Help! Help! Need food substitutes

I got this email from Megan's teacher a few mins. ago.

"Hi Karen,

Just wanted to let you know that Megan has been doing a great job! Also, on Thursday we will be making special butterfly treats. They involve a whole graham cracker, vanilla frosting, mini M & M's, twist pretzels, and sugar sprinkles. I assume most of these items are not OK for Megan...do you have any suggestions? Otherwise we will just let her pick out of her snack bag."

I want her to be able to make a butterfly treat, too. She already misses out on so many class projects (all edible ones ) due to her food allergies.

She can have a honey graham cracker so that's ok.

She can't have the frosting, m&m's, and sugar sprinkles.

I can substitute sugar sprinkles for one that doesn't have yellow dye in it, I think.

I need help figuring out what to substitute frosting, m&m's and twist pretzels. I'll have to check on the pretzels. They may be ok. Oooh, I could substitute the mini m&m's for jelly beans ( just cut them in 1/2, maybe so they are small?)

Ahhhh, she's allergic to cotton seed, sesame seed, chocolate and yellow dye. I have never found anything to substitute for icing. Oooh maybe I could make a cream cheese icing? Sorry, I'm babbling. I just hate when she has to miss out on things

I was going to suggest making your own icing and bringing it in to class or sending it with her to school. Maybe make it with cream cheese or...coconut oil...is she allowed to have that? It's solid at room temperature.
As for m&ms, Idk what she can have...can she have red hots? If the jelly beans work then I guess that solves that problem.
GL, this can't be easy.

instead of sprinkles can she have colored sugar crystals? you can make your own, just use regular sugar in a baggie, a drop of food coloring, shake until the sugar is colored, then open the bag to allow the sugar to dry.

Oooh, good idea. Thanks!

for the icing, can't you just make your own buttercream icing? The only ingredients are butter, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. For the m&m's, would mini reeses pieces (minus the yellow or orange ones I suppose) work, or do they have one of the things she's allergic to in them? I've never looked at the ingredients on those, so I don't know if they'd have cotton seed or sesame seed oil in them, but it doesn't seem like something that would.

I don't know about the pretzels, if you can't find any that are ok maybe you can make some? I hope you can figure something out! I'd feel bad about her missing all the fun stuff too.

This post has been edited by ~Roo'sMama~ on Apr 21 2009, 12:39 PM

I have no clue, but I think it is really sweet of her teacher to try to make sure she is involved even with her allergies.