Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Healthier Treats!!! My Top Candy and Snack Picks!!!

Healthier Treats!!! My Top Candy and Snack Picks!!!

When is comes to passing out candy or snacks (for Halloween, or parties or just for a treat) there is always the dilemma of should I go for healthy or fun. If you are a parent or concerned adult you usually want to pass out treats that kids (or adults) will love. However, many "fun" candies and snack contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), dyes, chemicals, and preservatives that are not so healthy. And nowadays more people are becoming concerned with what they and their children eat - am one these people. I do not have children but I have plenty of nieces, nephews, and cousins. Plus, I have always been a sweets lover and in recent years have been looking for better sweet snacks and candies. When I look for sweet I usually want them to be either natural, or organic, or vegan. I would also like them to not contain artificial flavors, unnatural dyes, HFCS, preservatives and chemicals. On my search I found a few websites and companies that have these healthier choices. Here they are:

Yummy Earth (yummyearth.com), which was invented by two dads who wanted organic candy for their children. Yummy Earth sells organic lollipops and candy drops which are also kosher parve, nut-free, and gluten-free. These lollipops and drops come great natural flavors (pomegranate, watermelon, grape, etc...). Plus Yummy Earth uses veggies, fruits and juices to create colors for their candies. I and my kid relatives had tried these candies and we all think they taste great. I would recommend lollipops for the younger children as the drops may be too small for them. Yummy Earth candies can also be found at amazon.com and Whole Food Stores.

Yummy Earth




Naturalcandystore.com is a website I linked to from artisansweets.com. Naturalcandystore.com sell all types of candies (chocolate, hard candies, lollipops, caramels, gummies, etc..) that are all or either organic, vegan, gluten-free, kosher, allergen-free, fair trade and corn-syrup free. Naturalcandystore also has pre-made mixes and goody bags for halloween and parties. They have a wide variety or brands that kids and adults alike can enjoy!!! Artisansweets.com have candies and sweets that cater to more of an adult palate such as salted butter caramels, nougats, fig confections, and more .


VeganSweets
VeganSweets
Vegan Gummies
Vegan Gummies

Veganstore.com is a website I found when I was searching for healthier baked goods. Veganstore offers a few different brands of baked goods including Alternative Baking Co., Late July, and Enjoy Life. However, the Vegansweets brand has been my favorite. The item I have ordered the most are the plain VeganSweets donuts w/carob frosting. These donuts come two in a pack for $2.99 or you can buy a bakers dozen for $32.28. VeganSweets also offer cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, truffles, jelly beans, caramels and more. Veganstore also carries and assortment of hard candies, gum, lollipops and gummies. Plus there are also non-food items you can shop for such as clothes, bodycare, petcare, etc.

Healthy Handfuls (healthyhandfuls.com) offers organic baked snacks ( cookies, pretzels, and crackers). These snacks are free from hydrogenated oils, HFCS, gmos and preservatives. Many of these snacks are a great alternative to the over processed cookies and crackers (which are marketed to kids) on the market. I especially like the Lucky Duckies which can be an alternative to Goldfish. Healthy Handfuls snacks come in a variety of sizes including convenient single serve pouches which are great for halloween, lunch boxes, and parties. Healthy Handfuls are available at Whole Foods stores, Jamba Juice, worldpanty.com and amazon.com.

Healthy Handfuls

Healthy Handfuls Organic Lucky Duckies, Cheddar Cheese, 6-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 12) Healthy Handfuls Organic Crocodile Cookies, Oatmeal Raisin, 6-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 12)Healthy Handfuls Organic Lucky Duckies Crackers, Cheddar Cheese, 1.5-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 12)


Snikiddy (snikiddy.com), like Healthy Handfuls, offers baked snacks such as cookies, cheese puffs, and other flavors of puffs. Their products are organic and they taste pretty good too. Their products can be found at Whole Food Stores and amazon.com.

Snikiddy

Snikiddy Snacks Chocolate Chippers Sharing Pack, 5-Ounce (Pack of 12) Snikiddy Snacks Banana Nibbles Sharing Pack, 5-Ounce (Pack of 12)Snikiddy Snacks Chocolate Chippers Adventure Pack, 5-Count, 4.25-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 6)






When it comes to chocolate I have to mention Endangered Species Chocolate (thechocolatebar.com). Endangered Species Chocolates offers dark and milk chocolate bars and 10% of their net profits go to help animals on endangered species list and they support other causes. They offer a few bite size choices of their dark and milk chocolate which includes their Halloween bites that are wrapped in brown and orange wrappers (seasonal), Bug Bites which have little trading cards with info about all types of insects, and Chimp Mints which have info about chimps in each wrapper. Bugs Bites and Chimp Mints sell for $32 for about 64 .35oz pieces.The Halloween chocolates sell for $6.72 for a 24 piece bag (.35 oz). Endangered Species Chocolates are also available on amazon.com and at Whole Food Stores and most health food stores.

Endangered Species Chocolate

Bug Bites-Dark Chocolate (Organic) - 0.35 oz - Bar Endangered Species Organic Bug Bites, Dark Chocolate, .35-Ounce Packages (Pack of 64) Endangered Species Organic Bug Bites, Milk Chocolate, .35-Ounce Packages (Pack of 64)




I know there are many other companies that sell organic and natural candies and snacks, but these are my picks for now. Especially when it comes to party favors, goody bags, lunch time treats, etc...

1 comment: