Tuesday 15 March 2016

Dairy Free Easter Treats

So the (now) traditional 'this is where to get your dairy free Easter egg' post has been up on the blog for some while, this post is a bit of a follow-up really - where to get some other bits and pieces that may come in handy!

Easter Egg Hunts:

I'm kicking off with these fab mini eggs from D & D chocolates. They are dairy free, gluten free and nut free. They are only available online at the mo. Being foil-wrapped, they are all good to go. However, you have to get your skates on to get these, as they may sell out fairly quickly. There are other dairy free treats available on their site though. To see their range, click here!

We love these!

Ingredients:
Cocoa Mass, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Emulsifier: Sunflower Lecithin, Vanilla. 

Allergy Advice: May contain traces of soya. Made in a nut free environment.



These Plamil Dairy Free Chocolate Halves, are great slipped into plastic eggs from Poundland:


Great for egg hunts!

They are also gluten free, Vegan and nut free, and made without soya, but 'may contain soya'). You can buy them from Holland and Barrett (currently buy one, get one half price). If your Holland and Barrett don't stock them, you can now order them online and have them delivered to your local store.

Ingredients:
Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Rice Powder, Rice Syrup, Rice Starch, Rice Flour, Cocoa Mass. Emulsifier: Sunflower Lecithin.

Allergy Advice: May contain soya.

Plamil also these chocolate bunnies; both of which you can buy at Holland and Barrett. Why two? Well the one on the right has the same ingredients as the chocolate egg halves, whereas the one on the left is made under their 'Lots of this, None of that' label. Lots of This, None of That is made completely soya free.

Similar but different!
Lots of This, none of That ingredients:
Cocoa butter, Sugar, Rice Powder (rice syrup powder, rice starch, rice flour), Cocoa Mass, Chicory Root Extract. Emulsifier: Sunflower Lecithin.


Choices also make chocolate bunnies that you can find easily in the main supermarkets (Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's). There are two to choose from, one white, one dairy free 'milk chocolate'. 


99p in Asda!
Prices vary from store to store, but generally they are priced around £1 each. Choices chocolate is dairy, gluten and egg free but made with soya lecithin.


Haribo



Such fun!

Haribo make these great sweets in mini packs. They are dairy free, gluen free and nut soya free. You can buy a multipack like this, or even a bucket of them if you wish, in places like Tesco and Waitrose.

Ingredients:
Glucose Syrup; Sugar; Gelatine; Dextrose; Citric Acid; flavouring fruit and plant concentrates: apple, aronia, blackcurrant, elderberry, grape, kiwi, lemon, mango, orange, passion fruit, safflower, spirulina; Glazing Agents: beeswax, caranuba wax; Caramelised Sugar Syrup; Elderberry Extract.




Cake Decoration:

You may have seen Easter nests appearing in cafes, or local schools and play groups may be making them and you may wonder how to make them yourself (in which case click here) or how to replace those eggs on the top. These mini eggs from Waitrose could be your answer!


A little larger than Cadbury mini eggs!

OK, so they're a little larger than your Cadbury mini eggs, that other people use on theirs, but hey, they're better than nothing!

The ones on the left are basically like jelly beans (also an acceptable alternative, although make sure you read ingredients labels carefully, some contain milk etc.). 

Point to note, for Vegans, these eggs are not Vegan.

Ingredients: 
Sugar, *wheat glucose syrup, thickener gum arabic, gelling agent pectin, acidity regulators citric acid and trisodium citrate, flavourings apricot, orange, pear, pineapple and raspberry, glazing agents beeswax, white and yellow and shellac, colours beta-carotene, chorophyllins, cochineal, riboflavin and vegetable carbon. 

Allergy Advice: May contain nuts and peanuts.
*Wheat glucose syrup is technically gluten free, due to way it is manufactured.


The eggs on the left are made with marzipan, so no good for the nut allergic, I'm afraid!

Ingredients:
Sugar, Marzipan (almonds, sugar, water invert sugar syrup), rice starch, wheat glucose syrup, alcohol, thickener gum arabic, colours chorophyllins and plain caramel, pork gelatine, invert sugar syrup, invertase, glazing agent coconut oil

Allergy Advice: Almonds. May also contain other nuts and peanuts.


One other option for those okay with traces are these (follow this link) from Carluccio's. Made without dairy, wheat, nuts etc. They are made with soya lecithin and may contain milk, gluten, and nuts. Thanks Nia (@ChubbaNia on Twitter) for the head's-up!!



Other Easter Treats:

Not to be missed out, we also love these mini chicks by Cocoa Libre. You can buy them from Holland and Barrett.


Cute!
These are dairy and gluten free. 

Ingredients:
Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Rice Powder (rice syrup, rice flour) Dietary Fibre (inulin), Emulsifier: Soya Lecithin, Natural Vanilla Flavouring, Natural Cocoa Flavouring.


Bassett's Jelly Bunnies

These cute bunnies, by the makers of Jelly Babies are hard to resist. Available in most supermarkets, they're dairy and soya free, but watch out if gluten free or allergic to wheat - they may contain wheat! Also not suitable for Vegans and Vegetarians.


Another alternative!

Ingredients:
Sugar, Glucose Syrup(contains sulphites), Water, Bovine Gelatine, Concentrated Fruit Juices (apple, lime, orange, strawberry, blackcurrant, lemon, raspberry), citric acid flavourings, Colours (anthocyanins, vegetable carbon, paprika extract, lutein), concentrated vegetable extract (spinach, stinging nettle, tumeric).

Allergy Advice: 
Contians Sulphites. May contain wheat.


This list is not exhaustive, there are online sites that may be able to provide other treats, but many have a last date for ordering. For a list of these, check out this post (the list is near the bottom).


Please note: 
This post is not an advert. I have not been paid to write this post. I am not sponsored in any way, even by advertising. I do not receive products free to review, although I have often been offered them. This is to try and maintain an unbiased approach. All views expressed are my own (unless I've asked for The Hub's or Kiddo's).


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