Last month I attended a lovely little event at the amazing Whole Foods store in Pasadena hosted by Savvy Sassy Moms. I must confess I haven’t yet been to the location in Thousand Oaks, but if it’s half as large and full of amenities as its Pasadena counterpart, well, I’m going to have to make a little field trip out there.

There’s another reason to splurge on a Whole Foods shopping trip, too. Lucy’s brand cookies and treats which are made without wheat, gluten, dairy milks, butter, eggs, casein, peanuts, or tree nuts. I know you are wondering “but how do they taste?” because I wondered that, too. Many boxes of Lucy’s cookies later, I can tell you that they all taste delicious, but I have my favorite!

Once upon a time, Dr. Lucy Gibney was a practicing emergency room physician. When she was returning to work after maternity leave following the birth of her son, she and her husband gave him his first bottle of formula. He was only 3 months old. That very first bottle induced an anaphylactic reaction, and the baby was rushed to the hospital – thankfully he got through it and was just fine. Subsequently, he was diagnosed with severe food allergies to everything under the sun. Over the next few years, Dr. Gibney devoted herself to developing recipes for cookies that her son would be able to eat safely and also enjoy. And that’s how Lucy’s brand was born.

Now Lucy’s brand snacks are sold in 7,000 stores nationwide and also online. Cookies come in Chocolate Chip,Sugar Cookie, Cinnamon Thin, Oatmeal Cookie, Ginger Snap, Maple Bliss, and Chocolate flavors. And they make chocolate Brownie Cakes, too.

Dr. Lucy Gibney shows us a photo of her son, 21st century style

At the event in Pasadena, Dr. Gibney told the gathered crowd of local bloggers her story and answered numerous questions, even after a breathtaking few days at the huge Natural Products Expo West. We were all given samples of the cookies and brownies to eat at the event and to take home. I snuck the Snack ‘n Go packs into my kids’ and husband’s lunches the following week, and basically gave the cookies to whomever I saw. Plus, I tried all the flavors myself.

You probably assumed I would have chosen the chocolate cookies or Brownie Cakes. Surprise! I can tell you without a doubt that the Maple Bliss cookies are my absolute favorite. As thankful as I am that neither my children, nor I, are allergic any foods (that I know of), we all enjoyed these cookies, and were grateful to eat them with glasses of cold dairy milk.

At $4.99 – $5.99 per 5.5 ounce box, these cookies are definitely a splurge, but they’re especially great for younger kids who are satisfied with just a couple of cookies at a time. Me? I could eat a whole box at once!

An added bonus of the gathering that day was the presence of Ambiance Salon, a shop that recently opened nearby on Lake Ave. It’s a little known fact that when I first moved to California from Connecticut in 1995, I lived in an apartment building right in that neighborhood with my best college pal, Lisa. I have a special place in my heart for that town, so I am happy to tell you that the staff from Ambiance feels that way too. They did a lovely job dolling up some of the attendees at this event, and they even had a very talented braid artist present!

That’s the back of my head, upper left!

Lucy’s is giving away a box of their cookies or brownie cakes to a lucky reader of this site. Leave a comment here by 11:59 PM on April 8 and indicate which flavor you’d like to try (check them all out here before you pick). I will pick a random winner from qualified entries and that person will receive a box of treats in the mail! US Only.