Healthy Ideas for After-Game Snacks

Back to school means having healthy snacks ready to go.

When it is your turn to take snacks for the team after the game, you want to be sure to take only healthy foods.

It is important to consider that some players may have a peanut allergy or another food allergy that could result in a dangerous allergic reaction if they eat certain foods.

It is easy enough to prepare wholesome foods that do not contain peanuts and the other seven foods that cause the most food allergies. The list published by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the eight major allergens is: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat.

The easiest way to avoid these allergens is to not buy anything that is already prepared at a restaurant, deli or supermarket. You can make vegetable trays or fruit trays and your own dipping sauces for them. Skip the ranch dressing and opt for Italian instead. Buy a seasoning pack and add olive oil and vinegar to it to make the dressing.

Fruit Dip

If you want a dipable treat for the fruit tray, you can put some marshmallow fluff in a small serving bowl. Mix in one-half teaspoon of light olive oil and mix until the marshmallow fluff is a smooth, thinner consistency for dipping. Add a few more drops of oil if it is still too thick and sticky.

Allergen-Free Nachos

Another idea is to serve allergen-free nacho chips and "cheese" sauce or salsa. Both brick-and-mortar health food stores and online sites sell a wide range of allergy-free foods. If you plan ahead, you will have adequate time to look for gluten-free and corn-free nachos. There are recipes for "cheese sauces" that have no cheese in them. Lemon juice gives the "cheese" zing just like real cheddar. Salsa can be made in minutes in your food processor by combining tomatoes, red onions, salt, pepper, cilantro and hot peppers.

Turkey Roll-Ups

Making snacks look appealing is the secret to inviting your guests to try your allergen-free snacks. If you are preparing turkey roll-ups for children or teens, you may want to use gluten-free burrito wraps instead of spinach leaves or lettuce leaves to wrap turkey in for adults. All that you need to do is to put gluten-free, egg-free mayonnaise on the burrito shell. Place a slice of deli turkey on the shell and add a few pieces of lettuce or spinach, plus red peppers cut into thin slices on top of the turkey. Roll up the shell and cut the roll-up into small slices. These colorful snacks are sure to be a hit with everyone.

Substitutes for baking cookies and sweets

When you want to avoid dairy products like butter, you can substitute 3/4 cup of applesauce for 1 cup of butter in a cookie or cake recipe. Eight tablespoons of olive oil or coconut oil can also be substituted for butter.

You can follow the directions of how to substitute gluten-free flour on the bag and bake treats with it to avoid wheat.

Sunflower seed cookies are a big hit when you substitute sunflower seed spread to make peanut butter cookies with gluten-free flour and butter substitute.

Read all food labels before preparing these foods to be sure that they do not contain milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy or wheat. That way, you will be sure that you are serving allergen-free foods to the team.