Who doesn’t love a little Halloween magic? AKA the feel-good effects of a sugar rush because kids aren’t the only ones with a sweet tooth. Trick or treating may be a long-forgotten memory of your youth, but with roles reversed, you being the one to hand the candy out, temptation is still staring you in the face. You deserve to partake in the festivities like anyone else, and healthier candy brands make it easy. Here are your new favorites.
VegoBears
VegoBears comes from a long lineage of Swedish candy makers. The Candy People brand is over 40 years old, sticking around through the decades. When you’ve mastered healthy and still satisfying, there are endless candy possibilities. So it makes sense that Candy People started experimenting—the result: vegan California beach-themed gummy bears.
When you’re eating Malibu foam, Venice Beach Sour, and Santa Monica Sweet, you’re consuming the healthy lifestyle in a bite. Santa Monica bears, for instance, embody the liveliness of the iconic pier with fresh fruit flavors like strawberry, banana, and pineapple. You’re not going to experience the artificial flavoring that instantly reminds you how processed your candy is because the flavors and colors are natural and have no GMOs. Who knew the Swedes would be the ones giving us a taste of the west coast?
YumEarth
There’s something fun about getting a tad (emphasis on a tad) scared during the spooky season, but you can leave that job to the haunted houses and horror movies. Candy shouldn’t be the subject of your fears, whether that’s candy for yourself or the kiddos. Allergy scares are a real obstacle during this time of year, and YumEarth recognizes that. The healthy candy brand is free from the top 9 most common allergens. The candy substitute has every candy genre, from lollipops to chocolate, and is free from artificial dyes and GMOs. They even have Halloween variety bags, so you can swap Skittles for Giggles and Starburst for Chewies guilt-free.
UNREAL
UNREAL chocolates started when the Bronner brothers got cut off from their Halloween stash as children because of its unhealthy ingredients. The brothers and their father decided candy didn’t have to be bad for you just revamped to be better. All ingredients of UNREAL are whole ingredients, have no artificial flavors or coloring, and have far less sugar and calories than usual. Chances are you’ve seen these during a grocery run, and now you can stock up on Halloween variety bags with a choice of vegan or not. You can choose between dark chocolate nougat bars (your new Snickers sub), dark chocolate peanut butter cups (bye-bye Reeces), milk chocolate gems, and dark chocolate crispy quinoa gems (M&M’s who?). So, instead of confiscating the candy stash and inevitably eating it yourself, the family can share UNREAL chocolate and feel good about it.
Hu Chocolate
Hu represents the epitome of clean eating. The chocolate brand is a project created by three siblings – also the co-founders of Hu Kitchen. Hu Kitchen is where their clean eating philosophy began with the ‘Get Back To (Hu) man’ slogan. Hu is for those of you who love rich and decadent chocolates. Some bars include flavors like hazelnut butter, almond crunch, and dark chocolate gems. There is no refined or cane sugar. Instead, the brand uses Organic, unrefined Fair Trade coconut sugar. The bar base consists of cacao, unrefined coconut sugar, and cocoa butter; you won’t find any complicated chemical-sounding ingredients in these. Many of their products do contain nuts, and though they clean their equipment before batching nut-free treats, it is something to keep in mind if you have a severe allergy.
ChocZero Sea Salt Caramels
You have your chocolates, and you’ve got your candies, so for good measure, here’s a caramel to add to this year’s candy bowl. ChocZero Sea Salt Caramels have no added sugar. This may sound too good to be true; after all, caramel is essentially heated sugar. But ChocZero uses monk fruit as their secret sweetening weapon. You can bake the salted caramels into a sauce or baked goods. However, you can eat them as is, and because they’re individually wrapped, portion control is right in the design. Though the chews are sugar-free, they are not the lowest-calorie snack. But if you have a weakness for caramel, in moderation, the non-GMO goodie is the way to go.
FAQs
Q: Are UNREAL chocolates kosher?
A: Yes. UNREAL has the OK kosher certification and OU kosher certification.
Q: What allergens does YumEarth steer clear of?
A: YumEarth is peanut, tree nut, soy, dairy, sesame, egg, gluten, shellfish, and fish free.
Q: How does VegoBears’ expiration date work?
A: VegoBears are in European format, so the day of the month comes before the actual month in the expiration date.
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