Rice Krispies Treats Pumpkins- An Easy Allergy Free Halloween Treat for the whole Family

Aren’t these so cute?! You are going to love how easy this is and most importantly how FUN it is. You will definitely want to keep this recipe in mind for future Halloween parties. This recipe will include double instructions. One set for the adults and another for the kids. So while you’re busy at the stove, the kids are busy and happy and not wrapped around your legs 🙂 Yay! We love win-win situations!

Alright, so let’s get started with the most important info. The allergy info! This recipe is free of most allergens. It doesn’t need any hacks or hard-to-find ingredients. It’s free from the following common allergens:

• Peanut/ Tree Nut
• Dairy
• Fish/ Shellfish
• Gluten
• Eggs

THIS RECIPE DOES INCLUDE SOY. So if you or a loved one has a soy allergy, this recipe is not for you. (Sorry, soy allergy family!) If you’re not allergic to soy, read on and get ready to get cooking!

Ingredients

-6 cups of Kellog’s Gluten Free Rice Krispies (Make sure it says Gluten Free on the box!)

-4 cups of miniature marshmallows

-Black and Green icing pens

-Orange Food Coloring

-3 tbsp of Earth Balance buttery spread (or whatever your fav dairy-free spread is)

You will also need:

– 1 Large Bowl

-1 3D Pumpkin Mold

-Wax Paper or Foil

1. Adults: Prepare the work space. Clean the pumpkin mold and have the ingredients handy and pre-measured for your little helpers.

    Kids: Wash your hands, roll up your sleeves and put on your apron if you have one. Pour your Rice Krispies cereal into the large bowl.

2.  Adults: Melt 3 Tbsp of ‘butter’ over low heat in a medium saucepan. When the butter is melted, add your marshmallows and stir constantly until the marshmallows are

completely melted. Remove from heat and stir in a few drops of your orange food coloring. (Do one at a time, until you get a bright orange color) Pour your

mixture into the bowl over your cereal and mix until your mixture is evenly coated. Let the mixture sit for about 5 mins or so while you check out the ideas the

kids came up with.

    Kids: Think about what faces you want your pumpkins to have. Sketch some ideas on paper with your favorite crayons, colored pencils or markers.

3. Adults/Kids: Press a small handful of your mixture into your mold, put your wax paper or foil over the mold and flip. Lift the mold to reveal your pumpkin! Repeat this

step until you run out of your mixture.

*Tip: It helps to spray your hands and the mold with cooking spray or coat them both with a little bit of the buttery spread you used.*

4. Adults/Kids: Decorate your pumpkins will spooky or silly faces. Have fun!

These are the sketches we came up with. Mine is the one with the sunglasses B-)

A few of our pumpkin faces for inspiration

Enjoy! Have a safe and super fun Halloween!

Ana-Fa-Whatsit?!

So you find out you or a loved one has a food allergy. Then, in a serious tone, someone tells you about this flying, spaghetti monster sounding thing that happens when they eat peanut butter (or whatever it is in your case). This thing is probably Anaphylaxis. I would love to tell you that it’s not as scary as it sounds, but it’s actually much scarier than you think.

Anaphylaxis (An-uh-fill-ax-sis) is a life-threatening condition. If you’ve ever heard someone talk about their throat itching or swelling when they eat certain foods…Yeah, that’s probably anaphylaxis  too. In the movie Hitch, Will Smith’s character has a hilarious anaphylactic reaction to some shellfish he had while on a date. If you haven’t seen the movie, this is what he ended up looking like:

When it happened in the movie, it was definitely comical. Watching Will discover his grotesque new look, and then get wastey-pants from guzzling down a bottle of benadryl was easily one of the highlights of this romantic comedy. When it happened to my 9-month-old daughter, it was the total opposite. After eating some egg from a yummy, breakfast sandwich as treat from her Nana, she had an unexpected anaphylactic reaction. She pretty much ended up looking like hitch, but all over. Inside and out. This includes her organs and throat. Needless to say, she ended up in the emergency room. It all happened very fast, and we were very lucky she got help as fast as she did. She lost consciousness, her lips were blue, and she could have died. All because she had a piece of an egg mcmuffin.

Anaphylaxis is nothing to play around with, and food allergies are not fun.  However, they can be easily managed. Having a food allergy doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the taste of a pb&j sandwich or a birthday cake on your birthday. In fact, my daughter is almost 4-years-old and I haven’t had to use her EpiPen. EVER. (Thank, Goodness). That being said, if you’re interested in finding out more information on anaphylaxis, I highly recommend talking to an allergist. They can tell you everything you need to know about the food allergy you’re dealing with, how to use an EpiPen, what food names to look out for on ingredient labels, and what to do in case of an emergency. I also recommend you check out the Symptoms and Safety page here for more info on what to look for, what to do to avoid a dangerous food allergy, and what to do in case of an emergency.