It’s not our imaginations – the number of people with food allergies is somehow increasing daily. In fact, the Food Allergy Research and Education Organization estimates that up to 15 million Americans now have food allergies, affecting 1 in every 13 children in the US! The CDC estimates that food allergies among children increased approximately 50% between 1997 and 2011. Crazy, right? The FDA identifies 8 common foods which account for 90% of all food allergic reactions in the US: dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, wheat, fish, and shellfish.
Though I’m fortunate that no one in my immediate family has a food allergy or intolerance (at least that we know of!), I know so many people do. Which is why I’m excited to tell you in today’s sponsored post about a fabulous brand that offers many different allergy-friendly options.
Enjoy Life Foods is our personal favorite when it comes to chocolate chips or baking chocolate for our special weekly treat. I used them for years before they ever became a sponsor. I especially like using them when entertaining, so everyone can indulge (despite the array of possible food allergies!).
We love their Chocolate Mega Chunks, their Mini Morsels, and also their Dark Chocolate Morsels and have used them in a wide variety of treats including my 5 Minute Fudge Brownies, Peanut Butter Dessert Bars, and Homemade Mint Chocolate Chip Marshmallows. I even used them in a chocolate fountain for our Halloween party one year. Getting hungry yet? And sometimes I’ll just eat their chocolate chips plain or on a spoonful of almond butter or peanut butter. Do I really need to give you more ways to eat and love chocolate? :)
We’re also fans of Enjoy Life’s 100% whole-grain Crunchy Flax Cereal, which I love to use in our dee-licious homemade No-Bake Peanut Butter Oat Bars. Seriously, these things are dangerous. What we really like about all these options though (aside from their yumminess!) is that they have minimal real food ingredients, especially their chocolate products. They contain only what chocolate is supposed to contain. No extra junky additives like most big brands (just take a look at their ingredient labels and you’ll see exactly what I mean).
So today I’m excited to share this easy recipe that I had a lot of fun making with my 10-year-old. Enjoy Life Foods came up with the idea for these Rainbow Bites (shared below), and honestly, the best part is that you can make as many or as few as you want! All you need is a bag of their Dark Chocolate Morsels (or chips) and assorted dried fruits and seeds. It doesn’t get much easier than that! Enjoy :)
Those with food allergies will appreciate that Enjoy Life’s products are free from*:
- Peanuts
- Tree nuts
- Soy
- Wheat
- Dairy
- Egg
- Fish
- Shellfish
- Casein
- Potato
- Sesame
- Sulfites
Ingredients
- 1 bag dark chocolate morsels, Enjoy Life Foods
- dried fruit, assorted
- seeds, assorted
Instructions
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Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Melt the chocolate in a small pot over very low heat while stirring constantly. Alternatively, you can place the chocolate in a microwave-safe glass measuring cup. Microwave for 60 seconds and then stir. Microwave for another 30 seconds, and then stir again to completely melt the chocolate.
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Use a spoon to make small rounds of chocolate on the parchment paper. Let the chocolate fall from the spoon and it will naturally form a round shape. Immediately sprinkle the top of each chocolate round with an assortment of diced dried fruits and seeds while the chocolate is still hot.
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Put the baking sheet in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour until the Rainbow Bites are firm. Then serve and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
*Be sure to check each product to ensure allergen-free ingredients. The products I’ve included in this post have none of the allergens listed above.
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I love Enjoy Life Chocolate! Even though we don’t have allergies in our house, we use them because they don’t have sketchy ingredients. :)
These would be *great* for holiday treats!
I look forward to trying this recipe . . . would you give a list of some of the dried fruits and toppings you used in this recipe?
Hi there. Here are some of the ingredients you might see: sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds (pepitas), sunflower seeds, dried berries, raisins, pineapple and coconut. You could add and subtract items based on your preferences and needs. Chia and flax seeds would be good additions, too.
Do have any good suggestions of where to find dried fruits without added sugar? The only ones I have been able to find at my grocery store are raisins and dates.
Made In Nature is a brand that I use. They have a good variety.
Debbie, my company, Thrive Life, sells freeze dried fruit with no added sugar. Check out our website at http://www.Thrivelife.com/healthy cooking. They would be a great addition to these bars plus we are having a phenomenal Black Friday sale starting Wednesday.
These could be even easier by using ELF fruit and seed mixes. I’ve made something similar issuing both the mountain mamba and beach bash mixes.
These are SO pretty and look delicious. We love Enjoy Life chocolate since my son has food allergies, so I appreciate seeing a fun recipe like this using one of our favorite brands! Happy Tday!
My 6 year old is gluten and dairy sensitive. He would love to make these!
We like Enjoy Life and we use their products often.
WOW. Those are beautiful.
These look yummy! I’m always on the lookout for less junky chocolates, and I’ve found quite a few in bar form (I love Alter Eco) but I eat chocolate chips as my go-to chocolate, actually. Like as I was reading this post, as a matter of fact.
“What we really like about all these options though (aside from their yumminess!) is that they have minimal real food ingredients, especially their chocolate products.”
–However, I definitely read “minimal” here as “very few” and I’m guessing the sentence started out with “minimal additives” or something maybe??
Hi there. Lisa’s comment was relevant to the 5 or less ingredient real food rules. ;)
These are the BEST treats! We have dairy allergy in our family so finding milk-free chocolate is a bonus!
Mmm, you had me at the chocolate! I don’t know anyone in my family that has any allergies, either, but its a great recipe for large gatherings where someone might.