Tag: tootsie roll

Ghostly Simple

This Halloween, I’m keeping it ghostly simple as well as gluten-free.

I sometimes think back to the Halloweens of my childhood. They were filled with homemade candied or caramel apples and popcorn balls. My parents worked on carnivals for weeks making sure we had dry ice to create creepy fog as we bobbed for apples from a galvanized tub or stuck our hands in spaghetti brains in a haunted house. The doings were quite elaborate. Some years, life delivers too much for Halloween to be a priority.

Nonetheless, I don’t want to disappoint any trick-or-treat regulars. That means keeping the décor, activities, and treats simple. A few pumpkins with drawn faces or trash bag draped balloon ghosts will suffice for decorations. Answering the door in costume (or not) is sufficient activity. All that’s left is to choose and purchase some candy.

Some years, I spend hours researching a range of gluten-free candy or fun trinkets. That can mean searching far and wide to buy the most interesting things I find. This year, I’m skipping all of that in favor of the largest, cheapest bag of candy available from my regular grocer.

five pound bag of candy

As it turns out, a 5 lb. bag of Child’s Play Tootsie® Roll Favorites looks like a good option. Not only is it gluten-free, it’s peanut-free too. Plus, this bag offers me FUN right there on the bag. And I love fun!

I also love Tootsie Roll POPS® and my grandson loves DOTS®. Seems like the way to go. On further examination, I discover even more variety than I expected. The bag contains Tootsie Roll Midgees, Juniors, and Snack Bars. Those are the technical names. You may recognize them as small, medium, and large Tootsie Rolls. I love this because there’s something for every size trick-or-treater.

With all those sizes, the fun has just begun. The bag includes an assortment of Fruit Chews in lemon, lime, orange, vanilla, and cherry flavor. I think vanilla is a little weird for a “fruit” chew, but some people may not.

Gummies are not neglected in this collection. DOTS are packaged in a box that looks like it was shrunk from a movie theater. The boxes feature gummies flavors of cherry, lemon-lime, strawberry, and orange.

If you like to work for your rewards, choose the Tootsie Pops. My bag seems to have mostly cherry, chocolate, and grape, but there may be some other flavors buried in there.

And although this collection is gluten-free and peanut-free, there are some common allergens buried in there – milk, soy, and possibly eggs may be present. The good news is, Tootsie makes it easy to view that information on their website.

If 5lbs is more than you need, the Child’s Play assortment is available at my local store in a 21.98 oz bag as well as 2.5 and 3.5 lb bags. Some sizes will also be offered through your favorite online retailer.

Instead of buying multiple bags or more expensive chocolates, this bag fits the bill for this year’s theme of keeping life ghostly simple.

Happy Halloween!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Boo on a Budget

Enjoy These Gluten-Free Candies on Halloween

Enjoy these gluten-free candies on Halloween and avoid the consequences of an auto-immune response. If you’re Celiac or Gluten Intolerant, there’s no need to feel limited on Halloween. Below, we’ve listed more than 75 candies that are gluten-free to help you navigate the candy isle at your local store. For your convenience, we’ve also listed items to avoid.
Halloween Candy
You can also use this list to sort your child’s candy haul once you’re back home. Let’s face it, there’s too much sugar in that cute pumpkin shaped bucket to turn any kid loose with it sans supervision. As a parent setting boundaries, you can determine the best way to approach the task of removing harmful items.

If your child is very young, you may not even want to mention gluten. You can simply focus on yourself as the keeper of all sugarfest items and establish a schedule that you will follow for doling out the treats. Once you’ve set that expectation, dispose of the harmful items and distribute the others as promised.

You will have successfully set your child’s expectation, and although they may put up a fuss in the beginning, if you stick with your plan they will soon give up in recognition that fussing is futile. Yes, some kids will require being told no over and over and over again, but the simplest solution to such behavior for the long haul is to stick by your plan.

Each time you enforce boundaries and show the kids you mean what you say, you reinforce the idea that defiance will not result in a change in your plan. Setting this standard early will be useful as your children mature and you must help them understand that you will not allow them to have gluten-filled pizza no matter how much they whine that all their friends get to eat it.

If your child is older, you may want to have a conversation about which candies are gluten-free so that they can make good choices when at a friend’s house or in the convenience store.

Now let’s get to that candy list so you can move on to the task of finding or finishing the perfect costume!

From Hershey’s
Enjoy:
Almond Joy (except Almond Joy Pieces)
HERSHEY’s Milk Duds (all)
HERSHEY’s Nuggets
HERSHEY’s Nuggets Milk Chocolate with Almonds
HERSHEY’s SPECIAL DARK Dark Chocolate with Almonds
HERSHEY’s Nuggets Extras Creamy Milk Chocolate with Toffee and Almonds
HERSHEY’s Milk Chocolate Bar
HERSHEY’s Milk Chocolate Bar with Almonds
HERSHEY’s Air Delight
Heath Bar
Milk Chocolate Kisses
Caramel Filled Chocolate Kisses
Cherry Cordial Creme Kisses
MOUNDS (all)
PAYDAY (all)
REESE’s Peanut Butter Cups (except for unwrapped minis and seasonal shapes)
REESE’s PIECES (all except REESE’s PIECES Eggs)
ROLO Caramels (all except Minis)
Scharffen Berger
Skor Toffee Bar
YORK Peppermint Pattie (all except YORK PIECES, YORK Minis and YORK Shapes)

Avoid:
Almond Joy Pieces
HERSHEY’s Extra Dark Chocolate
HERSHEY’s Cookies ‘N’ Creme Bar
HERSHEY’s Milk Chocolate Drops
HERSHEY’s Miniatures
HERSHEY’s Special Dark Bar
Mr. Goodbar
REESE’s Peanut Butter Cups unwrapped Minis and seasonal shapes,
REESE’s PIECES eggs
ROLO Minis
Symphony Bar
Kit Kat
YORK PIECES
YORK Minis and YORK Shapes

From Jelly Belly
Enjoy:
All jelly beans are gluten-free and dairy free
Jelly Belly Candy Corn

Avoid:
Any mix containing malt balls
Chocolate Bridge Mix
Licorice Bridge Mix
Chocolate Malt Balls
Licorice Buttons
Licorice Pastels

From Just Born
Enjoy:
Seasonal Peeps as noted on package
Mike and Ike’s – Berry Blast
Italian Ice
Jolly Joes
Lemonade Blends
Original Fruits
Redrageous
Tangy Twister
Tropical Typhoon
Zours
Hot Tamales
Goldenberg’s Vintage Peanut Chews

Avoid:
Any Peep not labeled GF

From Mars Chocolate
Please read labels on all Mars products
Enjoy:
All flavors of 3 Musketeers
Dove Chocolate products other than those containing graham or cookies
Plain M&Ms meet the stringent standards for GF certification, additional M&Ms other than pretzel flavored or special flavors
Milky Way Midnight Bar
Milky Way Caramel Bar
Munch Nut Bar unless noted
All flavors of Snickers

Avoid:
M&M pretzel flavor
Some packages of M&M White Chocolate, Mint, and M&M Coconut flavor
Maltesers
Mars Bar
Mars Combos
Milky Way Bar
Twix

From NECCO
Enjoy:
Candy Buttons
CANADA Mint
CANADA Wintergreen
Banana Splits Chews
Mint Julep Chews
Haviland Thin Mints
Haviland Wintergreen Patty
Mary Jane
Mary Jane Peanut Butter Kisses
NECCO Wafers
NECCO Chocolate Wafers
Sky Bar
Sweethearts

Avoid:
Clark Bars
Haviland Bridge Mix
Haviland Real Chocolate Covered Raisins
Haviland Real Chocolate Double Dipped Peanuts
Mighty Malts
Peach Blossoms
Red Hot Cinnamon Bat-Wing Wafers
Slap Stix
Squirrel Nut Zippers
Sweethearts Mummy Hearts
Zombie Hearts

From Nestle
Enjoy:
Baby Ruth
Bit-O-Honey
Original Flavor Butterfinger
Goobers
Laffy Taffy
Laffy Taffy Rope
Milk Chocolate
Nips
Oh Henry!
Rasinets including Cranberry and Dark Chocolate
Runts
Sno-Caps
Wonka Pixy Stix
Wonka Lik-M-Aid Fun Dip

Avoid (some are processed in a facility that processes gluten containing items, read label):
100 Grand Bar
Butterfinger Crisp Bar
Butterfinger Giant Bar
Butterfinger Snackerz
Butterfinger Medallions
Butterfinger Jingles
Butterfinger Hearts
Butterfinger Pumpkins
Chewy Spree
Everlasting Gobstopper
Nestle Crunch Bar
Sweetarts
All flavors of Wonka Bars
Wonka Nerds
Wonka Gummies
Wonka Kazoozles

From Sweets
Enjoy:
Chocolate Jelly Sticks
Gummy Bears are all certified GF
Jelly Beans
Salt Water Taffy

Avoid:
Candies packaged by Sweets, but not made by Sweets. Read labels.

From Tootsie Roll Industries
Enjoy:
All Tootsie Rolls and Charms products with the exception of Andes cookies.
The following Tootsie Roll products are also peanut and nut product free:
Andes mints
Crows
Celia’s Milk or Dark Chocolate Covered Cherries
Charleston Chew
Charms Squares
Charms Sour Balls
Charms Candy Carnival
Frooties, Dots
Tropical Dots
Fluffy Stuff Cotton Candy
Junior Mints
Junior Caramels
Caramel Apple Pops
Fruit Smoothie Pops
Pops Galore
Tootsie Pops
Tootsie Peppermint Pops
Tropical Stormz Pops
Zip-A-Dee-Mini Pops
Child’s Play Tootsie Roll Assortment
Fruit Rolls
Tootsie Rolls
Sugar Babies
Sugar Daddy
Sugar Mama

Avoid:
Andes Cookies

From Mars Wrigley
Enjoy:
Cream Savers
Lifesavers
Skittles
Starburst

Avoid:
Altoids Smalls Peppermint Mints
Altoids Chocolate Dipped Covered Mints

I must admit it seems a bit ironic to blog about candy immediately following a post on healthy eating, but hey it’s Halloween and I love Halloween so I want you to quit worrying and have as much fun as I plan to!

Happy Halloween!

If you require additional information, you can contact these candy companies at the following numbers:
Hershey’s 800-468-1714
Jelly Belly 800-522-3267
Just Born 888-645-3453
Mars Chocolate 800-627-7852
Necco 800-225-5508
Nestle USA 800-225-2270
Sweet’s 855-772-7720
Tootsie Roll Industries 773-838-3400
Mars Wrigley 800-974-4539

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Sources:
http://www.thehersheycompany.com/nutrition-and-wellbeing/nutrition-information/special-dietary-needs/gluten-free-products.aspx
http://www.necco.com/FAQs.aspx
http://www.mars.com/global/about-mars/faq.aspx
http://www.nestle.com/aboutus/ask-nestle/answers/gluten-free-products
http://www.specialtyfood.com/organization/company/8077/