Sometimes during a busy week or month, I’ll suddenly come to the realization I am eating mostly processed foods and pre-made type meals. When this happens, I will purposefully revert back to eating more fresh produce and limited ingredient (preferably whole) products. The truth is, my body and mind feel better when I do.

Since I have a life-threatening peanut allergy, I’ve found that with fresh fruits and vegetables I’m able to worry less about the allergen cross-contact, since there are no facilities or shared lines when “making” them. I wash and scrub them really well, and voila! Perhaps a blessing in disguise, having food allergies sets you up perfectly for food experiments in your kitchen!

Who says your snacks have to look like others? Embrace the unique you!

Since you may not be able to eat what they are eating, if you have the time, you can go all out in making new creations. There are no limits to creativity. Experimenting with different ingredients can be really fun if you aren’t afraid to make mistakes. (Sometimes combining flavors just does not work out, no matter how much you want them to.) Overall, fresh food is an incredibly forgiving medium and with its bright colors, is easy to turn into a work of art! In this act of getting back to whole ingredients and fresh foods, I’ve accidentally, but also happily, stumbled across a few simple snacks that bring me so much joy that I wanted to share them with others. 

Childhood Snack Nostalgia: My Favorite Childhood Snacks Reimagined

There’s a certain nostalgia for my childhood when I think about the snacks I’ll be sharing here in this blog post. And hey, if you find that you want to arrange these snacks into the shape of a smiley face on your plate, like I sometimes do, all the more power to you! Happy food = happy belly! I invite you to have fun with your food this month, and I hope these ideas spark some joy in you and your family:

1. Raspberry-Chocolate Bites 

Anyone else find raspberries adorable, or is it just me? Pick up a fresh raspberry in one hand, and a safe allergen-free chocolate chip in the other, and put the two together, my friend! These cute and easy snacks always leave me smiling and savoring each burst of a bite! Take a moment to admire how the raspberry perfectly hugs the chocolate chip, and it almost never seems to fall out, meaning, you can take this snack out and about with you easily. While they won’t keep long if the temperatures are high, I’ve never had a problem since I’ve usually eaten half my bowl of them before I’ve even gotten out my front door! 

2. “Ants on a Log”

Ah yes, the classic ants on a log is here, but with a few new versions! This is a yummy, naturally sweet snack that feels decadent with any allergen-safe nut butter substitute. You can do this recipe a few ways – using the classic celery, apple slices (cut to be wide) or I recently started exploring medjool dates and have found them to be extremely delicious. Cut the celery/apple/or dates to size and fill with your nut butter alternative of choice. Try to not overfill, but make sure there’s enough in them that you’ll taste it. Enjoy as-is, or take a moment to artfully top these with raisins, cut-up prunes, and if you want a sweeter option, you could also drizzle with honey, add toasted coconut flakes, or allergen-free chocolate chips.

3. Bell Pepper Pizza Bites

Yum yum yum! Once you try these, you won’t want to go back to a standard crust. Halve and core a couple bell peppers of any color, so that they can be used as a little vessel to hold your toppings. Add a few spoonfuls of marinara sauce, or sliced tomato, and fill with your cheese of choice. You can also leave them without cheese if you don’t do dairy. 

Next, top your mini pizzas with any desired additional ingredients (look below for some ideas) and bake for 10-15 minutes at 375°F, watching closely depending on how many ingredients you used. Remove when the peppers are still crisp but getting tender, and the cheese is fully melted. If you went cheeseless, a favorite topping of mine to sprinkle on the fully-cooked pizza is nutritional yeast. 

For the toppings, I like to go veggie heavy and top with any green veggies I have like broccoli, finely chopped kale, and thinly sliced zucchini (be sure to pat the zucchini slices to get out any extra moisture). If you like goat cheese, you can add it along with thinly sliced potato and beets, in addition to your regular cheese of choice! If you eat meat, you can top these pizza bites with pepperoni or sausage as usual! Maybe you want to have these mini pizzas with a kale and beet side salad? There are no rules!

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This blog post was originally written by Invisibly Allergic for the Food Equality Initiative (FEI) and was featured in their Free-From Magazine. It’s since been updated for the Invisibly Allergic Blog.