Food Allergy Info

About Food Allergies

Food allergy is a disease in which the body’s immune system mistakenly targets a harmless food protein (an allergen) as a threat. To fight this threat, the body releases histamine and other chemicals, causing symptoms that can range from skin rashes and stomach problems to life-threatening anaphylaxis.

Although a person can be allergic to any food, eight foods (milk, egg, peanut, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish and shellfish) cause most food allergy reactions in the U.S.  Anyone, at any age, can develop a food allergy, but the impact on children is especially severe. There is no cure, and no standard treatment to prevent food allergy reactions. Strict avoidance of problem foods is the only way to stay safe.

With the number of people who have food allergies increasing at a significant rate, this potentially fatal condition is a growing public health issue. The numbers tell the story:

  • Food allergies affect up to 32 million Americans, including 1 in 13 children – roughly two in every classroom and 1 in 10 adults.

  • Nearly 40 percent of these children have already experienced a severe or life-threatening reaction.

  • According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of children with food allergies in the U.S. increased 50 percent between 1997 and 2011. Compared to children without a medical condition, children with food allergies are twice as likely to be bullied in school.

  • Every three minutes, a food allergy reaction sends someone to the emergency room.

Additional information on food allergies can be found at: www.foodallergy.org


FAQ

General Information

+ Where is your product produced?

We bake in a certified commercial kitchen with dedicated mixers, pans and separate locked storage. The kitchen is cleaned and sanitized twice before we bake and we do not share the space during our operations. I am a certified Texas food manager and ServSafe food allergy trained and enforce strict cross contamination guidelines on baking our products as well as sanitizing our equipment. The only allergen present in our facility is organic wheat, which is stored in a separate room with dedicated equipment. Our team is trained in strict anti-cross contamination processes which include producing wheat products at the end of the day, separate storage of wheat containing product and requirements to change aprons and gloves once in contact with wheat.

+ What if I don’t have food allergies?

Awesome Bites Co. makes treats to share with the people you love. Our treats are made with ingredients that more people, and that includes you, can enjoy. We sweeten with whole fruits & vegetables so the treats accommodate people with low GI sugar diets; such as diabetics. They are made with good healthy ingredients so you’ll feel awesome eating them whether you are 2 years old or 82 years old. Without eggs, dairy and added sugar, our products don't have cholesterol or animal fat or ingredients that often make your body feel crummy. Every mini muffin is jam packed with a 1/4 serving of fruits/veggies and without nuts, you can eat them without worrying about the people around you.

+ How long does your product last?

To ensure maximum taste and freshness, our product should be eaten as soon as possible. Since our product does not use any preservatives, not even refined sugar, our product can last 3 days at room temperature (72F or below), a week in the fridge, and a month in the freezer. The best way to store our muffins is in the freezer and eaten by reheating in the microwave for 15 to 25 seconds.

 

Product Information

Awesome Bites Co. strives to make treats that more people can enjoy and feel awesome about eating. In order to provide treats that are not only made with great ingredients but also do not include and are not produced in facilities that may come in contact with certain food allergens, we are limited to suppliers of ingredients. Our limited list of approved suppliers makes it difficult to accommodate additional food allergens and continue to produce a stellar product. Please check the ingredients on our products for your own safety and if you have any questions that are not answered below, please contact us.

+ What do you mean your muffins have “no added sugar”?

Our muffins are sweetened with whole fruits and vegetables such as apples, bananas, carrots and dates. We do NOT use agave, honey, molasses, stevia, any refined sugar, or sugar substitutes such Splenda or Sweet & Low. We do not use fruit concentrates or pasteurized, processed fruit juices. Fruits and vegetables have naturally occurring sugars along with vitamins, minerals & fiber, so you will find grams of sugar in our Nutritional Facts. We keep the peel on any fruit and vegetable so y’all get more fiber… however, we do stop at banana peels… that’s not very tasty. For our Super Muffins with chocolate, there is a small amount of evaporated cane sugar; we use Enjoy Life chocolate in our products, which are top 8 food allergen free.

+ Do you ever use any sugar products in your treats?


Outside of our no added sugar Super Muffins, we use as little non-gmo unrefined sugar as possible in our other treats.

  • Beanie Bars (brownies & blondies): organic coconut sugar & dates.
  • Artisanal Granola: organic maple syrup & coconut sugar.
  • Donuts, Cookies, and Cupcakes: organic unrefined cane sugar & coconut sugar.
  • N'ice Cream: organic unrefined cane sugar and cassava syrup.

+ Is every treat free of dairy, soy, eggs, and nuts?

Every treat from Awesome Bites Co. is free of dairy, soy, eggs and peanuts. Additional allergens outside of the top 8 in our treats can be found here. We do however use COCONUTS, which according to the FDA is classified as a tree nut. According to the ACAAI:

“Coconut is not a botanical nut; it is classified as a fruit, even though the Food and Drug Administration recognizes coconut as a tree nut. While allergic reactions to coconut have been documented, most people who are allergic to tree nuts can safely eat coconut. If you are allergic to tree nuts, talk to your allergist before adding coconut to your diet.”

We do not use any other tree nut in our treats.

+ What can I have if I can't have coconut?

• For n’ice cream: Maple Sunflower, Sorbet or one of our new Oatly based nice dreams like Orange Dreamsicle is coconut free as well as our waffle cone and all of our toppings except those that contain chocolate or caramel.

• On Donut Wednesday: donuts that do not have chocolate, coconut, or our house made cream cheeze in its description is coconut free as well as top 8 free. For instance, Homer, Lemon Chia Seed, Strawberry Glazed, Banana Pancake, Blueberry Lavender, etc.

• On Cookie Thursday: the Funfetti, Lemon Drop & London Fog cookies are coconut free.

All other treats contain organic coconut oil, coconut sugar or coconut milk.

+ Are all your products gluten free?

The majority of our facility and items are gluten free; however, we do make a few Super Muffins and cupcakes that include gluten. We take cross contamination very seriously and have processes to prevent it. We even built a completely separate room for gluten, which stores the only ingredient in our shop that has gluten (organic all purpose flour) and we bake those gluten items with separate equipment and at a separate time. All of our ingredients from extracts to sugars have been checked to the manufacturer source that there is no shared lines with gluten, even our baking powder is also gluten free, but does contain non GMO corn.

We have fans, friends, and employees who are gluten intolerant and in the 5 years of business have not had any incident of cross contamination. However, as we are a small artisan bake and ice cream shop - we are not currently in a place to send these items out for testing.

+ How do you handle cross contamination?

We take cross contamination very seriously.

First, all of the ingredients used in our treats must be sourced from a supplier that does not also produce dairy, soy, eggs, peanuts, and tree nuts (except coconut) along with our ingredients. We contact each supplier to verify how ingredients are manufactured. Please keep in mind that although we strive to ensure there is no cross contamination with how the ingredients are produced, there are still food recalls and the logistics involved with transporting the ingredients. As a food allergy consumer, always be prepared.

Second, all of the equipment used to produce our treats are cleaned and sanitize per guidelines from SafeServ on handling food allergens. Everyone involved in the making or packing of our treats must wear fresh clothes and aprons when they arrive along with lots of constant hand washing.

+ Do you have any corn free treats?

Our artisanal granola and n'ice creams and n'ice cream toppings and cones are all corn free. However, all of our baked goodies contain non gmo, aluminum free baking powder which contains non gmo corn starch.

+ Do your treats contain legumes?

All Super Muffins are legume free except for a specialty flavor: Sunflower Butter & Jam. All artisan granola is legume free.

Our Beanie Brownies are made with organic black beans and our Blondies are made with organic chickpeas. All of our n'ice creams except for the sorbet and the Oatly based n'ice creams contain less than 1g of chickpea starch per a scoop. Our donuts, cookies and cupcakes do contain pea protein.

+ Do you make custom made cakes?

No, we don't have a dedicated cake decorator on our team yet but we do have a number of options for celebrations:

all options above are 100% vegan and dairy, lactose, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut, cholesterol and refined sugar free and all are available as gluten free (GF). they do contain coconut.

+ Is your product organic?

None of our ingredients are genetically modified. We try to use organic ingredients where possible. We use organic unbleached wheat flour and most of the fruits and vegetables are organic unless seasons do not permit. Our gluten free options are made with gluten free flour that is certified organic, non-gmo, kosher & vegan.

+ Is your product free of preservatives and artificial ingredients?

We do not use any preservatives or artificial ingredients in our product. Our vanilla and lemon extracts are derived from vanilla beans and lemon rinds. Frosting is made with natural food colorings such as beet juice or turmeric. Please contact us for more information.

+ Is your product vegan?

Yes, all of our products are vegan. We do not use dairy, eggs or refined sugars in any of our products. In our gluten free products, the xanthan gum is also vegan & kosher.

+ Is your product kosher?

We are not certified kosher; however, we do not use dairy, meat, or eggs in our products. The fruits and vegetables we use are not generally at risk of insects or bugs. We do use vanilla and lemon extract in our products that are certified kosher.

+ Is your product halal?

We are not certified as halal; however we do not use dairy, meat or eggs in our products. We do use vanilla and lemon extract in our products that contain alcohol, but are certified kosher.

+ Where are your nutritional facts?

As we are small artisan bake & ice cream shop that is constantly developing new flavors and treats, the cost to have nutritional facts created for every product is not within our budget. We do have nutritional facts for our Super Muffins, Beanie Bars and artisinal granola as we sold these items wholesale for many years.

Our no added Super Muffins are ~40% lower in calories, fat, and sugars compared to traditional muffins. Our Beanie Bars are ~25% lower in calories, fat, and sugar compared to traditional brownies and chocolate chip blondies.

We use premium ingredients that are 400-800% more expensive and cleaner than what is found in traditional baked goods and making many of our ingredients from scratch from grinding cinnamon, sunflower butter and zesting fresh lemons - all labor intensive. With our limited funds, we focus on making creative, delicious treats made with the awesome ingredients.

 

Ordering

+ Where can orders be picked up locally?

UPDATE: Due to COVID-19, we have also launched to shipping to place your order.

You may pre-order and pick up at our shop located at 2313 Edwards St. #185, Houston, TX 77007 from Wednesday to Sunday. All preorders are non-refundable - our margins are slim and we use preorders to plan how much to bake due to the high cost of our specialty premium ingredients so any orders not picked up will go to waste.

We also have delivery via Grubhub and UberEats Delivery is limited to 10 miles from the Heights.

For special catering orders, please click Contact Us so we can help you out.

+ Do you deliver?

We offer scheduled delivery of our entire menu through DoorDash by placing an order on our website HERE. Due to surcharges, a limited menu is also available for delivery via Grubhub and UberEats Special Daily treats like Donuts, Cookies, Cupcakes and N'ice cream are not available through Grubhub and UberEats. Delivery is limited to 10 miles from the Heights.

+ How are payments processed?

Credit card payments are securely processed through Square and Stripe.

+ Do you ship?

Yes, shipping nationwide has been launched. To place an order please head to SHIPPING Ordering.