi duck]

Another vote for ask the parents or athlete.  The people I know stick with very specific products and would rather bring their own than trust a new item while out and about.

[kbutton]

10 minutes ago, happi duck said:

The people I know stick with very specific products and would rather bring their own than trust a new item while out and about.

If you do think you found something that works, I would make sure you still bring the detailed label with you.

 

[Spryte]

Just now, kbutton said:

If you do think you found something that works, I would make sure you still bring the detailed label with you.

 

Yes, always this.

And know they may not eat it. Our family prefers to bring our own food, because anaphylaxis. However, when someone shows up with something that’s clearly labeled made in an allergen free facility, individually wrapped, especially a familiar brand — we are always blown away by the thoughtfulness.

I would only take individually wrapped items with very clear labeling that X is made in a completely peanut free facility, like the ones I linked. You will need to discuss with the athlete/family, too.

Any fruit and veggies for the allergic person should be kept separate to avoid cross contamination, too, and even that is sketchy since I don’t know what happened prior to it arriving, you know?

If this is a mid-teen or older (my impression), I would talk to them about it. Younger than that l would talk to the parents.

This is my take on it, and how we handled it for DS who has 7 (yes, 7!) anaphylactic allergies and more that cause asthma attacks as he moved into the older teen years. Also, how we handle my Celiac and DD’s anaphylactic dairy allergy. Mostly, we tell people we are like zoo animals: don’t feed us.

[mommyoffive]

My kids attend an activity where they are asked to not bring anything with nuts, but need a snack.  Here are some of the things they bring

Applesauce pouches

Jerky

Fruit or veggies

cheese sticks

yogurt pouches/go gurts

hardboiled eggs

Edited March 6, 2023 by mommyoffive

[Carol in Cal.]

We had a child with a very severe peanut allergy in a class with DD years ago, and I would pack containers of cheese chunks and packages of peanut free facility crackers—whatever I could find that was affirmatively labeled that way.

I bought big blocks of Tillamook cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese for this.  I would clean the cutting board with a sponge that had just been sanitized in a dishwasher cycle before cutting them up, and I put the chunks into glass canning jars that had also just been through a dishwasher cycle.

The child’s mom would go over all the horizontal surfaces in the classroom with bleach before class.  

This allergy is a very severe one, life threatening.  So I also asked her where she keeps the Epi pen, how to use it, and what to do beyond that.  

Edited March 6, 2023 by Carol in Cal.

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Additional info: young adult, international student, going on an 11 day team trip and will need to purchase food as we go. I want to make certain van food is safe for the athlete and not expose the athlete to allergens.

[almondbutterandjelly]

Cascadian Farms Oats and Honey granola bars, 

chex mix

 

[almondbutterandjelly]

Oreos

ritz crackers

hillshire farm summer sausage

[Starr]

Years ago we had this go badly with an international exchange. Be sure the student is empowered and comfortable speaking up. And the team needs to be aware that it’s a no nuts trip because of cross contamination, including restaurant food . I also had a student when I was a school nurse need the epi pen after being handed an Apple by another student who had touched a food that first student was allergic to. 

[Carol in Cal.]

2 minutes ago, Starr said:

Years ago we had this go badly with an international exchange. Be sure the student is empowered and comfortable speaking up. And the team needs to be aware that it’s a no nuts trip because of cross contamination, including restaurant food . I also had a student when I was a school nurse need the epi pen after being handed an Apple by another student who had touched a food that first student was allergic to. 

Cross contamination with peanut butter is really tenacious.  The child I mentioned upthread ended up in the ER after picking up a piece of littered paper at a park, no visible food residues on it, but it must have had peanut residues despite that.  

[prairiewindmomma]

25 minutes ago, Granny_Weatherwax said:

Additional info: young adult, international student, going on an 11 day team trip and will need to purchase food as we go. I want to make certain van food is safe for the athlete and not expose the athlete to allergens.

Fwiw, Chipotle is one of our “safe” restaurants because the entire restaurant is peanut free. OTOH, Chick-FIL-A cooks most of their stuff in peanut oil and is a very unsafe restaurant. If you are eating out while on the road, please be aware of this issue…it doesn’t cross most people’s minds unless they are dealing with the issue.

[wisdomandtreasures]

Raising Generation Nourished has lots of allergy-friendly recipes. 🙂

[almondbutterandjelly]

David’s Pumpkin Seeds, Bugles, Fritos, Baked Lays potato chips, cherry frosted pop tarts

[Clarita]

3 hours ago, Granny_Weatherwax said:

I want to purchase snacks for everyone as I think that is the right thing to do. What are some good safe snacks? I have been to the store and looked at labels and almost everything has the warning that is has been processed in a facility that also processes peanuts or nuts. 

You can do so, but honestly the people I know with severe allergies don't really trust other people to "prepare" (including transporting food from grocery store to the snack bag). Despite all efforts you put into this unless you've completely cleared it with the family mentioned (in which case you don't need to ask us because they would give you your answer) they might not eat it anyways (definitely not without re-processing the snacks).

[kbutton]

1 hour ago, Granny_Weatherwax said:

Additional info: young adult, international student, going on an 11 day team trip and will need to purchase food as we go. I want to make certain van food is safe for the athlete and not expose the athlete to allergens.

I'm going to make a couple of assumptions...

If he's going, the student must be aware that the other students could possibly eat something with peanuts and touch things. If so, I assume that he's not been reactive to touching things in the past. Not everyone is reactive to stuff in the environment if they are not eating it (I personally don't know of anyone with peanut allergies that requires that level of caution even though I know people with those issues exist). If not, then I would be really concerned that nothing you do will be safe enough. 

If he has not been reactive in the past to touching/smelling food, then I would buy things that have safe labels, and for any snacks that both he and the team will be eating, be sure to make sure he always has his own package--he gets to open it, and if it's multi-serving, he stows it in a dedicated place. I would place big restrictions on what the kids can bring and where they can eat it--preferably not eating anything in the van that the student can't also eat. They should always wash hands with soap and water before and after eating, etc. 

I would be sure the YA with allergies has a dedicated cooler/bag to keep his stuff in and that it's left alone. I would make sure there is a dedicated set of wipes so that he can wipe his hands on the spot, and someone can wipe down packaging before putting his items that are purchased along the way into his containers. For anything that required utensils, he could have fresh disposable utensils each time.

And I'd still be worried without some kind of reassurance that he's okay with smelling/breathing/touching peanut products as long as he doesn't ingest them as well. 

 

[Granny_Weatherwax]

2 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Fwiw, Chipotle is one of our “safe” restaurants because the entire restaurant is peanut free. OTOH, Chick-FIL-A cooks most of their stuff in peanut oil and is a very unsafe restaurant. If you are eating out while on the road, please be aware of this issue…it doesn’t cross most people’s minds unless they are dealing with the issue.

I had not thought of that. Thank you.

[crazyforlatin]

1 hour ago, Clarita said:

You can do so, but honestly the people I know with severe allergies don't really trust other people to "prepare" (including transporting food from grocery store to the snack bag). Despite all efforts you put into this unless you've completely cleared it with the family mentioned (in which case you don't need to ask us because they would give you your answer) they might not eat it anyways (definitely not without re-processing the snacks).

So true, if Dd does not see a label, she’s not eating it. But she’s been at friends’ home recently and their parents know in advance and prepare foods so that she is able to stay for dinner.

[crazyforlatin]

2 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Fwiw, Chipotle is one of our “safe” restaurants because the entire restaurant is peanut free. OTOH, Chick-FIL-A cooks most of their stuff in peanut oil and is a very unsafe restaurant. If you are eating out while on the road, please be aware of this issue…it doesn’t cross most people’s minds unless they are dealing with the issue.

I knew about Chipotle but not Chick Fil which I had been pushing dh to get something for us to try. We don’t live near one at all, but it’s near his workplace. Crossing that off the list.

[kbutton]

Penn Station at least used to use peanut oil in their fryers.

[prairiewindmomma]

Fwiw, Wendy’s and Mod Pizza are peanut safe. Red Robin is allergy friendly. Navigating eating out is hard, but doing so as an international student has got to be even trickier. Thank you for being thoughtful! 

Also, this may be helpful: https://www.allergyeats.com/

[73349]

I'm another vote for Enjoy Life. They're free of all the major allergens.

As much as possible, allow everyone to wash hands before eating. Hand sanitizer does not do anything to allergens.

[Karen A]

As the mom of a young adult who has carried an epi-pen since age 2 for nut allergy, and as a school nurse, I can tell you there is a wide range of comfort on this subject from don't eat nuts to all surfaces must be wiped down, all kids must wash hand after eating and everything in between. Most kids don't react to peanut oil, as it is highly processed, and the protein that causes the allergy is denatured, or not present, or something. My kid eats at Chik-Fi-A, and eats "may contains" if it's a factory produced item--like cookies that don't contain nuts, but might be made in a facility or on shared equipment. It's a risk we're willing to take, and figure the odds are really low of actual contamination. On the other hand, she wouldn't have a donut that is not pre-packaged if the donut shop/bakery had lots of nuts flying around (ie not mass produced). Only once in 18 years have we had a production related cross contamination issue, with a mini PB cup (instead of a fudge cup) that snuck into a Chocolate Moose Tracks ice cream half gallon from the grocery store. She spit it out, took benadryl for hives, and it didn't progress past that, thankfully. She is fine (cautious) with others eating PB around her as long as hands are wiped, or if I eat my Culvers custard with Reese's with a spoon.   We are a bit more careful if we are far from medical care, but in our everyday life and many places we travel, we are within 5-20 minutes of EMS or a hospital.

Edited March 6, 2023 by Karen A

[sbgrace]

If this were my anaphlaxis young adult, he would only eat something he knew was safe that came prepackaged. For such a long trip, it's really important that you know what restaurants he is able to safely eat in. I'd ask for a list from him. Similarly, he will need to resupply whatever he has for himself for such a long trip. 

For snacks, think things no one else is handling before he gets it--apple sauce pouches, cheese sticks, gogurts, bananas. Shared bags are a no, but the boxes of individual sized chip bags are ok for my son. Enjoy Life is a safe brand. 

[Drama Llama]

It sounds like this is an adult.  Is his English sufficient that he can take the lead on reading labels etc . . .?  

 

[Lady Florida.]

There are many good suggestions. I'll just add something about the epi pen. With an allergy as severe as peanuts (really any anaphylaxis allergy) all the epi pen usually does is buy some time to get to a hospital. The child in question is probably aware of this and hopefully the parent will speak to the issue, but make sure all of the adults on the trip understand. Don't let the fact that he has an epi pen with him give the adults a false sense of security. 

[prairiewindmomma]

4 hours ago, Karen A said:

As the mom of a young adult who has carried an epi-pen since age 2 for nut allergy, and as a school nurse, I can tell you there is a wide range of comfort on this subject from don't eat nuts to all surfaces must be wiped down, all kids must wash hand after eating and everything in between. Most kids don't react to peanut oil, as it is highly processed, and the protein that causes the allergy is denatured, or not present, or something. My kid eats at Chik-Fi-A, and eats "may contains" if it's a factory produced item--like cookies that don't contain nuts, but might be made in a facility or on shared equipment. It's a risk we're willing to take, and figure the odds are really low of actual contamination. On the other hand, she wouldn't have a donut that is not pre-packaged if the donut shop/bakery had lots of nuts flying around (ie not mass produced). Only once in 18 years have we had a production related cross contamination issue, with a mini PB cup (instead of a fudge cup) that snuck into a Chocolate Moose Tracks ice cream half gallon from the grocery store. She spit it out, took benadryl for hives, and it didn't progress past that, thankfully. She is fine (cautious) with others eating PB around her as long as hands are wiped, or if I eat my Culvers custard with Reese's with a spoon.   We are a bit more careful if we are far from medical care, but in our everyday life and many places we travel, we are within 5-20 minutes of EMS or a hospital.

This is a good point. We are severe reactors/need two epi-pens people here. Airways tend to shut down quickly; we have had code blues called when reactions have happened in hospitals…. We are so way beyond being able to spit something out/pop a Benadryl that I sometimes forget not everyone has to be so militantly careful. 

[Starr]

Are we talking about an adult, teen or child?

[Granny_Weatherwax]

Thank you for all of the suggestions. We have returned from the trip without incident. I was much more concerned than the athlete.