Yes, Nut-Free Easter Chocolates for Your Nut-Allergic Kiddo Do Exist

Ever since my son was diagnosed with nut (and egg) allergies, I find myself thinking about all of the wonderful experiences—many of which I associate with my very happy childhood— he’ll have to miss out on.

Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter. Friends’ birthday parties. Ugh.

These are occasions I should be looking forward to, not dreading, but now each one is marred by the fact that our hearts will break a little each time we watch him watching all the other kids enjoying their treats—or worse, the fear that he will unknowingly eat something he shouldn’t have, and end up in the ER.

So when I heard about No Nuts About Us, an online shop that carries brands that are entirely free of peanuts and tree nuts, relieved doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt—I was absolutely thrilled. Especially considering Easter was coming up. I had been thinking (yet again) about all that fun my little guy wouldn’t get to experience—when suddenly, I had the opportunity to hop online to buy a load of Easter treats… just like all the other moms out there.

Sadly, the day before I was going to order a HUGE batch of goodies (you get free shipping on orders over $100, so why not stock up?), my son had a reaction to something he had just eaten. We still aren’t sure if it was a product that contained sunflower seeds/oil, or some blackberries. But seeing that the No Whey line of chocolates has sunflower oil in their ingredient list, I had to admit defeat: Looks like the Easter Bunny won’t be visiting our house this year. And since we aren’t seeing the allergist until May, we’re going with the old adage “it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

(Oh, well. At least I know where I’m buying my next batch of makeup. Not only was the Kiss Freely line created by a mom of a child with food allergies, it’s free from the top 8 allergens—and then some.)

So, if your child has a peanut or tree nut allergy and you’ve been wondering where to get your Easter stash this year, head on over to No Nuts About Us… before the Easter Bunny grabs them all. (No, but seriously, some of the chocolates are already out of stock, so get them before they’re all gone!)

Get to know Elly Ward, the mom behind No Nuts About Us

1. What made you decide to create No Nuts About Us?
The difficulty in locating safe foods that were organic and natural without travelling to multiple stores and shopping at multiple online stores was the main factor. If I was having difficulty sourcing many items, I was sure many other families were as well and I wanted to help fill that void.

2. Where are you based out of?
I am based out if Southampton, ON but since my store is online, I ship across Canada. Customers near Southampton can use the code localpickup to get free local pickup.

3. What was your biggest challenge when creating the No Nuts About Us shop?
The biggest challenge was deciding what to carry, how much to carry and what to charge. Without knowing what would sell, it was hard to make these decisions. Since food items have best before dates, I wanted to offer enough of a selection to start—without carrying too much and risk it becoming outdated. It’s also difficult to price items when I see them being sold for a significant discount at huge retailers. Unfortunately, small businesses like mine can’t order large quantities to receive a volume discount, which gives us a huge disadvantage; however, hopefully the variety of products is a plus for nut-free families as they can order pretty much everything they need in one spot.

4. Do you plan to carry more products in the future?
Definitely! I have a large list of products I plan to slowly add to the store. I already have some really great stuff in waiting, including granola, chocolate baking wafers, butterscotch chips, as well a some truly unique items that you won’t be able to get anywhere else in Canada.

5. Where do you source your nut-free products from?
Most of the items are Canadian. When something isn’t available from a Canadian manufacturer, I source it from the USA. Most items are sourced directly from the manufacturer; however, some are sourced from distributors.

6. Anything you’d like to say to families with food allergies?
Not only are all of the items from facilities that are free from peanuts and tree nuts, but most are also free of many other top allergens—as well as being gluten-free and vegan. A business like mine can’t survive without families like you. I still get excited when I receive an order and I look forward to serving more families and sourcing more nut-free products!

7. Any discounts for bulk orders?
Currently, I don’t offer a discount for bulk orders; however, my website has a sale section and I am looking into starting a loyalty program in the future. Also, there are no taxes or extra fees added during checkout—the price you see is the price you pay!