I’m not really a huge fan of fruity sweets and when I think of candy, I think of chocolate. So, after I devoured and finished up the review of Wonka Exceptionals chocolate bars, I turned to the Fruit Marvels and Fruit Jellies. I can definitely say they are unlike anything else I’ve ever eaten.
The holidays are made for candy indulgence – but does indulgence have to break the bank? We’ve attempted to discover just that in the first two parts of It Came from the Dollar Store: The Cheapo Holiday Candy Special. In Parts 1 and 2, we reviewed the tasty Whipped Creme Santa and the not-so-tasty Marshmallow Treats Santa. Now, I bring you the third and final Christmas candy from the fine folks at Dollarama: the Sugar House.
The concept behind the Sugar House is a simple one. It’s a house… made out of sugar. Lots and lots of sugar. It’s then given a gummy “occupant†– in this case, a strange little orange gumdrop man with a Santa hat and Popeye arms who seems to be radiating red icing “heat waves†– perhaps he’s an anthropomorphic flame? Is the Sucrose Shack meant to appear as if it’s in imminent danger of melting into a Caramel House? (In the company’s defense, they also do versions with a pretty decent-looking Santa and snowman.)
As if that weren’t already enough pure sugar to send anyone into diabetic shock, the house and occupant are then liberally decorated with icing. The icing detailing is actually surprisingly nice, with rainbow-colored Christmas lights and a brown chimney on the roof, blue icing “windows†on the sides, and even blue snowflakes (two shades of blue!) and white squiggles on the back of the house where they could easily have gotten away with skimping.
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?)
Ok, confession time: I’m not into the whole organic/natural food thing, for two main reasons. One, I don’t believe in quick-fix solutions to the complex health, environmental and sociological issues that plague today’s food industry; and two, I just love my artificial flavors and colors too darn much. After all, the candy aisle would be a pretty boring place without them.
Still, the idea of a candy that’s truly guilt-free (I’m talking eco-guilt, not calorie-guilt) remains a tempting one, even if it’s just an illusion. So when I noticed a display of products from Shopper’s Drug Mart’s new organic line, Nativa, it was naturally the candy that jumped out at me. Though Nativa also makes organic gummy bears and fruit gummies with natural flavors and colors, it was the cola bottles (or “soda bottles,†as they’re called on the bag) that grabbed me.
Now, gummy cola bottles are among my all-time favorite candies, especially the sour variety. (Confession number two: I once ate an entire industrial-sized tub of sour cherry cola bottles from Costco – AND I’D DO IT AGAIN.) So I was very curious as to how the organic variety would stack up to the real thing. At $2.99 for a 100 g bag, they were pricey (a common problem with organic foods), but I decided to give them a try.
Candy AddictT-shirts! $15 SHIPPED! |
