Maleficent Movie Snacks - dye-gluten-dairy- and (mostly) nut-free

 

Every month, AMC Theatres shows a Sensory Friendly viewing of a current kids movie. Z used to be scared of the dark theaters, and the soundtrack was always too loud for the both of us, so these were the perfect solution! And you're allowed to bring your own snacks to accommodate dietary restrictions. Plus they're great in general for littler kids who have a harder time sitting still and staying quiet for so long. I call them "Toddler Friendly" showings!

5/31/14 - The May Sensory Friendly Film was Maleficent, which I was worried would be too scary for Z, but a friend had just seen it with her kids and said it was wonderful and shouldn't be scary for my kiddo, so we went. I'm so glad we did! E had gym class with Dadda, but I don't think she would have been scared either. We did miss the beginning though. But by the time the big dragon fight came at the end, you knew those characters were friendly, and it wasn't so scary after all! And I loved the messages of the plot. Hatred and revenge only hurt you in the end, and it's never too late to try and make amends and make better choices. Both very appropriate lessons for my particular child! And like the lessons from Frozen, Love at First Sight isn't the magical solution, and True Love comes in many forms!

Mama's Maleficent Snack

Organic apples with Sunbutter, mini Peanot Cups, Chocolate Pomegranate Honey Patty, chocolate mint creme squares, organic popcorn w/sea salt, Eli's Earth Bars Celebrate Bar

 

Mini Peanot Cups are nut-dairy-gluten-free, vegan, and have no artificial flavors. The chocolate mint creme squares are like After Eight mints, but without any artificial vanillin flavor. Or dairy. And a local natural market had a gluten-free tasting day with vendors offering samples, where we discovered the Heavenly Organics raw honey creme patties. My girls kept changing their mind which was the favorite, but the pomegranate was high on the list, so I buy them occasionally as a special treat.

Since I'm the Mama, I packed myself an actual candy bar. I'm pretty stingy with these, as all the dairy-free gluten-free artificial-free candy bars I've found are really expensive at $3-5 each. (Unreal Candies makes great all-natural unjunked versions of popular candy, but they all have dairy.) I grabbed an Eli's Earth Bar "Celebrate Bar" since it was closest to the front of my Mama-candy stash. Please note that these have nuts in them! Other than this, I packed peanut- and nut-free snacks. But I'm not a messy eater. I eat my candy while holding the wrapper, so I don't get it all over my hands which could then wipe nut oils all over the seats. And this one has whole almonds, not a nut butter, so again less risk of nut oils getting everywhere. For my apples, I included nut-free Sunbutter for the reasons mentioned above. Plus it's crazy delicious on stuff like apples and celery!

Snacks for my Little Muncher

Organic popcorn w/sea salt, dye-free candy cane, Chocolate Pomegranate Honey Patties, Peanot Cups, NoNos,
organic apples and grapes

I can't remember which company made these, but I found both mint and fruity flavored all-natural candy canes at Safeway last Christmas, and I made sure to buy a few extra boxes.

No No's are like marshmallow-filled MandMs... marshmallow blobs covered in chocolate, with a colorful candy shell. They are gluten-dairy-nut/peanut-free, as well as vegan and free from artificial ingredients. And my kids love them so much they snuck a bag and hacked it open with a pair of kitchen shears!

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