If youre looking for a good scare this Halloween, skip the haunted house and reach for the nearest miniature candy bar (shouldnt be too hard—they mysteriously turn up by the bagful in shopping carts and next to office coffeepots around this time of the year). Flip it over, and look at the ingredients: Ahhh! Luckily, Surf Sweets offers less-scary options with their line of organic and natural candy. No tricks here, just treats.
The product: Surf Sweets (79 cents for a snack-size, 0.9-ounce bag; $2 for a regular, 2.75-ounce bag); surfsweets.com for stores
The health factor: Study after study has shown that childhood obesity is on the rise, and added sugar and fat are major culprits. Researchers have concluded that more than 50% of American kids calories come from those two sources alone. But simply swapping chocolaty, sugar-coated treats for an apple probably wont work. Thats where Surf Sweets come in: Organic fruit juice sweetens familiar gummy shapes (think worms, bears, and beans), and a serving can provide up to 100% of the recommended daily allowance for vitamin C. Plus, if your little goblin has food allergies, then youll be pleased to know that these candies are gluten free and casein free, and they dont contain any of the most common allergens either.
Adults with an overactive sweet tooth can rejoice as well: You can snack on a handful of jelly beans (about 20) for only 90 calories.
The taste factor: Just like the real thing!
Why we love it: The kid in us still craves sweets from time to time, and its great to know that as our taste and nutrition knowledge has evolved, so has our candy.