It’s that time of year again…when little goblins come knocking at your door expecting sweets. I remember with my first child—32 FREAKIN’ years ago—I wished there were organic alternatives to the mainstream treats. But unless I was willing to hand out carob brownies (that no child in her right mind would eat), I was stuck.
Luckily, this year, my youngest (who’s dressing up as a little devil, by the way) has a plethora of choices of organic candy. Although I’ll probably be the only mom giving it away…but at least it is available. At least I have a choice.
And the truth is organic candy has gotten pretty delicious. I was mentioning it to a grown-up man at work, and he made a face and said something like, “Ew. Organic candy does not sound very good.” Then I asked him if he ever ate the gummy worms sold in our cafeteria and he said, “Yeah, those are really good!” “Well,” I told him, smugly, “those are organic.” Ha! Take that! You’ve been tricked over a treat!
I mean, why wouldn’t organic candy taste good? Organic sugar, organic chocolate, organic butter, and organic flavors…it’s all the best there is. And now we have heaps of options.
Here are 10 alternatives to toxic, GMO candy (you can find most of them at this online store):
1. Surf sweets. Gummy worms, gummy bears, sour berry bears, watermelon rings…for all your fruity, chewy, sweet, or sour candy pleasure. This company makes great stuff, and it’s organic, gluten-free, and non-GMO. Kids and grown-up magazine editors alike love them.
2. Justin’s Peanut Butter Cups. These come in milk and dark chocolate and are a much-better-tasting version of the fake, GMO stuff that comes in an orange wrapper (although, given a chance, I would eat one of those, too—I’d just have regrets afterwards).
3. YummyEarth Lollipops. Who doesn’t love a good lollipop? Especially after getting a shot at the doctor’s office? Oh, wait, they don’t do that anymore. When I WAS A KID, you used to get a lollipop just for going through the bank drive-thru with your mom. Ahh, the good old days.
4. OCHO Candy Bars. These come in flavors like caramel and peanut or coffee and peppermint. I confess, I haven’t tried them, but they look damn delicious!
5. Trusweets Organic Candy Canes. For those Halloweeners who are already jonesing for Christmas. That would not be me. I hate candy canes. But my kids love them, so I buy them—but only the organic ones.
6. Go Naturally Organic Hard Candy Drops. Made with real organic honey. Go for the Halloween flavors like blood orange!
7. Equal Exchange Candy Bars. These classic candy bars come in flavors like milk chocolate crisp, peanut butter, and fruit and nut. They’re also fair trade! Now, that’s not scary at all. The company also makes milk and dark chocolate hearts, eggs, and small bites. Yum!
8. Candy Tree Licorice Laces. Packaged in nice individual-sized bundles for those who like licorice in either black or red.
9. Sjaaks Organic Vegan Pumpkin Spice Bites. Pumpkin-flavored caramel wrapped in orange foil! Who wouldn’t want to try that?
10. Trujoy Sweets Organic Choco Sweets. These are the Tootsie substitute of the organic world!
Being organic doesn’t mean that children have to be deprived of candy on Halloween. Organic candy for everyone! Even gluten-free vegans!
I’ve given out packages of gum, just because they are all wrapped and sealed and I figure the parents don’t have to worry that something harmful might be inserted in the gum. But now I’m wondering if chewing gum has ingredients that may not be so great. I’ve never seen any gum that said ‘organic’ on it. But maybe I should start looking for it now. Thanks for the option of getting organic candy, Maria.
It may be organic, but what about the sugar?
Great but where do you buy this ?
Too late
Should have brought this out a lot earlier…..
I have been handing out raisins and nuts in their shells for decades. I didn’t want my chikdren eating chemicals so why would I poison other children? Last year i had happy cries over small boxes of raisins