How To Make A Nut Free Zone

Finding suitable alternatives for allergy free foods to send your child off to school with can be difficult. Especially if your child does not have any nut allergies, and you must simply comply with the school’s rules (even if they are with the rest of the children’s best interests in mind).

Being sensitive to the allergy risk of the other students, there are a number of great ways to ensure the lunchbox is nut and allergy free. When schools become a “nut free zone” this means that snacks must not be made with nuts or manufactured in a plant with nuts. Whilst most of the products made with nuts are fairly obvious, usually featuring the word “nuts” within the name, there are others that may be a bit more sneaky and fly under the radar.

To Make A Nut Free Zone:

The best way to be sure that your products don’t contain any nuts is to read the labels and packaging information. Most brands will mark their packaging with a specific allergen list, or will issue a warning such as “may contain traces of nuts” or “made in a plant that contains traces of nuts” or “process shared equipment with nuts.”

However, it’s important to remember that not all manufacturers will be so cautious and transparent with their labels and packaging. Labelling requirements will be determined by the specific health regulatory systems within your area.

For ideas to pack into your child’s lunch box, you can always be safe with fruit and other grains. To help you create a complete Nut Free Zone, here’s a list of nut free alternatives for your school lunch box.

Fruit & Vegetables
apples, bananas, baby carrots, oranges, watermelons, cucumber, bell peppers grapes, strawberries, peaches, plums, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries and cantaloupe

Other Snack Options
cheese cubes + graham crackers, cheese + fruit kabobs, ham + cottage cheese lettuce wraps, yoghurt squeezes and frozen yoghurt tubs, raisins and dried fruit mixes, cereal and snacks, teddy grahams, fruit smoothies and protein shakes, carrot + celery sticks with hummus or tahini dips, homemade savoury muffins or fresh fruit mixed muffins, rice cakes with apple butter, kale hips and corn + tortilla chips with salsa.

> For alternatives when baking, you can explore grains such as quinoa and quinoa flour, pumpkin seeds, ground black beans, flax grain and chia seed flour and even organic tapioca starch.

> And if like me, you have kids that manage to only eat peanut butter, a great alternative is Sunbutter Sunflower Seed Butter. It has a thick, creamy, peanut buttery taste that will spread perfectly onto apple slices or onto crackers and keep your little ones satisfied.

>>How do you make a “nut free zone” for your lunch boxes?

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**This article was originally published in the September print issue of NYAN Magazine, c/o Nanny Shecando.