Talking Allergies

My 3 year old son has a peanut allergy, and his daycare wants to buy and decorate gingerbread houses. Has anyone looked into this already, and have some suggestions?
Cynthia

Hi Cynthia,

I have been looking for a commercial gingerbread house kit and can't find one that is peanut/nut free, so I think I'm going to have to go "Martha Stewarty" on that one . I found a recipe, template, instructions and even a really funny video to demonstrate at:

http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml ... =ns2006_m1

A little more work but it's so pretty!

Are you in Canada? Dare is making really pretty Christmas coloured jelly beans and mints. I found them at Zellers and Walmart. Along with Allan candy canes, and perhaps Smarties, it would make a really pretty house.

Good luck!

P.S. We should have a competition and post pictures of our houses on line!!!

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15 year old - asthmatic, allergic to cats, dogs, horses, waiting to be "officially" diagnosed for anaphylaxis
12 year old - asthmatic, allergic to tree pollen and mold, OAS
Husband - Allergic to amoxycillin
Self - Allergic to housework only

Check out some of the Create-A-Treat things. http://www.createatreat.com/

I bought the giant snowman & tree gingerbread cookies for my daughter to decorate, called the company and they were ok. The customer rep I spoke to did mention that some of their products "may contain" because of the candies that are included. I found them at Superstore. Might be worth looking into.

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4ye old DD allergic to sesame, peanut, raw egg , and mulitple environmental & seasonal allergies

2 yr old DS -no known allergies!

I've also seen Wilton gingerbread house kits - but I just called and while there are no peanuts or nuts in the products, there are peanuts and nuts in the plant, which for me means there is a risk of cross-contamination (and the customer service rep said as much on the phone).

Just in case you wanted to see what they look like, see http://tinyurl.com/9wm2s for pictures of the kits.

Something else that I thought of doing was using Rice Krispie treats to make the walls and such. Would that be an option?

Possible safe candies (from a peanut/nut perspective - but always read the label) would be:
-Dare candies
-Kerr candies
-Smarties
-LifeSavers
-Kellogg Fruit Snacks
-Skittles
-Starburst
-Sweet tarts
-Tootsie Rolls
-Tootsie Pops
-Wonka Nerds
-Twizzlers
-Mike & Ike and similar (see my post at http://www.allergicliving.com/forum/vie ... php?t=1655 for Just Born candies info)
-Graham crackers for the roof

K.

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Karen, proud Mom of
- DS1 (12 yrs): allergic to cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, potatoes, some legumes, some fish, pumpkin seeds; OAS
- DS2 (1o yrs): ana. to dairy, eggs, peanuts; asthma

Nicole - that's a great idea! If any of us find the time let's do that...!

K.

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Karen, proud Mom of
- DS1 (12 yrs): allergic to cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, potatoes, some legumes, some fish, pumpkin seeds; OAS
- DS2 (1o yrs): ana. to dairy, eggs, peanuts; asthma

I think the Rice Krispies idea would work. I'm also trying to think of square or rectangular (flat) safe cookies that could be held together with icing... I don't think Dare makes any. ??

My question with gingerbread houses has always been, what to use for icing, that has no eggs?
Traditional royal icing has it, and I've never been sure what to use for a substitution that would dry nice and hard like it does?

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1 son allergic to eggs, peanuts, green peas, chick peas, lentils and tomatoes
(avoiding tree nuts and most other legumes too)
1 son allergic to eggs, and has outgrown peanuts
Both with many environmental allergies, asthma and eczema

I googled "eggless royal icing" and got:

http://www.wilton.com/forums/messagevie ... adid=69501

http://www.recipelink.com/mf/21/6099

Thanks ethansmom . I had also googled and found similar recipes, just wondering if anyone had anything "tried and true", before I started experimenting.
We tried a recipe similar to the one found in the 2nd link one year, and the results left a little to be desired (didn't set hard enough)...but maybe the other recipe that uses gelatin to replace the egg?

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1 son allergic to eggs, peanuts, green peas, chick peas, lentils and tomatoes
(avoiding tree nuts and most other legumes too)
1 son allergic to eggs, and has outgrown peanuts
Both with many environmental allergies, asthma and eczema

Last night I hit the motherload.

1. An OASG member brought in a cute little gingerbread train kit from Create-A-Treat that cost all of $9.99. She bought it at the Independent Grocer in Ottawa (Meadowvale and Merivale). Looked really nice and is peanut- and nut-free. (She called.)

2. At Bulk Barn on Merivale near Baseline (in Ottawa) I found Liberty Royal Icing Mix that is egg-free. A friend has bought it before and I think it works fine. (She's avoiding dairy, eggs, peanuts, nuts and sesame seeds and I trust her vigilance and company calling skills.)

It comes in a 425 g bag. It's a powder that you mix with water. Ingredients are icing sugar and soya protein.

I will let you know it works.

K.

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Karen, proud Mom of
- DS1 (12 yrs): allergic to cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, potatoes, some legumes, some fish, pumpkin seeds; OAS
- DS2 (1o yrs): ana. to dairy, eggs, peanuts; asthma

Could you not use Graham crackers?

K.

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Karen, proud Mom of
- DS1 (12 yrs): allergic to cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, potatoes, some legumes, some fish, pumpkin seeds; OAS
- DS2 (1o yrs): ana. to dairy, eggs, peanuts; asthma

Karen, The Epi-Men must be excited.

What a mom!

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Allergic to soy, peanut, shellfish, penicillin

Yes Karen -- graham crackers would work well! Just after I posted I read another thread where Susan suggested that too.
It's too funny that you mention the gingerbread train, just this evening I was at Loblaws and saw it ($9.99 too). The label listed an allergen alert for soy and sulphites.

I was going to pick up a Wilton kit, I didn't see a warning for peanuts listed anywhere. Has anyone used them and hoad no problems? Or should I just look at making one from scratch>?

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ds 6: ana to peanuts and fish, cats, dogs, horses, rabbits, many environmental
dd 12: reacted to pork rinds
dh: brazil nuts
me: shrimp, mangos, environmental

We made the Gingerbread train this weekend!
She had so much fun. The kit came with a plastic base with grooves that held the cookie pieces upright. It was perfect.

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Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: allergies to some tree that flowers in May
Cat: allergic to beef, pork and lamb