An article in today’s Chicago Sun Times reminds us of some of the hits and misses of Trick or Treating on Halloween. The food website www.seriouseats.com compiled a top ten list of the worst treats to give your little costumed visitors. Sadly, three of the “worst treats” are the only treats I give out because they are allergy friendly. I don’t know if he would ever miss getting to eat a Snickers bar (my favorite in a previous life of not living allergen free) or even a Almond Joy. But he thinks Smarties are pretty cool and never minds eating them. Here’s the list:
1. Toothbrushes: Yuck.
2. Raisins: I once tried to swap all John’s unsafe candy with raisins…bad idea.
3. Candy Corn: John’s actually lucky he is allergic to these.
4. Smarties and Necco Wafers: One of my kids’ favorite candies, Smarties made it on this list. I actually thought they were yummy! Necco’s, not so much.
5. Dum Dum lollipops: The good old standby treat at our allergist’s office, my purse, trips to Costco, the grocery store and long road trips. These suckers are what I consider to be “mommy’s little helper”.
6. Apples: I remember the razor blade stuck in apples scare from the 80’s. Never really got over that one.
7. Tootstie Rolls: Again, John isn’t missing anything.
8. Miscellaneous Hard Candies: Remember those weird orange and black wrapped candies?
9. Laffy Taffy: Do kids really eat these?
10: Anything fun sized: I agree, one bite is torture. It just makes you want to overindulge.
Have a safe and happy Halloween!!!
Kelly,
I go everywhere with a secret stash of dum dum “pop pops” as my two-year-old calls them. I still do consider them mother’s little helper, but I was reminded how important it is to keep a close eye on your young ones until they have finished ANY brand of lollypop. Last week Ellery vomited clear mucus for about 24 hours, until, finally, an intact lollypop stick came up. We were perplexed by the the sporadic wretching, clear oderless fluid and absence of fever. In between vomiting, she would return to her happy, playful self. We are extremely lucky the stick made it’s way back up in one piece. When I think about the damage it could have done had it became lodged in her airway or digestive tract, I am just sick. In my busy clan of four kids, it’s easy to rely on quick fixes. Just make sure you retrieve the stick when they are finished.
We eat Safe-T-pops, they are the ones where the stick is actually looped around. My son loves them and I can buy them in a big bag in the candy section at my local Wegmans store. I’m sure you can find them online too. But we originally had one of these at my sons allergist’s office and I was so glad to find a lollipop that he can have. Thanks for the info on the dum dums I will have to try those too. We also buy smarties for halloween since they are “safe” for him. The other halloween treat we get is twizzlers. He is allergic to milk, egg and peanuts and twizzlers are ok for him.
Thanks Jessica for the candy tips! Very handy indeed when it comes to Halloween! I will be posted a special candy post around then, so am very thankful for your ideas!