Have you ever woken up in the morning, dragged yourself into the shower, then slowly gotten ready for work because you are so darn tired? I’ve had those days before, and they are horrible. I go through the day, not quite able to wake up and just wait for the day to end. When I have those kinds of days, I sometimes have an energy drink in order to give me a boost.

With so many different energy products out there, it kind of gets overwhelming sometimes. There are energy drinks, energy shots and energy pills to choose from, so many products that sometimes it’s hard to decide what to use. I’ve never been a fan of energy pills; in my experiences the energy pills give me so much energy that I have to keep moving around or else I feel like throwing up. Instead I prefer energy drinks, but sometimes I don’t want to drink all those calories.

I had a chance to try Kickbrix energy chews. I was excited to try these because sometimes energy drinks are too much for me; I never finish a whole can and feel like I’m wasting my money. These chews seemed perfect; they are small, chewable and only 25 calories. Plus, their website looks pretty awesome.

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Photo by Anthemic Tangle

I love licorice. So when I came across a value pack of mixed Twizzlers flavors it was like Christmas came early. The bag had a bunch of flavors I’d never heard of, along with some that were more familiar. Each flavor is wrapped in its own cellophane pouch so you can take your time making your way through the bag and you can open as many or as few as you like at any given time. Very convenient and a good way to make the bag last!

Strawberry Twists: The most familiar in the bunch were the strawberry twists. These come two to a pack and are about 1/3 the size of a regular Twizzler. These have an artificial strawberry flavor and are a little softer and less waxy than regular Twizzlers. I don’t mind a bit of waxiness in my licorice so I didn’t find the wax factor off-putting in any of the flavors.

The rest of the bag consisted of different Pull-n-Peel flavors. These bits of licorice pull apart into licorice ropes like I used to eat when I was a kid, except these have way more flavor. I have to confess that I love to play with my food. So playing with the Pull-n-Peel flavors was almost as much fun as eating them!

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This past week I had the pleasure of having my father visit for the holidays. It was a great time. We explored the city, dined at my favorite eateries, and enjoyed the sweet tooth I genetically inherited from him by popping into various confection stores and leaving very, very full.

When it was time to bid adieu to him, we pulled into a gas station near my house so he could fill the rental car up and avoid the surcharge. Despite this gas station being located down the street from me, I hadn’t set foot in it a long time, but remember finding a slew of great candy during earlier visits.

As he paid the clerk, I browsed the candy aisle and scanned it for something out of the ordinary. Maybe because it was Christmas Day (I can’t really figure it out otherwise), but there amongst all the different flavors of Skittles sat the newest spin-off, Skittles Crazy Cores.

I first learned about the upcoming release of this candy back in the fall, but I hadn’t seen these in any major supermarkets or drugstores, which made my spotting them in an independently owned gas station particularly Christmas miracle-esque.

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Image from Anthemic Tangle
Ok, yeah, I know: Halloween was so yesterday and we’re looking forward to Thanksgiving already. But I just grabbed my last bag of Halloween-themed sale candy. I couldn’t resist: it’s a big bag of Willy Wonka goodness AND it was on sale. Plus, there’s extra Halloween-themed silliness involved. What’s a Candy Addict to do but dive right in?

Image from Anthemic Tangle
First up, Willy Wonka Laffy Taffy Ear Wax. Maybe all the Harry Potter ear-wax-flavored jelly bean references are to blame, but for some reason I had to try these first. Fortunately, these do not look or taste like ear wax. This cheery yellow Laffy Taffy tastes like banana. Granted, it’s that fake, candy banana taste, but it’s mellow enough that I enjoyed it. These were surprisingly sweet, but in a good way. And, as I chewed, I got that nice, underlying taffy flavor. The texture was good, too – nice and chewy, but it didn’t stick to my teeth. Between the fun, gross out factor and the taffy goodness, I’d have these again.

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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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