Category Archives: Candy For Kids

Candy Review: Squiggles

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Sun-Rype Squiggles

My local grocery store just began carrying a new fruit candy by Sun-Rype called Squiggles. They profess to be 100% fruit twists – implying that the Squiggles are healthy, not just yummy. To me, something called a “Squiggle” just looked fun so I grabbed a couple.

First up, I tried the strawberry. The moment I opened the package I was hit with a strawberry jam smell that made my mouth start watering. The Squiggle was really sticky, so I decided to keep it partially wrapped in the packaging while I sampled it.

I’ve gotta say the strawberry Squiggle was a huge hit for me. It was slightly tart, just like real strawberries, and bursting with a great, complex, real strawberry flavor. I even liked the texture, which is very firm. I thought it was going to be more like a gummi worm but it’s much firmer than any fruit or gummi candy I’ve had before.

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Candy Review: Horlicks Malties

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Horlicks Malties Wrapper

You don’t see too many beige-colored candies. Now I know why.

I was visiting my favorite retro candy store when I spotted a candy box marked with the familiar GSK logo. This was intriguing: any candy manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline – the major pharmaceutical company better known for Beano gas-prevention tablets and Breathe Right Strips – had to be amazing, right? Who knows candy better than the people who brought us Aquafresh, the first toothpaste with multiple colors? I just had to try Horlicks Malties.

Looking back, I’m not so sure my decision was wise.

Horlicks is best known in the United States – or at least it was about 70 years ago – for its malted milk balls. This was before someone came along and dunked them in chocolate, a vast improvement.

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Halloween Candy Review: Leftovers Body Parts Gummies

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Leftovers

Gather around the campfire, little Candy Addicts. Did you all bring marshmallows? Of course you did! Now get in close, everyone, because Camp Counselor Laurie’s going to tell you all a spooooky story. It’s the story of Leftovers body-part-shaped gummies.

Did I mention it was spooooky? Because it is. It’s not too late for all of you to go back to your cabins and have a Snickers instead. Nobody’s leaving? Well, OK then, but don’t blame me if you all get nightmares.

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Halloween Candy Review: Boo Bands Candy Bracelets

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Boo Bands Box

Remember those plastic wrist bands that everyone was wearing a year or two ago? First available in yellow and bearing the inspirational message “Livestrong,” they were sold by the Lance Armstrong Foundation to raise money for cancer research. The campaign was so successful that other organizations also began to sell bracelets in various colors – pink for breast cancer, green for kidney donation, and so forth.

Even satirical newscaster Stephen Colbert got in on the action – after breaking his wrist, Colbert attempted to convince celebrities and fellow newscasters to wear “Wriststrong” bracelets in support of awareness against “wrist-related violence.” (The proceeds were actually donated to a fund that aids in the rehabilitation of injured American soldiers.)

Perhaps due to the wide availability of flea-market and dollar-store knockoffs, the bracelet fad has faded. However, the candy industry, usually pretty fad-conscious, has only now given us these: Boo Bands edible gummy bracelets. The individually-wrapped bracelets come in blue, red, orange, and purple, and bear the inspirational messages of “SPOOKY,” “TRICK,” “TREAT,” and, of course, “BOO!” (Oh well… who wants to be preached at by Halloween candy anyway?)

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Candy Review: Back-To-School Fruit Snack Roundup

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Fruit Snack Boxes

Back-to-school season is here once more. Yes, it’s the season for pencils, books, teachers’ dirty looks… and school lunches. Whether homemade or bought, lunch is the highlight of every student’s (and working adult’s) day, and keeping those lunches fresh, interesting and tasty can be a real challenge.

Fortunately, there’s an easy shortcut that many parents (and Candy Addicts) are already aware of: even the most boring of bologna sandwiches and pallid of PBJs can be made more exciting by adding a side of candy.

Not just any candy though, but a special lunchbox-sanctioned candy, packed into tiny single-serving pouches and transformed with a token amount of fruit juice into something viewed as a nutritionally acceptable complement to your carrot sticks and ham-and-cheese-on-white. A small source of candy joy in an otherwise boring day, for kids and adults alike. I’m talking, of course, about the fruit snack.

But not all fruit snacks are created equal, and that’s where we come in. Aided by my Assistant Taster (otherwise known as my sister Angela), I taste-tested four popular options to determine which brand will give you the most bang for your buck, considering such factors as nutrition, taste and fun. Will a store-brand snack stand up to pricier treats licensed with cartoon characters or jazzed up with gimmicks like liquid centers? And just how much fruit is actually in these things, anyway? Read on to find out.

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