If there is one thing that the Easter Bunny should be I think that it should be 'all-inclusive' and thankfully, as times are changing the taste of that all-inclusiveness is getting better and better. Easter is definitely one of my favourite holidays because:
1, You don’t have to ‘behave’ to get your treats
2, It’s the one day where you are almost expected to have chocolate for breakfast (which is when it tastes best!)
3, I love yellow! And flowers and rabbits and baby chickens! And baby ducks too!! (I’m afraid that Easter makes me outrageously girly!)
4, You can get dairy free Easter Eggs in Dublin!
I also love that this is the first year that I have actually seen Chocolate free carob eggs (which happen to be sugar free too!)… and yes, even though I bought them for my mom I have already stolen one from the nest so I can testify that it is a truly tasty treat. Of course, like I have said before, carob is not chocolate, does not taste like chocolate and is an acquired taste but you should start working on acquiring it because it really is delicious when you get into it.
I know that Easter is still almost a month away but stock can move fast so I thought sooner rather than later wouldn't go astray! The strange thing I’ve noticed this year is that there is a shocking lack of eggs on the market so far... maybe they will come later, or possibly it's due to the recession?? The Hopsack in Rathmines is fully stocked but elsewhere the pickings are slim… so like I say, shop early if you want to be sure to get your allergy-friendly egg or bunny this year!
Now, down to business…
A few of the offerings in the land of Dublin with Food Allergies :
Montezuma’s Dark Chocolate Egg
A traditional egg wrapped in coloured foil and presented in a box. Montezuma do a few different varieties but only the dark chocolate egg is dairy free… and actually free of most things with ingredients of only cocoa solids, sugar and vanilla! Eggs are approx €8.55 and there are also a box of Cheeky Bunny bars available too for about €5.75. Montezuma chocolate is very rich and you should definitely like dark chocolate is this is your intended purchase. Both of these products also have a ‘may contain milk & nuts warning. The eggs are available in the Hopsack in Rathmines’ Swan Centre and the Bunny’s are available in both the Hopsack and Nourish.
www.montezumas.co.uk
- Dairy free (but has a may contain dairy traces warning)
- Egg free
- Vegan (listed as vegan despite warnings)
- Vegetarian
- Soya free
- Gluten free
- Wheat free
- Corn free
- GM free
- Organic
Siesta Carob Eggs
Hollow Easter Eggs made from carob with a few packaging options like a clear box with a ribbon, a cardboard box or a really sweet little tin with white ducks on it (shown in the title picture above). I love Siesta carob - yum yum!
www.danddchocolates.com
- Dairy free
- Sugar free
- Chocolate free
- Caffeine free
- Egg free
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- Wheat free
Dairy free Bunny Bar
A simple bunny shaped bar loosely wrapped in gold foil and presented in a flat box. A good substitute for milk chocolate.
www.humdinger-foods.co.uk
- Dairy free
- Egg free
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- Wheat free
Booja-Booja Hand-painted Eggs
These have been around for a few years now and they are positively beautiful, not to mention the class act of chocolate inside the hand-painted wooden eggs. However, I must admit to a bit of sheepishness on my part – I have never bought the hand-painted Easter eggs by Booja-Booja purely because of their hefty price tags (+€20 for the large egg and +€10 for the small) BUT I just found out this week that the wooden eggs are actually hand-painted in India AND –hold your scoffing – a portion of the proceeds go back to the families in India who do the painting… Well, that’s more worth it you might say. I might have to crack out the extra euros for such a cause…
www.boojabooja.com
- Dairy free
- Egg free
- Wheat free
- Gluten free
- Vegetarian
- GMO free
- Vegan
- Organic
Moo Free Egg
A new egg to Dublin this year is a very affordable traditional egg (approx. €4.95). Moo Free is not a luxury chocolate item. They are aimed directly at the mainstream (albeit dairy free) market. The chocolate tastes quite sweet but is very like most of the mainstream milk chocolate on the market and acts as a great substitue with closer prices to the mainstream milky versions as well!
www.moofreechocolates.com
- Dairy free
- Egg free
- Vegan
- Soya free
- Corn free
- Gluten free
- Wheat free
- Vegetarian
Green & Blacks
If you have been Dairy free or Vegan for a while you will probably know about the great upset of Green & Blacks and their ‘may contain milk’ and their added milk ingredients after they were bought out (huge disappointment for many) but if you don’t mind ‘may contain’ warnings then Nourish is stocking the Organic 'Maya' egg for about €7.95. It’s ingredients are cocoa mass, cocoa butter, sugar, soya lecithin, vanilla extract and flavourings fruit & spice extracts… but of course, like many products, this egg ‘may contain milk, nuts and cereals’
www.greenandblacks.com
- Dairy free (although contains warning)
- Wheat free (although contains warning)
- Corn free (although contains cereals warning)
- Organic
Pandora Bell
Oh, and just a little word on Pandora Bell, the Irish Confectionary company. In my family we LOVE Pandora if for their packaging alone! Some of their amazing nougat bars are dairy free (and have become an Easter tradition in our house)... but this year they have come up with the sweetest little thing ever: Praline Chocolate Easter Eggs in actual chicken’s eggs! – the white ones, which are just as picture perfect as Easter could get! Now, they’re not dairy free (SO Sadly) but they are just the most beautiful Easter egg on the market this year and they are
- Wheat free
- Gluten free
So honestly, if dairy is not an issue for you get thee a Pandora Egg because they are luxurious, Irish made and so so so beautiful all for about €2.95. I’ve bought one for my uncle this year and have great plans of swapping his morning egg on Easter Sunday for the chocolate version!
www.pandorabell.ie
Happy Easter Shopping!
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