Healthy chocolate?

Recently a ton of information has been in the press about the health benefits of chocolate, particularly dark chocolate which contains a high amount of flavanols. Flavanols are antioxidants which have shown to help thin blood and lower blood pressure. Now, Mars Inc. is planning to distribute CocoaVia, a chocolate candy bar health food product. Do we really need to trick ourselves into eating a candy bar? My advice, just eat your Snickers and enjoy it.

Yumm...Skittles gum

Just when you thought Skittles couldn't get any better, along comes Skittles gum, truly one of the tastiest new candies on the shelves. Each gum piece is slightly larger than a regular Skittle, but maintains the exact same flavor. About 30 pieces come in each super-cute little box. I've just discovered that in addition to the regular Skittle flavors, there is a new Xtreme Fruit Skittles gum with the flavors wild cherry, tangerine, blue raspberry, watermelon, and green apple. I haven't tried them yet, but I will keep my eyes peeled.

How well do you know your candy bar?

Remember that Seinfeld episode where the mechanic guy eats George's Twix out of the vending machine so George creates a little candy quiz to trap the thief? Well, in this quiz you don't get a taste test (unfortunately), but you can test your visual skills. I got 11 out of 12 on the first page, the second page is a bit tougher. Check it out here.

Sister Alice and Sour Straws

I attended grade school at Our Lady Queen of Angels. It was a somewhat strict Catholic grade school, there weren't even mirrors in the bathrooms I guess out of fear that we would comb our hair or engage in other morally destructive activities. Our principal was Sister Alice, a usually sweet nun who possessed the ability to strike fear into the hearts of children at a moments notice. In the 8th grade I was given the responsibility of setting up the "candy shop" for the morning and lunch recess. What better way to start out the day than feeding 1st graders candy at 10am? I can't think of one.

The "candy shop" consisted of a card table set up in a small vestibule off the side entrance. Sister Alice stood and sold candy on the left, I sold little bags of Better Made chips out of a box on the right. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention Sister Alice never let me actually "sell" the candy, I was only allowed to set it up on the card table and peddle chips, she had all the fun. I guess that is where part of my desire to surround myself with candy stems from - to avenge Sister Alice's denial. Yeah, that and it tastes really good.

Eat your heart out

Just in time for Valentine's Day, the crazy kids at Archie McPhee are selling these tasty little treats. What better way to tell your secret crush you have the hots for them than a tasty, jiggly replica of your own pumper?

Me and candy go way back...

This may sound weird, but I believe my destiny lies in candy. When I think back to when I was younger, some of the best times have involved candy - buying, eating, selling, hoarding. Candy just makes me happy, simple as that. The taste, the colors, the packaging - I love it all.

When I was growing up on Larkins there was a corner store around the block which me and my sisters would frequently visit when we had some spare change, or our mom sent us to buy her a pack of Winstons (obviously this was way before they required people to be 18 with an ID in order to buy cigarettes). The store didn't have a name, we just called it "the corner store" and the man who worked there we called "Butcher", because he was also a butcher. It was a tiny place with a meat counter in back and old wooden floors that creaked, but the main attraction for me was right in the front of the store - the candy counter. All the candy was behind glass and we'd give our orders to Butcher which he'd put in a little brown bag. It was at Butcher's candy counter that I discovered Mary Janes, Lemonheads, Alexander the Grape, Wacky Wafers (so good, but no longer made), Chik-O-Stik, Sixlets, Hubba Bubba, Bottle Caps, Lik-M-Aid (now known as Fun Dip), and what may have been the start of my obsession.