SuperBowl parties have become America's biggest occasion. This means trying to figure out how to keep your child or perhaps yourself away from the peanuts found in so many snack foods. Here are some tips for peanut-free superbowl snacks. We hope that you find them useful, if not downright enjoyable!
Read Those Labels!
Make sure you read labels and that your child, if old enough, is taught to read them as well. If you're at someone else's party this might be a good way to keep your children busy for a while. Younger children will probably take pride in being able to identify specific ingredients on a label. Federal law mandates that peanuts and tree nuts must be clearly identified on food labels so the information should be there along with a label that states if the product was manufactured in a facility that also processes nuts. Of course, if you aren't sure, then don't buy.
Crunchy Snacks
Wheat Nuts® have the texture and crunch of nuts and are 100% nut-free. Kids will like the nutty sweetness and adults will find additional reasons to love Wheat Nuts: they have no trans fats, are low in carbs and are a great source of Vitamin E, an antioxidant.
Caramel popcorn is a great option for a sweet snack. Almost everyone loves it and it can be served without appearing to be some 'weird' type of food. It's especially important to read the label on caramel popcorn and other flavored popcorn because of the risk of cross contamination. But there a several reliable manufacturers of nut-free popcorn snacks. Find a brand that works for you and stick with it.
Bagel chips are always popular and can be used for dips. If you eat bagels at home you can even make them yourself by slicing bagels thin and throwing them into the toaster oven or under the broiler. Before putting them into the heat, brush on some oil and salt for extra flavor.
And how about rice cakes? These might work better for adults than children. They are somewhat tasteless on their own but you can spread almost anything on top of them. They are an extremely healthy snack - low cal, no cholesterol, no processed flour and high in fiber. Some kids really go for rice cakes, especially if they are topped with something that they like such as cream cheese and jam. Give them a try and see how it goes. As always, make sure to read the labels.
Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables aren't the first thing you might think of eating during a football game but I'll be that there was a crudité plate at the last Superbowl party you attended. In addition to the carrots and celery, apples and grapes make great snacks.
Fruit leather (a.k.a. fruit roll-ups) is a good option as well. Most youngsters regard fruit leather as a sweet treat, not as fruit. Same goes for dried fruits such as raisins and apricots. A lot of stores now carry a wide variety of dried fruits such as mango, cherries, papaya and pineapple. Chances are that one of these will be a big hit with many children.
We hope that your team wins and if you have more suggestions, please drop us a line.
