Nut-free, Organic Snacks

1 Likes | 0 Dislikes

10 places recommended by LisaBorden

Expert Eco-Friendly

Created on Sep 28 2009

Living an organic life while dealing with nut & peanut allergies is quite the challenge! The list of safe snacks with that nut-free symbol are expanding - New Moon Kitchen Cookies, Mapleton's Ice Creams, Sha Sha breads & cookies & products like Sweets from the Earth are available at health food markets and via delivery companies like Mama Earth Organics. So read the label everytime & snack safely!

The Healthy Butcher

565 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON, M5V2B6

Rated this place:

posted Apr 12 2009

LIVE TO EAT on Eglinton!: What a pleasure it is to shop on Eglinton West at the Healthy Butcher. Even though their store name implies meat, they are my stop gap measure in between farmer's markets for local and organic fruits and veggies, fish, cheese, bread and eggs. In a very small store (compared to a grocery store), you can buy everything from safe cookware, spices, organic condiments + flours, delicious artisinal cheese and crackers (monforte sheep's cheddar and evelyn's crackers...yum!), the best popcorn (passion popcorn from Ontario) and lots of nut-free and organic products (if you haven't already tried Mapleton's Organic Cappuccino Ice Cream, you must!). The staff are absolutely wonderful and very accommodating for any special requests. Even though there is no "easy" parking, it's easy in and easy out (they will carry their groceries to your car)...and open 7 days per week. 2 other locations also...it's worth the drive.

Green Barn Farmers' Market

601 Christie St (Studio 181), Toronto, ON, M6G4C7

Rated this place:

posted Apr 12 2009

New and Neighbourhoodly!: This market recently moved to its permanent home at the Artscape Wychwood TTC Barns, in the covered street barn...what a fabulous space, indoors and out! You will find local, mostly organic and seasonal food here. You'll find the delicious flavours and rainbow of colours of local and organic produce here plus, honey, bread, cheese, fish and meats, grains, jams, syrup, wildcrafted foods, mushrooms, and lots of people to talk to! There is an area for kids to play and keep busy, although I encourage you to elt yur kids shop with you too...it's amazing that when they choose the foods, they will like to eat it...even kale!

Big Carrot Natural Food Market

348 Danforth Ave #209, Toronto, ON, M4K1N8

Rated this place:

posted Jul 5 2009

Alternative to Commercial Supermarkets: Aside from offering the finest selection in organic and healthy products, you'll find a full produce and meat department, a wholistic dispensary and a juice bar at the Carrot. The amazing thing is that The Big Carrot is a worker-co-op - their website currently claims that there are over 60 worker/owners. Which, in my opinion must be part of the reason that you can actually get great service here...and get questions answered. So, whether you can walk to shop along the Danforth (lucky you!), or if you need to drive a distance to get to the Carrot, it's worth it...consider it a diversion (like an outing to the museum or art gallery) where you will probably find at least one of your soon-to-be favoruite products, from lipstick and hairbrushes to potato chips and local potatoes, you'll find it all. They offer weekly specials and many classes and seminars, so check their website for complete up-to-date details. Of course, remember to bring your reusable bags.

Chocosol Traders

6 St. Joseph St., Toronto, ON

Rated this place:

posted Jul 19 2009

GUILT-FREE CHOCOLATE: If you've been to Toronto's farmer's markets, chances are you've sampled or purchased Chocosol's chocolate (if not, try them at dufferin grove, green barns, brickworks and more). They make chocolate "foods" not "candies" in an artisanal and environmentally manner. Chocosol spends the time to tell you the story of their chocolate, they support fair-trade practices, they are solar and pedal powered and their chocolate is very fresh. Very. The raw vanilla bean bars are outstanding. The Vanilla Amaranth chocoolate "pucks" that you can simply make into "drinking chocolate" with water are fabulous. You will swear that it's dairy based, as it's creamy and delicious, hot or cold, but it's healthy, raw and vegan. Supporting people and eating and drinking decadent healthy chocolate, makes it all guilt free! P.S. They use sugar cane based containers but bring your own packaging for an extra bonus!

Whole Foods Market

87 Avenue Rd., Toronto, ON, M5R3R9

Rated this place:

posted Aug 16 2009

small space with big selection!: Just because you are at Whole Foods, does not mean that everything in store is healthy - remember, you are your own best advocate and should read every label everytime and decide how the item got on shelf and where it's going after you put it in your cart! Having said this, you can find almost everything you need in this tight space (considering the vast selection). Bulk Foods aisle (take your reusable bags), phenomenal supplements and Whole Body sedction with phenomenal staff able to actually answer your questions, lots of baked goods (sha sha breads - sprouted, organic and nut-free selections) and the whole selection of Mapleton's and So Delicious ice creams (very important). The produce section is vast, but lots of conventional and from far away too...no excuse that this store shouldn't carry local and organic when it's actual in season! Get your gifts bought, reusable bags ( RuMe Bags in every size, colour and pattern), and plenty for each season including back to school, holiday, valentine's etc...they make it easy and get us to part with our green for their green! Watch out! :)

Wild Earth Bakery and Cafe

2142 Queen Street East

Rated this place:

posted Aug 23 2009

It's FREE here!: It's rare to find organic with vegan choices in a bakery that offers gluten-free and is entirely NUT-FREE! Although they have a location in Whitby (where they do all the daily baking) and now a location in the Beaches, for those who just want the thrill of eating someone else's baked goods at a reasonable price that taste great, here's the place to travel to. The space is anything but trendy and you wouldn't know that they are organic since they sell water in plastic disposable bottles and have individual Sweet and Low packets available beside their compostables! The chocolate cookie sandwich (buttercream centre) was fun and delicious and the vegan cinnamon biscotti was great. There were at least 20 different individual desserts to choose from in their display along with fresh breads, and other specialty items like gluten and sugar free ice cream cones, organic teas and pastas. With a little makeover, this spot will be beyond outstanding, and for now, it's supporting local and mostly organic and is nut-free...and that combo deserves a big round of applause!

Mama Earth Organics

1510 Birchmount Road, Scarborough, ON, M1P 2G6

Rated this place:

posted Sep 24 2009

Organics from the farm to your door: As someone who truly enjoys choosing my own produce, I have tried many delivery services and have been underwhelmed and at times even aggravated. Heather at Mama Earth was a pleasure to meet at the Vegetarian Food Fair and showed her passion and enthusiasm for "real" food. They offer a great online system, where, in addition to Ontario organic produce, and the produce that sadly doesn't grow here (read: citrus and bananas etc), you can order Millbank Cheeses, Glass MIlk Bottle service (hoping they add Hewitt's Organic Goat Milk!) and my personal favourite New Moon Kitchen cookies and granola (perfect school snack since it's also a nut-free line) among other goodies. My only complaint is that when the Field Cucumbers were not available, they swapped in for grapes plus included an Organic Chocolate Bar as an apology - a big one, and I ate the entire thing. oops. Hopefully the farmers will come through for me this week - i'm sure a whole cucumber is better for us than a chocolate bar!

Real Food for Real Kids

41 Dovercourt Road, Toronto, ON

Rated this place:

posted Sep 28 2009

Note: Of course RFRK is nut-free too!

Catering to Kids in a whole(some) way!: Toronto kids that are catered to by Real Food for Real Kids are really very lucky - they get to eat REAL food everyday at their daycare, school or camp made from whole, natural and organic ingredients - "fresh from scratch, every day". The RFRK Team is comprised of motivated people whose bottom line is driven by their honest and sincere desire to have children and their families understand that eating well means living well...and celebrating their real food habits! Check their website for details of the many programs their offer including their Lunch Clubs, Snack Pantry and soon to be Family Dinners and line of products in store. Now, these are the ABCs of healthy eating that we all need...how wonderful to be able to give such lessons and health to our children!

Sha Sha Organic Bakery

20 Plastics Avenue, Toronto, ON

Rated this place:

posted Sep 28 2009

Cookies you'll LOVE baked here!: Sha Sha is an artisanal bakery using fine and mostly organic ingredients to bake delicious breads, pizza crusts and cookies. Sha Sha clearly made the right choice when choosing heart shaped for their bite sized cookies - spelt ginger snaps are my favourite, but long for the day when they start to make their cocoa snaps with organic ingredients! Their Ezekial bread makes the greatest toast and is one of the key ingredient to my SB & F sandwich (substitute for the PB & J banned sandwich). You'll be thrilled to know that Sha Sha is a guaranteed nut-free facility...so, everything qualifies as a safe and healthy pantry staple!

Dufferin Grove Park

875 Dufferin St., Toronto, ON, M5H2N2

Rated this place:

posted Sep 28 2009

Now THIS is FOOD!: The Dufferin Grove Farmers Market is one of the original and one of the most vibrant organic markets in Toronto. Every Thursday, year round this is where to go to get your grocery shopping done, spend time with your own family and friends, connect with others who connect with their food and even have a snack or full dinner. Organic and nut-free ice cream by Mapleton's scooped and smiles abound! (try mint chip - no, it's NOT green ice cream...phewff!). And, don't forget to take your reusable bags, bottles to fill with organic olive oil, and recycle and bring back your produce and egg cartons...they can be used over and over again!

want to create a list?

yes, create list
  • Share your favourite places with others
  • Group your reviews into topical themes
  • Become an editor of your own reviews

categories

neighborhoods

community activity