Fun Treats to Eat

I love little things I can snack on – either between meals or saved for something special after dinner.

Sometimes I feel like something sweet and then a mood will strike where I want something heartier - something with nuts - or simply something carefree like interesting candy.

I have compiled a list of a few great recent finds and wanted to share them with you – after all, it’s no fun eating alone!

Enjoy!

Stephanie

Isabella’s Cookie Company

All the way from Redondo Beach, California, Jennifer Palmer makes and sends out her amazingly thick homemade cookies, breads and granolas.

I was lucky enough to try Isabella’s Original and The Muffy Cookies.

Each Original cookie weighs “at least 1/3 of a pound,” so they are by far the heartiest cookie I’ve ever had. And with the brown sugar, walnuts and chocolate and peanut butter chips, you get a lot of cookie flavours in one, making it a great all-around choice for either yourself or as a gift.

The Muffy Cookie is the answer to wanting a blueberry muffin, but having it in a cookie instead. It has dried blueberries, milk chocolate covered blueberries and white chocolate chips so it satisfies your sweet tooth without having too much in the way of chocolate or maple, etc.

And there are tons of varieties to try – The Sugar Rush, Rocky Road, Apple Fritter are just a sampling of what she offers.

Jennifer uses real butter and wholesome chocolate and peanut butter and they contain no preservatives. Every order is handmade and baked-to-order.

Now think about all of the hard work and love that goes into each cookie – wouldn’t you rather buy these than a bag of machine-made cookies from your supermarket?

The Honey Wafer Baking Company

These large wafer discs filled with honey or chocolate candy are so much fun to eat and a light, delicious snack that you’ll wonder how you’ve gone without them this long!

An old European treat since 1925 (thanks to Mama Anisi), this thin wafers are 3 to a pack and only 90 calories per pack! When my neighbour read that, he ate the whole pack with no guilt. Well, until his husband came home. Then he felt a little guilty…

These amazing wafers have no preservatives, saturated fats or cholesterol and are great on their own, or as the family suggest, are a great “compliment to ice cream, hot chocolate and yogurt.”

I know you’re gonna think I’m crazy, but I think the original ones would be great crushed up atop a seared halibut fillet and sliced into strips for a baby spinach salad… I know, I know. But I think I’m onto something here.

These lovely treats come from a family-owned business where all they do is make these wafers.

It’s hard to imagine that in this fast-paced world. But I am grateful to the entire Anisi clan because now I can say I am a Honey Wafer Lover!

BumbleBar

I have had a lot of nut bars and some are better than others, but I think I have found some of the best.

BumbleBar are organic, vegan and gluten-free and come in really fun flavours so you don’t have to live with just the plain nut taste that can quite honestly, get pretty tired if you’re having a bar a day, like I do.

I love that they have a Chai flavour (mmm!), their Almond is plenty delicious with a cinnamon flavour throughout and Tasty Tropical is a combination of Pineapple, Coconut, and Almonds. This is a company that’s doing something different!

And if you love them as much as I do, you can join the Bar of the Month Club, to ensure that you are getting the bars you love on a regular basis.

These sesame seed-based bars are not only delicious but filling. They invoke instant energy and allow you to go throughout your busy day without eating poorly or subsequently, starving.

I am forever grateful to Liz and Glenn Ward, BumbleBar creators and owners. Their bars get me through the day. And because they are delicious, I look forward to them.

That’s a first!

Nunuttin’ Foods Inc

Okay, so say you want something like the bar above, but you’re allergic to nuts or other foods?

Don’t worry. I’ve got you covered.

Nonuttin’ products contain none of the following ingredients: Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Dairy,Eggs, Wheat, Barley, Rye, Trans Fats, Colours, Artifical flavours, Preservatives (including sulfites), Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), Animal By-Products and many Nonuttin’ products are also sesame free.

They carry granola bars, cookies, trail mixes, granola clusters and even dried apple.

I love the Nonuttin’ Trial Mix – Original without raisins. It contains salted soybeans, cherry fruit chips, dried apples, and 70% dark chocolate chunks. What a refreshing change from the Youth Mix I’ve been buying from the bulk store since the early 90s! Chocolate, fruit and soy, oh my!

The Nonuttin’ Granola Clusters – Vanilla Cinnamon are great if I’m craving something sweet, as are the Nonuttin' Chocolate Chip Granola Bars. I mean if you’re going to have something chocolatey, you might as well make it good for you at the same time. Just look at these ingredients - Pure, rice syrup, expeller pressed canola oil, organic crisp brown rice (organic brown rice, organic brown rice syrup, sea salt), pure oat bran, brown sugar, semi-sweet chocolate chips (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, anhydrous dextrose, soya lecithin, vanilla extract).

Hungry yet?

I am not allergic to anything other then a few antibiotics, but I love Nonuttin’ for their purity and great taste. A wonderful combination if you ask me.

And they’re Canadian! Woo hoo!

Jones Soda Co.

I have been drinking Jones Soda on and off since they first started back in the late 80s. Sure you can enjoy their cream soda, grape or strawberry lime – all delicious! – but I am still partial to their wonkier flavours that are limited editions (they come out and then are gone like white blouses at Winners, so get ‘em while you can!)- like the Turkey & Gravy pack that Green Bean Casserole, Cranberry, Mashed Potatoes with Butter, and Fruitcake flavoured sodas.

I think that ROCKS!

So I was pretty excited to see the release of Jones Carbonated Candy because I knew they’d do it up right!

I received all of their flavours – Green Apple, Fufu Berry, Berry Lemonade and their new flavours, M.F. Grape (love the name!), Orange & Cream and the classic Cream Soda, which tastes like the vanilla-y old fashioned cream soda of my youth. They are also carbonated just enough, so you get that fizzy sensation without the explosive results of candy like Pop Rocks. Perfect!