Fruit and Seed Drops

Last week I went on a trip to the London Transport Museum with the boys and their class. I had to put together a packed lunch, which had to be relatively healthy and nut free. With many of my usual treats containing nuts I had to think of an alternative item to add to their lunch bags.

The easiest thing to adapt were the fruit drops, I could easily substitute the nuts for seeds. After some online research I discovered that most nut allergy sufferers can safely eat seeds (though this depends on the type of allergy they have).

So if you know anyone with a nut allergy, check that they are able to eat seeds before making these for them. In the meantime I'll be looking into alternative ingredients.

In this example I've adapted the Tropical Fruit Drops

Here's what you'll need:

3/4 cup each of dried mango and pineapple
1/2 cup of dried apricots
1/4 cup of oats
1/2 cup each of sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds
2-4 tsp of banana flavouring (to taste/enough for the mix to bind)

Here's what you'll need to do:

1. Add the dried fruit and whizz until they are also finely chopped (this stage could take a while)

2. Add the oats, seeds and banana flavouring and give it a final whizz.

3. Spoon into moulds or roll into balls and place in the fridge to set.

These will keep in an airtight container for a few days, longer in the fridge. I wrap mine in clingfilm before storing them away.

What recipes have you ever had to adjust to meet the dietary needs of others?

Correction: I realised that I forgot that I had also used oats instead of dessicated coconut. So if you read this post earlier, there has been a slight change.