Kids with dairy allergies and vegan children do not have to miss out on Easter Eggs and chocolate novelties; however, parents may gulp at the higher price tag compared to the "3 for £5" offers on Easter confectionary in discount stores.
Vegan Easter Eggs are not difficult to find, they are stocked in Health Food Shops and most large grocery stores. In the UK, Waitrose generally offers a choice of suitable dark chocolate Easter eggs and both Sainsbury and Tesco have some dairy free eggs on their shelves. Leave it to the last minute and they are likely to be sold out.
It is not simply a question of looking for dark chocolate as distinct from milk, not all dark chocolate is dairy free. Green & Blacks, Lindt and Bournville dark chocolate all contain dairy products. European stores such as Aldis can be a surprising source of good quality dark chocolate which is dairy free.
Buying Dairy Free Easter Eggs Online
The wide world of dairy-free, dark chocolate is within easy reach thanks to many dedicated chocolate websites. As noted above, it is necessary to check the ingredients.
Hotel Chocolate, which has a physical presence in many UK High Streets, have chocolate to suit many special dietary needs and an easy to navigate website. In 2011 they are offering up for Easter:
- Dark Tiddly Chicks 85 grams of 70% dark chocolate formed into eight little chicks, nothing can go wrong with an Easter treat like this, £5.
- Dark Chocolate Easter Eggspose, a plate of small eggs which would be more suited to teenagers and adults, £14.
- Seriously Dark Wrap Egg Sandwich, this 100 grams of chocolate look delicious. For serious chocolate lovers, again best for older kids and adults. The egg sandwich is a lovely play on words with a name that describes the item perfectly, even though the chocolate egg is on the outside, £8.
"Free From" Easter Eggs for Kids with Allergies & Food Intolerance
Kinnerton are one of the main suppliers of dairy free Easter eggs to the High Street. The company produce main stream chocolate products and "free-from" confectionary manufactured under strict conditions to eliminate the possibility of contamination, so the products will be suitable for those with serious allergies.
In 2011, as in previous years, Kinnerton's Vegan Easter Eggs feature either the Simpsons or Winney the Pooh. It is excellent that there is a company meeting the demand for special, seasonal chocolate but children who have out grown Pooh Bear and are not Simpsons' fans are missing out. Disappointment may be compounded for older kids because these eggs look quite small to a child of nine or ten, the very age when the quantity of eggs might be more important than the quality of the chocolate. These eggs for kids are available in Sainsbury's.
Kinnerton Dairy Free Eggs for adults are available in Tesco, where there is also own brand Finest Dark Chocolate eggs which are free of dairy products but may have been contaminated in the factory process. The Tesco Finest eggs are 2 for £5, and are ideal for repackaging in a childish bag.
Vegan Easter Eggs in Heath Food & Wholefood Shops
An obvious place to look is in independent stores selling specialist vegetarian food, which is the same place one would expect to find the truffles of Booja Booja, in the UK. This company produce luxurious, vegan chocolate truffles and Easter treats to match, so are very much for the grown-ups not the children.
D and D Chocolate, however, produce dairy and wheat free chocolate and carob products for all the family and their range includes a great selection of perfect vegan Easter Eggs. From their chocolate range among other items, there is 100g or 250g Easter Eggs at £5.24 and £10.99 respectively and 10 hollow 20g eggs are £7.88. There are carob Easter treats too.
Further choice may be on the shelves in the form of Moo Free, the Dairy Free "Milk" Chocolate Easter Egg. This brand intends to replicate that sweet and sticky experience of milk chocolate, which is so popular among the British but cannot be described as chocolate on the European continent because of the low cocoa content.
Easter food is not all about chocolate Easter eggs, so here is an article about more vegan Easter food.
Deborah Percy - BSc. MA. Managing Director of a heating & plumbing business. Interest in maths, science & research. Mother of 3, including twins.
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