Valentines Day is a wonderful holiday, but — like almost any food related event — it can be a challenge for Celiacs and the people who love them. Here are some suggestions:

  People love to pamper themselves, and these gift baskets will certainly give your glten free Valentine the chance to do so. Both are available from Amazon.com:

  If you are interested in candy for children, consider these possibilities gleaned from the Frequently Asked Questions pages of three candy manufacturers:

Tootsie.com “At this time, all of our confections are gluten free. We do not use wheat, barley, rye, oats, triticale, spelt or any of their components and that includes our dusting on our conveyor belts”

Necco.com. ":We make the following products which do not contain gluten from wheat, rye, oats or barley: Necco  Wafers, Mary Janes, Mary Jane Peanut Butter Kisses, Sweethearts Conversation Hearts (Valentines only), Canada Mint & Wintergreen Lozenges, Haviland Thin Mints and Candy Stix …In addition, Clark Bars, Skybars, Haviland Peppermint & Wintergreen Patties, Necco Candy Eggs (Easter), Talking Pumpkins (Halloween), Squirrel Nut Caramels and Squirrel Nut Zippers, Banana Split and Mint Julep Chews. Ultramints  are also gluten free.

Wrigley.com “The following is a list of U.S. Wrigley products that are free of any wheat, oat, rye or barley gluten: Wrigley's Spearmint® gum, Freedent® gum, Doublemint® gum, Extra® gum, Big Red® gum, Eclipse® gum, Juicy Fruit® gum, Winterfresh® gum, Orbit® gum, Orbit® White gum, Hubba Bubba® gum, Altoids® Sours, Altoids® Mints, Altoids® Gum, Lifesavers® and Cremesavers®.

  Looking for recipes for your Valentine's Day dinner? RecipeZaar indexes 1350 recipes in the category “gluten free valentine”. If you have any problems finding what you need, it will be because there is “too much information”. You may also wish to check out the cake mixes and cookie mixes available from The Gluten Free Pantry. If you need an elegant dessert, try this gluten free chocolate mousse recipe available from Celiac.com. You might also be interested in the valentine's treats posted (with excellent photographs) at Elana's Pantry.

published 01/18/08