Sweethearts Candy Blog's

Back-to-school time is here and so I thought I would share some of my favorite resources for a safe, stylish and healthy year when you have a student with food allergies.

One big question is how to talk to the school and other parents about your child's food allergies. Beyond what you'll find here at The Nut-Free Mom Blog, I hope you will also check out author and food allergy advocate Linda Coss' excellent take on the subject with her article: Attack of the Peanut Butter Sandwiches.

Nut allergy mom and eco-friendly "Litter Free Lunch" entrepeneur Felice Farran is offering your kids a stylish and "green" way to bring their safe lunches to school with her current sale promotion "The ABCs of Going Litter Free".

And if you're wondering what to pack in your safe and eco-friendly lunch containers, why not place your order for nut-free, egg-free and dairy-free bakery goodies (like individually-wrapped cookies) from the Sweet Alexis Bakery? Sweet Alexis founder Michele Fellows offers the most tasty dairy-free, egg-free and nut-free baked goodies around and is currently offering some good deals. Please take a look and be prepared for some happy kids!

For moms who also want to bake at home, you definitely want to pick up a copy of The Food Allergy Mama's Nut-Free, Egg-Free and Dairy-Free Baking Book. Written by fellow Chicagoan and food allergy pal Kelly Rudnicki, this is a wonderful resource for moms who want to bake soul-satisfying treats for their kids. You can order the book from your favorite online book retailer or directly from Kelly's website. If you have been wondering what you can bake for a child with dairy, nut and/or egg allergies, wonder no more. From cookies to cakes, you'll find school-friendly treats that also work for daycare, playdates and class parties.

"Where can I find a nut-free bakery?" This frequent question is what inspired this blog post, so I hope you enjoy the following suggestions. I've talked about many of these before and you can find them in my "Nut-Free Foods" section of the blog, but since I seem to have a lot of new readers, I thought it was high time we had a nut-free bakery roundup. The list I've compiled is by no means representative of every bakery out there, but every one on list is a dedicated, nut-free bakery that I've personally shopped from or had recommended to me by trusted sources. All of the bakeries below are available for online order.

A couple of them are dairy-free and egg-free as well!

A & J Nut-Free Bakery. Nut-Free. Located in Rhode Island, this Italian-style bakery (yum!) is completely nut-free. They offer all types of baked goods including Valentine's Day themed goodies. I've had many good reviews from this bakery so give them a try. If you live in the area, lucky you--you can stop in.

Divvies. Egg-free, dairy-free, nut-free. This allergy-friendly sweet treat mecca offers baked goods such as cookies and cupcakes. Divvies treats are individually packaged and you may have seen them for sale in cafes and coffee shops. Some of their candies make great cake decorations, too. Check them out!

Little Rae's Nut-Free Bakery. Nut-free only. This Seattle-based bakery now offers Valentine's Day decorated shortbread cookies that look divine. I've ordered their cookies and they are delish. Plus, the people that work there are darn nice. The owner is himself allergic to peanuts so these people really get it.

O'My Goodness Bakery. Nut-free only. Located in Illinois, this bakery is nut-free and is dedicated to creating beautiful decorated cookies. Take a look at the site for their current selection of themed cookie treats.

Sweet Alexis Bakery. Nut-free, dairy-free, egg-free. Based in California, this wonderful bakery produces baked goods made with lots of love that taste absolutely delicious. Their quick breads are particularly good, but right now they're selling plain V-Day cookies perfect for cookie decorating parties. The owner is the mom of child with food allergies.

It's great to support these bakeries whenever possible. They provide the ultimate safe choice for the nut-allergic because they don't process any peanuts or tree nuts.

Be sure to tell them I sent you and please tell me what you think after ordering! I hope this gives all of you some great Valentine's Day ideas.