Candy, the Natural Way

Yellow #5, Red 40 or Blue No. 2?
These are too scary for me and you!

These are the names for the colorings added to candy and other foods. As another holiday approaches in which many children get bags and bags of candy loaded with unnatural ingredients that range from chemical dyes, to imitation flavorings, to straight sugar, it may be high time to make a little change that could make a big difference!

Synthetic food dyes are the most likely suspects when it comes to triggering behavior problems in children. For decades allergists have reported that food dyes can trigger reactions like hives and swelling in sensitive people. The American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Drugs has found that they can cause respiratory problems. Researchers in the United States, Canada, England and Australia have shown that these dyes can bring about many behavior problems, even when children eat only a small amount.

Food dyes are not new - they have actually been around for well over 100 years. They were originally made from coal tar oil, but now are synthesized from petroleum! In past generations, children were not eating foods with these artificial dyes on a regular basis, and their foods came in more natural forms than today. Many of their candies were made with chocolate and pure vanilla (instead of the fake form of it commonly used today, known as "vanillin.") They had candy treats only at special times of the year. When they went to school, they were not offered soft drinks and junk food. They didn't get up in the morning and start the day with a sugary, red or green cereal, or blue toothpaste, or imitation "juice drinks." No processed, chemically treated prepackaged lunch in a box from the store for them!

I saw this list of natural candy possibilities on Feingold's website: (when we get back to the U.S. I want to try some of these!)

Pearson's Mints (available at many WalMart stores)
Valomilk Cups (sold at Cracker Barrel restaurants)
Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Squares with White Mint Filling (found at Kmart, Target and WalMart)
Mary Jane Peanut Butter Kisses
Canel's Milk Lollipops
Linette peanut butter cups are available at WalMart
Joby & Marty's Amazing All Natural Pearlies: Dark Chocolate, Marvelous Mint Filled Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Peanut Butter Filled Milk Chocolate
For fruit candy, find Florida's Natural Au'some Fruit Juice String & Au'some Fruit Juice Nuggets: Strawberry, Blueberry, Apple/Cranberry, and Orange.

Also try visiting the natural foods section of your supermarket, a health food store, or healthy market (Whole Foods, Wild Oats, etc.)

For your own homemade goodies, these are some wacky tips I came across in an email, also from the Feingold Association:

* Use baby food carrots (or pureed cooked carrots) in your cake icing instead of other liquid to make a pretty orange color for cupcake frosting, etc.
* Use concentrated no-pulp orange juice to make a delicious yellow frosting. You might have to adjust the amount of liquid called for to get the right texture.
* And if you need pink coloring, the easiest way is to open a can of sliced beets and use the beet juice! (Eat the beets in your next salad or as a side dish at dinner.) Supposedly, after you add all the sugar and vanilla flavor, nobody will ever suspect a beet ever came near your cake icing!