Review: Sweet Alexis (peanut, nut, dairy, and egg free) plus discount!

I received a package from Sweet Alexis, and what an amazing package it was!  It contained two decorated cookies, chocolate chip cookies, ginger cookies, pumpkin raisin bread, and banana bread.  All of their products are peanut, egg, dairy, and egg free!  Sweet Alexis was developed by a mom whose daughter, Alexis, has multiple “life threatening” food allergies to the following: All dairy products and derivatives of dairy, eggs, shellfish, all nuts, including tree nuts and peanuts, mustard and cherries.

She also has environmental allergies and is asthmatic. She is so severe that three separate doctors have refused to perform skin tests on her for fear that she would go into anaphylaxis.  These products are made by a mom who KNOWS all to well the battle of trying to keep our children safe from their allergens.  She has had a long, scary road, and battles every day to stay safe.  You can read her story here.

The first thing my girls wanted to tear into were the beautifully decorated cookies.  My one daughter loves pink, so she chose the Heart Cookie.  My other loves blue, so she chose the Patriotic cookie.  My girls said the cookies were so delicious!  They wouldn’t let me have a taste, so I have to take their word for it.

Chocolate chip cookies are my favorite, so I dug right into those.  I took a bite, and it was one of the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever tried!  I can honestly say, I have a new favorite cookie!  They truly are delicious!  They are soft and have large chocolate chips.  I hate to admit, but I gave my girls and hubby one to try, and ate the rest of the bag myself!  It took me three days to eat them, so luckily the bag is resealable.  They stayed fresh and soft, even after I opened the bag repeatedly.  My family agreed that these were some of the best chocolate chip cookies they have tried.  There will be people who say, they are just chocolate chip cookies, how good could they be?  Once you have had a Sweet Alexis chocolate chip cookie, all the rest will fail in comparison.

I am not a big fan of ginger cookies, and my husband is not a big fan of sweets, but he opened the bag, had one, and said, “Wow, these are good!”.  I tried one and he was right.  They are good!  They have just the right amount of ginger to make them taste good, but not be overwhelming.  The texture and consistency of the cookie is great too.  Both of my girls thought they were yummy too!  Both cookies were the perfect size, and tasted like fresh-baked homemade cookies!  I cannot say enough about how great these cookies are!

We then tried the breads!  Both were amazing.  The banana bread rivals my home-made banana bread. Both breads are soft and moist, and very tasty!  I love pumpkin, and never considered putting raisins in it, but it was really good and tasted like a spice bread.  The tops were soft, like when they are home-made.  I honestly, cannot find one thing bad to say about any of their products.  They were just downright GOOD!  I was amazed that they are peanut free, nut free, dairy free, AND egg free!  I would have never guessed.

Mother’s Day is right around the corner and Sweet Alexis is offering a 15% discount right now, promo code: spring13

Disclaimer: I was provided a with the above shown products, in exchange for my honest opinions of their products. I was not financially compensated in any way.  All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.

Review: Dr. Lucy’s Cookies

**I was provided free product in exchange for my opinions.  I was not financially compensated for this review. The opinions here are all my own and have not been swayed by a third-party.**

Who doesn’t love cookies?  I know my family does, but I also know that in order to keep them safe having cookies usually means quite a bit of work for me.  Not that I mind, of course.  But every now and then it would be nice to be able to go to the store and just grab some.  That is why I was so happy to find the Dr. Lucy company.  This company was started by a mom, who also happens to be an M.D.  She is a mom of a child with severe allergies and was always looking for safe foods that tasted great, but had a hard time finding them.  So, she created her own!  And they have a ton of great bonuses.  All her treats are made in their own carefully controlled bakery.  They are gluten free peanut free, tree nut free, milk free and egg free. Plus, they test for trace amounts of milk, egg, gluten, peanuts, almond, and hazelnut.  I love that they do all this, and I can feel confident that these are going to be safe for my family.  And, just when you think that these treats could not get any better, they are also certified vegan and verified non-GMO!

Just waiting to be eaten!

While I was super excited at how allergen free these were, I was a bit skeptical on how they would taste.  Based on past experiences, I know that a lot of times things that are so safe are often lacking in flavor.  Luckily, I was happy to find out that this was not anywhere near the case!

Cinnamon Thins

The first ones out of the package were the Cinnamon Thins.  They were fantastic!  Perfectly sized and a great texture!  We tried them first with a nice glass of Almond Milk and they held up great for dunking.  The kids were very fond of these.  I could not believe that these were free of so many allergens with how great they tasted!  They had the perfect amount of cinnamon and just the right amount of sweetness.   This package definitely did not last long in my house!  I will be buying some more of these.  These are going to be the perfect thing to use as a base for pies, with no worry!  While I have not done it yet, because we ran out of cookies, it is going to be very easy.  Toss the cookies in a zip top bag, smash them up ( let the kids help!) and then mix with a bit of melted butter and press into the bottom of your pie pan!  Look for a blog post in the near future with the complete recipe.

Ginger Snaps

Next came the Ginger Snap cookies.  Here again, I was a little hesitant, not being a huge fan of ginger.  Surprisingly thought, they were not at all overbearing, like other ginger items that I have tried.  They had a great ginger flavor, and just a bit of an underlying kick to the finish.  Nothing spicy, just a nice burst of flavor.  My daughter actually preferred these to the cinnamon thins.  My son also liked these, but he said the cinnamon ones were better.  My husband and I enjoyed these as well.  While I am still working on a recipe that incorporates the ginger snaps, my husband gave me a great pairing.  He had suggested pairing the ginger snaps with a nice cup of hot herbal tea.  I prefer Tulsi tea and so I made a cup last evening.  I sat down with my cup of tea and a couple of the ginger snaps.  What a great combination! A little dunking into the tea, a little nibble followed by a sip of the tea…anyway I paired them was fantastic.  These are a great way to wind down the day!

I would love for you guys to check out this company and see all of the other great products that they offer.  I can guarantee that we will be frequent purchasers!  Check them out on their website!  They are also on Facebook. I would also like to give my personal thanks to Dr. Lucy Gibney for taking on a great project and helping out all of us with allergic children!

Review & Giveaway: Skeeter Snacks (peanut & tree nut free)

Meet Skeeter!  He is a cute little squirrel with a nut allergy!  Poor Skeeter was feeling left out by his nut loving friends, so he came up with a nut free line of snacks!  His snacks were so good, all the other squirrels loved them too.  Skeeter Snacks maintains a strict allergen protocol, and all of their products are made in a nut free facility!  Their ingredients are carefully selected from suppliers meeting nut free standards.  PLUS Skeeter also employs batch testing to further assure that Skeeter Snacks are nut free.

Anyone who has a peanut allergic child knows how difficult it is to find peanut free cookies.  My girls love their cookies and milk, and there are so few choices out there that are safe when you have a nut allergy.  The makers of Skeeter Snacks deliberately narrowed their focus to peanut and tree nut free snacks so they could make a safe, yummy snack, that is affordable!  YES, a specialty cookie that is affordable!

Their cookies come in four varieties – Skeeter Doodle, Golden Oatmeal, Chocolate Chunk, and Chocolate 3. We were able to try all four delicious varieties. To try them for yourself, enter our giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

The first one we tried was Skeeter Doodle, which is Skeeter’s version of the Snickerdoodle.  They were so good.  They had a rich buttery taste with just the right blend of cinnamon and sugar.  It was love at first bite.  My girls loved them too and gave them two thumbs up!

The next one we tried was the Chocolate Chunk cookies.  They were equally as amazing.  They had a crunchy outside with a softer inside, and were full of chocolate chunks.  Forget those little bitty chips other cookies have.  My girls loved these too.  These are my younger daughter’s favorite!

Bean then chose the Golden Oatmeal cookies to try next.  These oatmeal cookies had a good mixture of oatmeal and raisins.  Move over grandma… these are almost as good!  My husband loves oatmeal raisin cookies, and he said these were right up there on the top of his list!

We then tried the Chocolate3.  It is a chocolate cookie, with chocolate chips, AND chocolate chunks.  I took one bite and swore I had died and gone to chocolate heaven.  These are a chocolate lovers dream!  I have found my all time favorite cookie.  My daughter, Bean, also said this cookie was her favorite.  Makes a momma proud!

You can check to see if Skeeter Snacks are available near by clicking here and using their store locator.  They are also available on Amazon!  Yummy snacks delivered right to your door!

The Skeeter Snacks website has a fun “For Kids” section, a “Resources” tab with great resources for peanut or nut allergies, and a “The Nut Problem” tab that discusses peanut and nut allergies.

If Skeeter’s on the package, you will know that the yummy snack inside is totally nut-free and made in a facility that is also totally nut-free!  Safe snacks for everyone to enjoy!!

Disclaimer: Skeeter Snacks provided me with a package of each of their cookies, in exchange for my honest opinions of their products.  I was not financially compensated in any way.  All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.

Friday – No Bake Chocolate Wowbutter Cookies

These No Bake Chocolate Wowbutter cookies have been a HUGE hit at my house.  They are super easy to make, and so very yummy!  It has to be one of my most favorite cookie recipes ever.

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 4 Tbs cocoa
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup Wowbutter
• 1 Tbs vanilla
• 3 cups oatmeal
• Waxed Paper

Directions

• In a large (big enough to fit all the ingredients) heavy saucepan add sugar, cocoa, butter, and milk.  Bring to a boil.  I cut up the butter so it doesn’t take as long to melt

• Let boil for 1 minute – it will seem to grow and get all bubbly

• Mix in Wowbutter, vanilla, & oatmeal.  It will get thick.
• On a sheet of waxed paper (I use a cookie sheet underneath), drop a heaping teaspoon of the mixture.

• Refrigerate about an hour before eating.  ENJOY!!

With Week of Wowbutter coming to an end, please be sure to enter our two giveaways for a case of Wowbutter.  You can enter on our Facebook page by clicking on the Giveaway tab, or you can enter a recipe on our blog by clicking HERE