Strollerderby : candy

Is Candy Medicine the New Candy Cigarette?

JeanneSager — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:06:00 GMT

Remember candy cigarettes? So much fun pretending to be so bad? I haven't seen them on store shelves for years, so I've got to assume marketers saw the danger of hooking kids with candy. But I wonder: is the new trend toward diguising kids medicines as gummy candies really any better?

The gelatinous blobs have sold like hotcakes to parents who have struggled to make their children swallow the traditional pediatrician-prescribed multi-vitamin. The fight to take your fiber pill becomes a non-entity when you're promising them, "you can have a gummy this morning!"

And here's where I'm going to play the grinch. I'm not going to argue they're easier to serve up, but should we really teach our kids that medicines are like candy?

Like those sweet slim ciggies before them, the gummy meds are parading something potentially dangerous in a candy form. Even "good for you" medicines like vitamins, which can reach toxic levels when overconsumed. Even those fiber treats, meant to keep your kids from getting blocked up, can cause the exact opposite when they get hold of the bottle of sweets and go to town.

So let's weigh this out - toxic possible overdose versus a morning fight. Which are you going to pick?

Image: MyCalorieCounter

Giant Gummy Bear On A Stick

Brett Singer — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:00:00 GMT

Babble's Food Week has passed but I couldn't resist this one.

It is indeed a "Giant Gummy Bear ... on a Stick. Nearly 90 times larger than a standard gummy bear." 88 times larger, to be precise. Which means that each Giant Gummy Bear is the same as 88 regular gummy bears. Which is a lot of candy. Available in blue, green, orange or red.

Now I love candy. But looking at this photo makes me a little sick to my stomach. That's an enormous pile of corn syrup and carnuba wax. (The folks at Vat 19 posted this information after people requested it. Because you need to know if the giant Gummy Bear on a Stick is healthy or not.) I think this might even make my kids gag, although I'm not sure. One of them is currently eating Ring Pops, which are pretty vile. But they aren't anywhere near this large.

Luckily the company seems to have a sense of humor about their gummy endeavors. Here's a video promoting the product:

Would you eat this? Or let your kids eat it?

Source: Vat 19

Baby Asleep On Dad's Head

Children's Books You Will Never Read

Japanese Potty Training Video

Hot Dogs With Spaghetti Inside - What's NOT For Dinner

Dumb Kiddy Product Makeovers

Cole Gamble — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:01:00 GMT

Dora the Sexy Explorer

As much as I understand a company wants to keep its product (I mean character) relevant to the audience, it’s not necessary to grow Dora with the kids. You see, new young kids come along to replace the old audience. I’ve yet to see Elmo grow up and wrestle with paying off college loans on his useless liberal arts degree. At five, my daughter is way past Dora, but my two-year-old boy is just getting into her. Though I’ll admit the sexed up Dora may really keep him hooked.

Premium M&Ms

Oo la, la. These are M&M you wouldn’t be ashamed to serve at your debutante ball. Sorry, I like M&Ms but I’ll never pay five bucks for them just for the gilded packaging.

Strawberry Shortcake

Okay, so maybe the old Strawberry Shortcake looks a little homeless, so perhaps it was high time to update the look. But look closer, notice anything startlingly different? The new SS is an anorexic twig. And the company behind SS promises to feature Shortcake spending a lot more time on the cell phone, to reflect modern girls. You know, just texting muffin recipes like girls these days do.

Have you seen old favorites (poorly) dressed up to keep their appeal?

More Good Stuff:

10 Great Books For (Traumatizing) Children

Eating Your Baby's Placenta

Disturbing Baby-Swinging PSA

Kitchenista: Candy is Dandy (But Cheating is Quicker)

KeriF — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 21:06:00 GMT

I've always openly admired (but secretly hated) those moms who make handmade candies for their children's parties, artfully decorated homemade marshmallows or intricately crafted chocolate pops. Don't get me wrong, I love making homemade treats, and will shamefully use them to bribe the preschool director, but my treats always look homemade.

So when it comes to candy, I skip the tempering of the chocolate and the boiling of the sugar and the fancy molds and such, and I do what every smart mom does: I cheat.

Lately, I'm big on chocolate. Especially this coating chocolate made by Ghirardelli, which my brother-in-law picked up in a 5-pound block at Costco. Coating chocolate has other ingredients in it that make it shiny and allow it to dry super-duper fast. Here's what I've made with it in the last few weeks:

Fancy pretzels: Dip braided pretzel in melted coating chocolate so that about 3/4 of the pretzel is covered (enough room for your fingers to hold the pretzel while you dip it in the chocolate). Sprinkle pretzel with sprinkles (multi-colored non-pareils are good). Place on lined sheet tray to air dry. If you're feeling really fancy, stick a mini marshmallow on the chocolate tip of the pretzel before you sprinkle the sprinkles.

S'mores: Combine mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, and graham cracker pieces. Add melted coating chocolate and stir to, well, coat. You want enough chocolate to just coat the ingredients. Scoop into little mounds on a lined baking sheet or fill mini- or regular-cupcake liners. Set aside to set at room temperature.

Chocolate-covered nuts and dried fruit: You need patience for this: dip individual salted nuts and pieces of dried fruit (the sweet/salty combo is divine) into the chocolate so that each nut is covered halfway. Set on a lined baking sheet to set. Some good combos: salted almonds and dried apricots; salted cashews and dried cherries; salted pistachios and "dried plums."

Mores S'mores: I made these with my niece for pajama day at her school and they were a big hit: dip large marshmallows in melted chocolate so that the chocolate covers them about halfway. Top chocolate end with a small piece of graham cracker, or dip in graham cracker crumbs. Leave at room temperature to set.

Of course, all of these will work just as well with melted chocolate (semi-sweet or milk) or chocolate chips; they will just take longer to set. If using real chocolate (rather than coating chocolate) I like to put it in the refrigerator for half and hour or so to set, then remove and keep at room temperature. (Real chocolate will set, eventually, at room temperature, but it will take over an hour.)

What are your favorite uses for melted chocolate? (Keep it clean, folks!)

Peeper Madness - Crazy For Peeps

Brett Singer — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 14:30:00 GMT

I thought I was into Peeps. I mean, I am. They're tasty. (Some would say sexy. I wouldn't. But some would.) They make great dioramas. And you can control your Wii with them.

But Aaron at Unlikely Words is REALLY into Peeps. So much so that he wrote "Marshmallow Peeps On the Internet - A Study," a collection of over 150 links to pages praising the perfection of the Peep. Actually, that sentence was mostly written for its alliterative properties; some of the sites Aaron links to don't much like Peeps at all.

Housekeeping note: It's Easter Sunday, which means that Peep time has ended. But not really. The day after Easter is when the Peeps go on sale. You can wait a few extra days to get them really cheap (no pun intended), but that's risking having no Peeps at all. So pick up a couple of packs for your kids. And ten or twelve for yourself. They are on sale, after all.

More Peeper Madness

Peeper Madness - Supeep Court

Peeper Madness – Nude Peeps

Peeper Madness - Peeps On The Pole

Peeper Madness - Control Your Wii With Peeps (VIDEO)

Peeper Madness - Control Your Wii With Peeps

Brett Singer — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 23:00:00 GMT

In a very real way I don't want to think about how this is possible.

Do Peeps contain some substance that acts as a conductor for Bluetooth, the wireless technology in the Wii-motes? If so, could you use a Peep as a cellphone headset? Could a Peep replace your wireless mouse? And if you eat too many, could some nefarious ne'er do well control you? The mind boggles. Or perhaps I've just eaten too many Peeps.

Source: Gizmodo via Buzzfeed

More Peeper Madness

Peeper Madness – Nude Peeps

Peeper Madness - Peeps On The Pole

Peeper Madness - Supeep Court

Finish Line - Playmobil Gets Crucified

Brett Singer — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 02:30:00 GMT

Lots going on this week, as always.

Jeanne told us how Playmobil got all up in some priest's grill because he made a religious diaroma with their toys. Does this mean that companies could have sued my friends and I for putting our Tron action figures in the toaster oven?
Madeline politely told the breast pump banning contingent to shove it. That's a huge oversimplification, as well as my personal opinion. Madeline put it much better, so read the whole thing.
Mike told us that if your kids ever sue you because you grounded them, you can, as the song says, blame Canada. That's right -- a 12-year-old girl sued her dad because he wouldn't let her go on a class trip, and she won. Canada, you already gave us Celine Dion --wasn't that torture enough?
Hannah reminds us that the 60's were fun. And by "fun" we mean "incredibly sexist." “Boys can eat. Girls can cook.” Whoo-hoo! Read the whole thing here.
Shannon posts a video of one of the funniest toddlers on YouTube, and uses it as a starting point for a discussion on how kids deal with m-m-m-monsters.
Speaking of video, Cole brought us one that is either disturbing or a great big plate of who cares, depending on your point of view. Me, I'm wondering why the childbirth simulator model is so quiet. Watch it yourself right here.
As for me, it was all Peeps, all the time. Peeper Madness, folks. Catch it.

Don't eat too many jellybeans on Sunday. See you next week.

Read more:

Finish Line - April Fools And More

Peeper Madness - Supeep Court

Brett Singer — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 22:30:00 GMT

This bit of Peeper Madness is inspired. The facial expressions (such as they are; Peeps are not known for their emotional range) are priceless. As the artist who created this image puts it, "The Supreme Court is a wonderful, serious institution of high-minded thinking. Therefore, what better way to memorialize their noble work but in peeps?"

See more Peep-a-rific pics here.

Source: Chicago Tribune via Buzzfeed

More Peeper Madness

Peeper Madness – Nude Peeps

Peeper Madness - Peeps On The Pole

Brett Singer — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:30:00 GMT

Another piece of Peeper Madness for your enjoyment.

Let's call this one: a Peep show.

This time of year, I find this image more exciting than one of an actual strip club. Like I said, I need help.

More to come...

Source: somebody's tumblr via Buzzfeed

More Peeper Madness

Peeper Madness – Nude Peeps

Brett Singer — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:15:00 GMT

With Easter coming up this Sunday, I feel the need to do several posts about my personal favorite part of this holiday. Peeps.

First up – a Peep in his/her/its' birthday suit.

This image is of a Peep pre-sugary coating. To me it's both slightly disturbing and also somewhat beautiful. Look at the purity of the marshmallow... um, whatever that substance is. I actually find the pic oddly soothing. Not unlike eating a Peep. Or perhaps a whole box of them.

The really sad part is that I love Peeps more than my children. Wait, I mean more than my children love them. The Peeps. I didn't mean that I love Peeps more than I love my children. I don't think that's what I meant... Oh man, I need help.

Peeper Madness Image

Nude Peep: Chicago Tribune via Buzzfeed

What's In Your Easter Basket?

editors — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:00:00 GMT

If you will be playing the role of Easter bunny this year, you have no doubt already scored the requisite jellybeans and chocolate eggs. However, if you’re interested in filling up those baskets without putting your children into a sugar-induced mania, check out these ideas for cute, creative (and just plain weird) basket-stuffers. — Lindsay Armstrong

Most Cuddly
Oh my goodness! This is one cute, snuggly little bunny. He reminds me a bit of the Velveteen Rabbit. If bunnies aren’t your thing, don’t worry. They also have a lamb, a duck, a frog, and a pig, all perfect for spring.

Best for Babies
This sweet burp cloth is great for even the littlest Easter baskets! Again, available in a wide range of cute baby animal designs.

Most Useful
After getting kids all wired up on sugar, it’s good to give them a fun, outdoor activity to do. That’s where these come in handy. Cute Easter themed bubble bottles and egg-shaped sidewalk chalk are not too small for little hands.

Most Disturbing
Remember Make-a-Scene stickers? All of the stickers share a common theme and you can build a little picture with them. They’re so fun and cute and not emotionally scarring…except when the sticker theme is “crucifixion and entombment.”

Best Non-Egg Treasure Hunt
Get all of the fun of searching for treasures without the pain of hiding them with this adorable, duck-shaped, I-Spy bag. There is also an easier version for younger children.

Most Blatant Attempt at Making a Non-Easter Item Holiday Friendly
Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like the words “bunny” and “missile” don’t belong together in a single product description. Besides, plastering a smiley face on a Nerf-like football does not a bunny make.

Grossest/Coolest
Ok, ok, so maybe exploding frogs have nothing to do with Easter, but these soaps are just plain fun and guaranteed to get you candy-sticky kid into the tub.

Best Bang for Your Buck
These beautiful, egg-shaped crayons are made from recycled materials, easy for small hands to grasp, and are really works of art in and of themselves. This is one egg that will last you long past Easter.

Best Eggs for Huntin'
These adorable, nature inspired eggs are perfect for an outdoor hunt.

Happy Easter, everyone!

Peanut-Free Candy Sources for Safe Easter Baskets (or anytime!)

Shannon LC Cate — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 19:00:00 GMT

While the jury may be out on whether or not peanut allergies are over-diagnosed, there are those among us who know the hard way, beyond a shadow of a doubt that their kids can't have peanuts. We've got not such allergies in our family, but decided to go peanut-free "lite" last year to be more hospitable to a good friend (and frequent visitor) who does have a serious peanut allergy. We replaced peanut butter with cashew butter and peanut oil with sunflower oil and choose non-peanut alternatives when buying a rare bag of candy or trail mix and the like. What we don't do is scour every label for that ominous "manufactured in a facility that processes peanuts" and toss the offenders out.

But some folks have to go that extra step and for them, Easter can be as scary as Halloween. In fact, it was just last Easter when our peanut-allergic pal found herself at the business end of an epi-pen and on a frightening trip to the ER, after tasting a playmate's Easter basket booty.

In response to the need of some folks to have peanut-free Easters (and the desire of others to be sensitive to those with whom they are egg-hunting), we've found a few good sources of safe candy for the allergic set.

Vermont Nut-Free candy offers a wide variety of chocolate candy, including some cute ideas for a non-traditional Easter basket. Tired of bunnies? How about workbench tools or "creepy-crawlies?"

Peanut-Free Planet offers a pretty violet Easter basket safe and filled with chocolate. They also offer a lot of other allergy-sensitive products for those with dairy, wheat, or other sensitivities.

For those of you north of the 49th parallel, or wistfully longing to be, Canadian Sweets will ship your favorite Canuck delights anywhere and offer a large allergy-sensitive selection including several Aero bars and Dare candies.

I know not everyone celebrates Easter, but everyone loves candy--well everyone I want to be friends with, anyway. So even if Easter is not your basket, may you find something delicious (and safe) to indulge in this week.

Camel Makes New Cigarettes that Look and Taste Like Candy--Marketed to Kids?

Cole Gamble — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:02:00 GMT

The debate over whether tobacco companies market to kids has waged for decades. Now it would appear Camel has invented cigarette candy. Being test marketed in my hometown of Portland (sweet!), new Orbs Dissolvable Tobacco is pellets of what R.J. Reynolds calls dissolvable tobacco and look like a candy mint.

Surely this won’t piss anyone off.

To be fair, nicotine lovers have the right to enjoy the stuff in any form they like as long as it doesn’t hurt others. Orbs would make it easier for those folks to enjoy a nic hit socially. But c’mon. It’s packaged just like chewing gum. R.J. Reynolds is going to catch a lot of hell.

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Time for Gummy-Worm Compost: Green Gingerbread House Competition

Miriam Axel-Lute — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 22:30:00 GMT

Are you fond of gingerbread houses, but always found them a little, well, wasteful? Perhaps even (dare we say it?) too greenhouse-gas emitting?

Step up to the plate! Have your gingerbread and green it too! (Sorry. Couldn't help it.) It's the 2nd annual Bake for a Change challenge, wherein gingerbread houses compete for the title of most sustainable!

No, really, check it out. The rules are simple: it must be all edible, contain at least four sustainable design elements, and include a minimum of four walls, a floor, a door, two windows, and a roof. The hosts even helpfully include links to both sustainable design primers and ginderbread recipes. Enter by uploading pics to Flickr. And there's still time: deadline is Dec. 31.

The winner from last year was creative and super super nerdy (licorice shoelaces representing the "ground-source heat-pump external ground loop" anyone?).

I'm a little fonder of the approach of Janet Stemwedel over at Adventures in Ethics and Science, who, along with things like an orange-peel gutter leading to a rain barrel, also took the mandate more literally, using "recycled candy from a kindergarten graduation 4.5 years ago" and "ancient lollipops" and reducing the carbon footprint of making new gingerbread by using "reclaimed graham crackers." (Her family's house is pictured above.)

That may be stretching the "edible" rule a bit, but it's at least as much in the spirit as artificially-flavored-wafer-cookie solar panels, you know?

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Do You Still Have Halloween Candy In Your House?

JeanneSager — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:02:00 GMT

I was one of those cranky parents who refused to buy Halloween candy this year. I stocked up on the foodless treats instead - the plastic teeth and rubber bangle bracelets that I left for my husband to hand out to the sugared-up masses. So why do I still have a closet full of miniature candy bars and orange one-serving baggies of cookies? Thanksgiving is a week away people.

Still think I'm a crank for not stocking up before the goblins made their rounds? I thought I was conservative even with our tromping around on Halloween night. We treated just enough doorbells with incessant ringing before my three-year-old elephant and her companions the kitty cat, cop and UPS deliveryman tired of walking and started begging to be carried. I wasn't knocking down the neighborhood for a plastic pumpkin's worth of candy.

And I didn't hold out on her either. I let her skip dinner for just one night in favor of a gut stuffed chock full of chocolate. I've let her have a piece after dinner or slipped in the lunchbox for weeks.

But still it sits, the orange globe with its blacked out eyes and teeth staring me down every time I open the cabinet door. My willpower is wavering. What's one mini KitKat or three, a mini Three Musketeers or two, just one bag of Teddy Grahams? No, I can't. I won't. I have to leave room for the pumpkin pie.

Image: Mars

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Why Do People Still Hand Out Unwrapped Halloween Treats?

Brett Singer — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:00:00 GMT

With this whole election thing, Halloween kind of got pushed to the side. That's not a bad thing. But now that November 4th has come and gone, we can get back to some of the other things in life that matter.

Things like candy.

Now. On October 31st, my children wandered around knocking on doors and requesting sweets. They were given large quantities of them. Most were pretty standard: miniature Kit Kats, Nestle Crunch and other chocolate-based products. A few individual bags of candy corns. The occasional oddball, such as chewy Swee-tarts (mmm... chewy Swee-tarts...).

The real surprise, though, was that in this day and age, some people still give out non-factory sealed Halloween treats.

There was one lazy person who just opened a bag of marshmallows for all of the kids to stick their hands into. Their unwashed, germy hands.

Some people at least meant well. One enterprising young couple had melted different colored chocolates onto mini-pretzels and put them into little bags. When I discovered this clever concoction in my guys' trick or treat haul, I threw them out. I felt bad about it for about two seconds but I just didn't feel comfortable letting my kids eat them.

The reason for this goes back to my own childhood. Some nutjob was putting razor blades in apples (along with other weirdness). Therefore, no candy that wasn't all wrapped up. In a factory. And sealed.

Am I being too uptight? Or do you do the same thing? And if I may go all Jerry Seinfeld on you for a moment, who are these people handing out unwrapped candy on Halloween?

image: dancepartymassacre.com

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What Do You Do When Your Kid is an Extreme Partisan?

Kelly Mills — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 16:25:00 GMT

This has been the most emotionally charged election I can remember since, well, ever, and it makes sense that the kids would pick up on that. But Slate's Emily Bazelon asks, what do you do when your children's political allegiances are extreme? She covers a Halloween experiment in which kids chose candy from either side of a porch: The Obama side--marked with a large sign and life-size cutout--and the McCain side, with corresponding signage and cutout. The blue neighborhood kids gave Obama 78 percent of the vote.

But when offered two pieces of candy at the Obama side versus four at the McCain side, support for Obama only dropped by ten percent. The kids were pretty fixed in their political ways, even though their vote obviously didn't "count" (hmm, like the electoral college.) And Bazelon notes that her sweet kids threw around the word "traitor" to candy defectors. And, she observes, with kids who are reared on lots of lessons in tolerance, it may be that McCain is one of the few people they can clearly think of as a bad guy.

It makes me just slightly uncomfortable to see children actively campaigning, if only because you know that until a certain age, the opinions they express are not likely their own. Then again, isn't it our job to pass on our values, political or otherwise? And I've seen this "death and destruction to candidate so-and-so" in my area too, from young children who just seem to want to be able to freely bash a clear villain. What about your kids? Does it bother you?

Take Your Kids To Vote...NOW!

Witch Tricks Obama Kids on Halloween

The Candy That Time Forgot

Brett Singer — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 21:45:00 GMT

I stumbled onto a list of candies that we are unlikely to encounter in our children's treat bags tonight. One of them (Bit O'Honey) was on my Babble List, but the rest weren't. Let's look at a few entries from the Island of Discarded Sweets:

Bubble Gum Cigarettes

To my recollection, these tasted really gross, but they blew sugary "smoke" and were therefore "cool" – or should that be "Kool"? I can't imagine seeing them today.

Candy Buttons

Nothing wrong with these, I guess – that is, they're not a candy that mimics a horrible unhealthy habit. But they do encourage the eating of paper, since it's impossible to get the stupid buttons off the backing without ingesting a little mashed up dead tree substance.

Wax Bottles

I have to be honest here. I've never tasted one of these. Whenever I encountered one, I avoided it like booger-flavored jellybeans. I guess it's some sort of sugary liquid encased in wax – is that right? Anyone want to enlighten me?

Sixlets

These were a rare treat. So good. Like M&M's but somehow fancier.

Toffifay

These always offended me a little bit. I can't remember if “It’s Too Good For Kids!” was the actual slogan but that was definitely the attitude. This and Toberlone – if these somehow ended up in my trick or treat bag, some dopey grown-up would liberate them from my possession. NO CANDY IS TOO GOOD FOR ME!

Pop Rocks

Man, do I not miss these things. They did not, I believe, actually kill Mikey. But they're so gross it's believable.

There's more, read the rest of the list here. Any old-time candy that you miss, or don't miss?

Source: MightyJunior

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Doling Out Halloween Candy to Over-Sugared Tots

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:26:00 GMT

My first inclination when confronted with a pillow sack full of candy is to steal it -- steal the whole thing, hide it away high on a bookshelf and spend the next 30 nap times lazily eating on miniature Mars bars and those delicious Smarties.

Then I imagine my daughter bursting into tears after such a heinous breach of parental trust and I relent.

"One piece," that's what I'm sure I'll tell her tonight, "You've may have one piece of your bounty tonight and then some more tomorrow."

She's 2 and a half. A sack full of candy so late at night would doom us all. But again, 2. That's pretty easy to handle.

How about you parents with older kids -- just how much do you allow them to eat tonight? Some people fall into the whole bag side of the debate -- let them eat the whole damn thing and they'll be so sick they'll never do it again. Others go for the one piece side of the equation. Lots of good points on both sides.

So how do you dole out that candy tonight?

Thank the Gods: Candynalia Is Finally Here!

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 12:10:00 GMT

Halloween. I meant Halloween -- that ancient, pagan ode to miniature boxes of Nerds and cellophane wrapped lollipops.

Today is a big day in my world. And I am celebrating mightily. Which leads me over to FoodGal, who remembers what it was like to receive a See's Candy box as a child and still has a fascination today:

"As a child, I sometimes got scolded by my Dad for pinching the corners of all the candies in the box to see what fillings they held inside. As an adult, I was in awe of my friend Lori, who had the uncanny ability to discern what each piece of candy was, just by looking at it."

FoodGal offers a wonderful tour of See's Candy factory and it's worth a moment of your time, if you're as big of a candy freak as I am. Honestly, I haven't seen so much butter since that one time in Paris.

Happy Trick or Treating tonight!

Top 10 Halloween Candies I Never Wanted in My Trick-or-Treat Bag

Jen Chaney — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:02:00 GMT

You may have seen Brett's list of The Best Halloween Candy ever, which -- being the Debbie Downer that I am -- naturally made me think about the Halloween candy I used to like least when I was a kid. Yes, my trick-or-treat bags got filled with plenty of super-awesome treats: your Snickers bars, your Milk Duds, your Bottle Caps. But I also got some stuff that simply did not satisfy my delicate child palate.

With that in mind, here are the 10 candies I never wanted to get on Halloween night:

10. Jawbreakers: Those just sound scary, don't they? After almost breaking my jaw on one of these, I never wanted to see them again.

9. Chunkys: These looked kinda good. Then you bit into one and ... oh. Yeah, not so much.

8. Candy rings: Now, don't get me wrong. I like bling you can eat as much as the next person. And the cherry-flavored, ruby-style ones taste pretty delish. My main objection to the candy rings is the invariable condition they cause: Ultra-sticky hands. Blech.

7. Hot Tamales: I know some people love these, even buy them at the movies. But I don't need candy that sets my mouth on fire. Really. Just save the kids the trouble and shove a bottle of tabasco sauce into their trick-or-treat bags.

6. 3 Musketeers: I cannot tell a lie -- I don't like whipped nougat.

5. Bit 'O Honey: I know Brett listed this at No. 5 on his list, but I never cared for these. Honey -- it sounds too natural. And just a bit-o it? No one needs to show that kind of restraint on Halloween.

4.Strawberry Bon Bons: I liked the wrapper and how it looked so much like a strawberry. But that's where the love affair abruptly ended.

3. Now and Laters: Didn't want 'em then, don't want 'em now, won't want 'em later.

2. Candy corns: I used to eat these by bucketload as a kid. It wasn't until sometime in college that I stopped mid-chew and went, "Man, these are disgusting." Stop lying to yourselves, people. Those striped triangular bastards have held Halloween hostage for too long.

1. Good & Plenty: Anything licorice-flavored is a game ender for me. And I never appreciated that the candy itself lied to me. These aren't good. And there aren't plenty in each box. Because of that hypocrisy, these pink and white candies rank in the top spot.

Related Links:

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Breaking News: Cadbury chocolate made in China recalled

Brett Singer — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 03:15:00 GMT

The AP is reporting that Cadbury is "recalling 11 types of Chinese-made chocolates after tests found they contained the industrial chemical melamine." This follows the recall of tainted milk powder in China.

AND, according to Newsinferno.com, a specific candy made by Cadbury called "White Rabbit" has been found to contain Melamine, the substance that cause more than 50,000 children to fall ill in China. The candy has been "distributed to California, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Texas, and Washington state through wholesale distributors to retail stores."

Before you say what I said ("Newsinferno? What's that?"), here's a link to the FDA's press release about the recall.

Newsinferno also reports that, "Pizza Hut suspended supplying cheese powder found to be contaminated by melamine in Pizza Hut’s Taiwan branch." Unless you happen to be in Taiwan, this one is pretty easy to avoid, but the White Rabbit stuff sounds like it could be in your local candy shoppe. Plus there are 11 other varieties, such as Eclairs (sold in Australia). So be careful.

But wait! There's more! According to Wikipedia, this White Rabbit stuff was recalled last year in the Philippines because it contained formaldehyde. Yum!

Anyone else in the mood for some good news? Like, "Field of unicorns found frolicking in Central Park, film at 11"? Sorry, I made that one up. Sounds good though, right?

Sources: CBS News/AP, Newsinferno.com, Sydney Morning Herald, Wikipedia (also image)

Arkansas Evangelist's compound raided, six children removed

They say: Chinese baby formula is dangerous

Mom finds hairy Goldilocks in 2 year old's bed

Dad buys beer for his toddlers

Now Chinese Coffee May Also Be Contaminated

Chinese Milk Scandal Heads to Europe. Is the U.S. Next? Yes!

YOU say: I got fooled (update to "They USED to say: give babies cola")

Shockingly Phallic Hannah Montana Candy

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 23:50:00 GMT

It’s pretty astounding that Disney had the nerve to blast Annie Leibovitz for sexualizing Miley Cyrus in those Vanity Fair photos. Not that I’m any fan of taking photos of topless 15-year-olds and calling them art, but this, I gotta say, is far worse.

Unless the marketing people who came up with this candy are blind robots, they had to be perfectly aware of what it looks like Miley is about to do to that gummy guitar. They even felt the need to explain what the shapes are on the package, lest people confuse them with something inappropriate, like a phallus.

Well, I’m pretty sure the “microphone” shapes are not going to help matters any.

Photo: Jezebel

When Bad Things Happen to Good Candy

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Wed, 14 May 2008 15:29:00 GMT

Childhood obesity and the increasing number of adults carrying an extra ton is no laughing matter. Candy, on the other hand, can be quite amusing. At its winsome best, candy can transport us back to a summer camp, a corner store, a more carefree, less mommy needs a thigh master time in our lives.

Candy is good.

Candy worship is serious business. There are websites dedicated to helping us understand our love of candy, the history and memory of candy.

It's really a shame that everything now has to be loaded with sugar. Bread, cereal, soda... It's kind of stealing candy's thunder. As a once in awhile treat, candy is transformative. Don't believe me? Ask your kids.

2-Year-Old Branded 'Thief'

Madeline Holler — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:29:00 GMT

Is this little girl a thief? Store workers at a U.K. Woolworths called her one after she helped herself to a piece of candy from the bulk food bin.

Shortly after she popped the tooth-shaped sweet into her mouth, a staff memeber rounded the corner and said rather loudly, "That's theft!"

From the Daily Mail:

An incredulous Mrs Khan was then forced to listen to a stern lecture about the health and safety rules of buying confectionary and pay for the sweet.

True, it's theft. Technically. But is it really?

The mother offered to pay for it, but she still had to sit through the lecture. She also argues that with three kids, it's impossible to watch all of them always.

I think apologizing and paying for it is the right thing to do. If stores are losing a lot of money on tiny tot thievery, they could do themselves a favor and keep the open bins of candy out of reach of children.

We've done the same thing in my family, eaten a few grapes before they had been weighed and purchased. For awhile, my oldest confused all unpackaged food with samples.

In any case, the mom says she was humiliated and is waiting for an apology from Woolworth's executives.

What do you think? Has your kid ever stolen anything?