I love candy. In fact, during the decade of my twenties, Gummi Bears made up on of my main food groups! All my friends knew they could scoop a handful of jelly beans from the canister in the corner of my apartment’s kitchen every time they came over. I’ll admit, as well, that there were too many days when Gummi Bears comprised my meal. Oh, if I only knew then what I know now!
It’s true that I have a powerful sweet tooth, but as I’ve become more aware of foods I’ve realized that most candy is primarily high fructose corn syrup with artificial flavors and food dyes. Blech!
So I was interested when Naturally Savvy approached me with an invitation to try out a few new organic candies from Surf Sweets. Surf Sweets candies are made without high fructose corn syrup (and the GMOs from HFCS), petroleum-based colors and chemical flavorings. Instead, Surf Sweets products are made with natural colors and flavors, organic fruit juice and sweeteners, and even a dash of Vitamin C. Surf Sweets are free of the ten most common allergens including nuts, gluten, and casein.
I tried Surf Sweets Jelly Beans, Gummy Worms, and Gummy Bears and can only say, Yum! It made me remember how much I’ve missed non-chocolate candies over the last ten years or so. This is one time when there is absolutely no loss of taste or eating pleasure by choosing the healthier version or a product.
I thought my favorite would be the Gummy Bears, but it turned out to be the jelly beans. The bag spilled out into my purse, so I continue to come across jelly bean treats as I go about my days (should I be embarrassed to admit that I am eating the jelly beans as I find them in the bottom of my purse? Oh well; at least they’re healthy jelly beans!).
One caveat: If you are sensitive to tapioca, you may want to steer clear of the gummy candies. My son, who is sensitive to tapioca, ate a gummy worm and immediately didn’t feel good. Fortunately, my daughter and I are not sensitive to tapioca, so we took care of eating the rest of the gummies. 🙂
