ML Interest Tag: fructose

Allergy-Friendly Candy You Can Feel Good about This Valentine’s Day

by Taylor Clifton

Valentine’s Day is almost here, and parents who have allergies in the home know that the balance between finding safe products and enjoying sweet treats is (almost) as challenging as getting the kids to stay in bed after the lights go off. It can be hard to track down candies and chocolates that fit into your family’s needs, so we compiled this list of allergy-friendly items to help you out. Keep scrolling to see the different, yummy options!
Buttermints

Buttermints

$12 BUY NOW

These yummy handmade Buttermint candies are made with essential oils and pure cane sugars.

Amazon

Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Candy

$29 BUY NOW

Free from 14 different allergens, these sweet Enjoy Life Chocolates are also vegan, gluten-free and non-GMO.

Amazon

UNREAL Chocolate Gems

$25 BUY NOW

Made with non-GMO, gluten and soy-free ingredients, these UNREAL Chocolate Gems live up to their name.

Scrummy Gummy Bears

Scrummy Gummy Bears

$39 BUY NOW

These Scrummy Gummy Bears are keto-friendly and made with non-GMO and organic ingredients, making them a delicious option for Valentine's Day.

Amazon

Black Forest Gummy Bears

$11 BUY NOW

These Black Forest Gummies are a tasty treat! They're gluten-free, and some of their products are free of the eight major allergens.

Amazon

Fruidles

$13 BUY NOW

Check out these Fruidles non-GMO candies with no artificial sweeteners. Find them on Amazon.

Amazon

Wiley Wallaby Gourmet Licorice

$7 BUY NOW

These delicious Wiley Wallaby Licorice candies are vegan and contain no high-fructose corn syrup.

Amazon

Dum Dums Pops

$13 BUY NOW

It may surprise you to know that classic and delicious Dum Dums are free of the eight major allergens!

Amazon

Choco No No's

$11 BUY NOW

Try out these dairy-free, nut-free, soy-free, gluten-free and vegan candies from Choco No No's.

Target

Haribo Be Mine Mix

$1 BUY NOW

These classic Haribo gummies are free from the eight major allergens, and you can find them at Target.

 
Yum Earth

Yum Earth

$8+ BUY NOW

Free from the top eight allergens, dyes and GMOs, these candies from Yum Earth are colorful and delicious.

 

—Taylor Clifton

 

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3 Simple, Doctor-Approved Rules for Healthy Grocery Shopping Runs

By Missy Woodruff

Photo: PxHere

Recently a patient asked me for some very basic advice about food shopping.  A recent widower with no experience cooking for himself, his diet centered around eating one meal a day at a local diner, with cereal or canned spaghetti representing a special effort at home.

Listen Doc, I’m not looking for a cooking class, but just tell me real quick, what’s the healthiest way to eat? I mean, what do I get at the grocery store?

Knowing his limited culinary ambitions, and his genuine interest in having me cut to the chase, I offered three simple rules for healthy grocery shopping, pared down to the most minimalistic and efficient guiding principles I could think of:

#1. Keep to the outside perimeter.

In the typical store layout, all the refined, processed, packaged, chemical-laden, corporate-engineered food and snacks are stacked in the middle aisles. That’s because in the center aisles, shelf life is long and therefore nutrients are scarce. Along the outside aisles he could range free among the greens, fruits, lean meats and dairy, and avoid yellow #5 in the process!

#2. Load up on plants. 

The beautiful thing about rediscovering fruit and vegetables as food is that these can be eaten with minimal preparation, have been engineered naturally by selection over millions of years to be nutritious, and constitute the foundation of healthy eating. Cut up a red pepper and dip into hummus. Spread peanut butter on an organic gala apple. Learn to sauté garlic with greens and a pinch of salt.

#3. Eat as your great-grandparents would eat.

Surging obesity, diabetes, and even cancer rates can at least partially be attributed to a carbohydrate-heavy, over-processed food supply rife with high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated fats, and mystery chemicals. Read the ingredients, and if they weren’t eating it in 1899 then maybe we shouldn’t either.

FYI: Eating Healthy Isn’t Cheap or Easy—But It’s Worth It

The bill might be more expensive to shop this way, especially since low quality coupon foods, frozen franken-dinners, and corn dogs of all shapes and sizes will not make it into this man’s shopping cart… but I think it is better for him to pay on the front end and enjoy the pleasant feeling of a body sustained with real foods, than to see me and all my doctoring friends, with a host of medical problems born of the modern grocery store.

Back in the day we had a tribe to show us how to pick edible mushrooms in the forest, and how to catch fish. Now we have logos and boxes featuring cartoon characters. Most of us have little time or interest in learning about nutrition, and conflicting rules about how to eat healthy.

So these were three simple rules I tried to pass off as good advice, in between my own pressured, manic bites of home-cooked leftovers as my lunch for the day… perhaps better and certainly faster than the local Mc-trough.

I'm Missy, a mother of three and a middle school drama teacher at a private school. I'm obsessed with my Vizsla (dog), traveling, and the musical Hamilton. I also enjoy writing and sharing fun parenting stories, which is what brought me here.

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Target Introduces Good & Gather––A New Grocery Label That Will Change How You Shop

by Shahrzad Warkentin

Making healthy choices on a budget and when you’re strapped for time isn’t always easy, but Target wants to help families do exactly that with a new grocery brand, Good & Gather.

The new line will feature 650 products from meal-prep packs to dairy and produce, all without artificial flavors, synthetic colors, artificial sweeteners and high fructose corn syrup. The idea behind it all is to make it easier for families to eat healthy.

Offerings will include items like an avocado toast salad kit, beet hummus and heat-and-serve roasted poblano mac and cheese.

“Our guests are incredibly busy and want great-tasting food they can feel good about feeding their families,” says Stephanie Lundquist, executive vice president, Food & Beverage, Target. “We saw this as a huge opportunity for Target to help. So our team got to work on our most ambitious food undertaking yet, reimagining our owned food brands to serve up convenient, affordable options that do not cut corners on quality or taste. Good & Gather is our way of helping even the most time-strapped families discover the everyday joy of food.”

As Good & Gather rolls out on store shelves and becomes the “flagship” brand, Target will be phasing out other brands including Archer Farms and Simply Balanced, as well as stream-lining the Market Pantry line. Good & Gather will launch in phases with items hitting stores beginning Sep. 15 and continuing to launch through late next year.

—Shahrzad Warkentin

All photos: Courtesy of Target

 

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Just Opened: Quin Candy Shop

by Cathie Ericson

Local. Check. Sustainable. Check. Small batch. Check. Totally Awesome. Check. High fructose neon brights? Uh, no thanks….Not at Quin, a new candy shop designed for discerning Portland kids and parents.

What You’ll Love
Well, for starters, it’s a candy store, so what’s not to love? From caramels to gumdrops to lollipops, everything is totally amazing. The sweets run the gamut from haute flavors like Smith Tea Smoked Chai, Jacobsen Sea Salt and Smoked Cola to kid faves like popcorn, every kind of fruit under the sun and good ol’ caramel.

You will swoon over the white chocolate/dark chocolate tootsie roll style “Swirly Twizzlie Rolls” and not just because that’s fun to say!

Candy is Dandy
Besides the hand-made candy, Quin stocks a selection of American craft chocolates and candy-themed books, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Naturally Sweet
Blackberry puree in our blackberry gumdrops? Yes, please! Whenever possible, Quin sources local, fresh ingredients. The ingredient list for the Dreams Come Chew fruit chews looks something like this: sugar, glucose, butter, citric acid, natural flavors.

Queen of Candy
Owner and Chief Candy Maker Jami Curl knows a thing or two about her sweets. She is the owner of the delish cupcakery Saint Cupcake. After offering caramels and other sweets in Saint Cupcake she decided to expand to her own candy store and we have to admit that we’re happy she did.

And it happened in a sugar rush: from the time she became aware of the lovely, airy space to opening day? Six weeks! How did she do it? Well, she’s a mom, after all. In fact she assures us that every item at Quin is “Theo approved,” referring to her six year old son.

Candy Land
Find Quin at 1022 West Burnside, 97205. They are open Monday through Saturday from noon to 6:00pm, closed on Sundays. Find them online at quincandy.com. Also, Quin uses Square, so leave your cash-ola at home. Again, totally Portland!!

Hot Tip: Quin is located right across the street from Powell’s City of Books which has Kids’ Story Time every Wednesday during the summer at 3:00pm. Now that’s sweet!

Tell us about your favorite candy store in Portland in the comment section below!

Copy and photos by: Cathie Ericson

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Real Moms Review Giddy Dip’ems

by Tuba Ugurulu

Snactivity Review Time!

Emilie’s son & daughter having a snactivity time

Have you tried the Giddy Dip’ems yet? The individually packaged snacks include four cookie-type bars and a dipping sauce. Emilie, Nancy and Robin, volunteer Red Tricycle Reader critics tried them out for you and share the words of wisdom with all of us. Curious about the results? Here are their Giddy Snacks reviews by answering 5 quick questions.

1. What’s the best thing about Giddy Dip’ems?

Emilie: The kids LOVED the cookies.  I tried them also and they were great.  I almost couldn’t get them to try the dip because they were gobbling up the cookies so fast.  I also love that the ingredients are natural and no artificial stuff.  All in all, the kids thought they were really awesome!

Robin:My kids love the red strawberry sauce! I like the individual packaging, but not necessarily the outer, happy meal type box. I would be okay with a clear zip top ziploc type bag I would use again later for trash.

Nancy: The crunchy cookie.

2. What would make Giddy Dip’ems even better?

Emilie: My three year old wasn’t crazy about the dip although I thought it was great.  He kept saying it was “spicy” and after trying it I think it  has a tart/citrusy taste (lemon maybe) that he wasn’t crazy about.  But, on the other hand, my 1.5 year old licked it out of the container.  She hasn’t developed an opinion on much yet.

Robin: My kids said they would like chocolate sprinkles, other sauces/flavors to dip. I would buy this product again, especially for birthday party and soccer snacks if they came in an eight pack. If the outer packaging were a ziploc for trash that would really make having it for sideline athletic games a cinch and you could market that having a place to put trash as an advantage! Great place to put trash and the juice boxes!

Nancy: A different color dip with a different flavor.


3. On a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being least likely and 5 being most likely, how likely are you to recommend Giddy Dip’ems to a friend?

Emilie: Depending on the price, I would say a five.  They were somewhat healthy (compared to other sweet snacks), the kids really had fun eating them and the packaging was easy to take on the go.

Robin: I would buy this product again, especially for birthday party and soccer snacks if they came in an eight pack.

Nancy: I’d recommend it with about a 4 due to it’s ease and health appeal for little ones.  However, my kids only tried it the first day but I couldn’t entice them to try any other day.


4. What are the top 3 places you shop for kids snacks?

Emilie: Fred Meyer, Amazon.com, Whole Foods

Robin: Fred Meyer, Safeway, QFC

Nancy: Diapers.com, Safeway, Trader Joes


5. What do you look for on labels / packaging when shopping for kids snacks?

Emilie: No artificial ingredients, no sugar/low in sugar, cost, real ingredients (whole wheat, fruit, etc.)

Robin: First three ingredients, then skim for hard to pronounce “bad” stuff.  I am okay with the sugar, especially cane, but prefer whole grains and raisin purees etc Don’t like “bad” oils either or msg, or high fructose anything. Kids thought the biscuits were very crunchy and hard, but that was okay with the sauce.

Nancy: Low sugar and fat content and any vitamins to benefit my kids.  I am not a fan of empty calories for anyone.

Giddy Snacks, $15.99 for 16 snacks
giddysnacks.com

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