Organic Candies, Nuts, Snacks, and Trail Mixes from Sunridge Farms

I get a lot of pitches from companies who want me to promote their products, but I only bring you the best. Occasionally, this gal has a little chocolate craving, and almonds happen to be one of my favorite foods! And, did you know that February 25th was Chocolate Covered Nuts Day?

SunRidge Farms recently sent me their chocolate covered almonds to sample in honor of the occasion. My analysis? Chocolate + almonds = good! SunRidge Farms makes their products as healthy as possible without highly processed or refined ingredients. They are free of refined sugars, hydrogenated oils, artificial colorings, and preservatives.

Along with the chocolate covered almonds, they also produce other candies including chocolate rainbow drops, chocolate raisins, chocolate toffee peanuts, snacks such as peanut butter pretzels, Energy Nuggets™, Galaxy Mix™, dried fruit: apricots, banana chips, cranberries, ginger, mango slices, mango spears, pineapple rings, and more, nuts and seeds: almonds, cashews, mixed, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, soy nuts, sunflower seeds, walnuts, and trail mixes including: Cherry Pecan Vanilla Dream™, Chocolate Nut Crunch™, Cranberry Harvest Mix™, Cranberry Jubilee Mix, Deluxe Trail Mix™, Hit The Trail Trail Mix™, Japanese Rice Cracker, Mango Grove™, Mocha Marble Crunch™, NutCracker Crunch™, Sesame Sticks, Super Deluxe Mix™, Triple Chocolate Pecan Mix™, Tropical Trail Mix™, Wasabi Peas, Wasabi Samurai Mix™, Wild Ginger Harvest Mix™, Woman's Vitality Mix™, Yogurt Peanut Clusters, Zen Party Mix™, and Zesta Fiesta Party Mix™ Wow.

SunRidge Farms™ will be in booth 2789 at the Natural Products EXPO West. I'll be tracking them down to grab some more samples!

In the meantime, Andy I will be snacking on the chocolate covered almonds with some port we bought in Amador a few weeks ago. :) You can find Sunridge Farms on Facebook here.

Ooh La La, Another Giveaway!

So maybe cupcakes are on the way out, but candy never gets old! Ooh La La Candy is reinventing the cupcake by filling its shape with candy.  The candy cupcakes are couture, flavor and fun, all in one chic package.

Check out these cute Valentine's themed "cupcakes":

The "Valentine Cupcake" contains: Contains 3.4 oz. coated chocolate candy balls, topped with a chocolate heart.

The "Red Hot Cupcake" contains: Contains 3.4 oz.  red hot candy and a chocolate heart.

Both of these candy cupcakes retail for $6.95 each.

If you miss out on Valentine's Day, the company also has a line of spring-themed candy cupcakes, and choices for almost any occasion.

Want to try the Valentine's Day Candy Cupcakes? Win all four and have them sent directly to you!

All you have to do is "like" cakegrrl.com on Facebook and "like" Ooh La La on Facebook. At the end of the week, I will make a list of the names in common and pick one at random! Good luck!

Really Loving Figamajigs...

At this year's Winter Fancy Food Show in SF, I picked up a few samples of a new-ish candy called "Figamajigs". They are candies made with dried fig and chocolate, available in bars and candy pieces.



One of the things I discovered when I came to California was that a "fig" was an actual fruit and not the gunk in the middle of a cookie. Silly me. I had never before seen a fresh fig on a tree or at the grocery store. I definitely got spoiled working at RH Phillips two summers ago when I was allowed to pick what I wanted from their trees. I always look forward to fig season, as short as it is, and in the off season, I buy dried figs and chop them up in salads for a special treat. I never cared for fig cookies, but after trying these candies, I am going to start buying them to aid in weightloss. I like the bar kind best (they are available as an M&M type candy as well). I have been having about 1/3 of a bar for dessert, and it is just enough. I almost wish the bars came in mini-bar size.




Figamajigs were created by Mel Lefer, after being advised by Dr. Dean Ornish to change his diet and lifestyle. He realized the health benefits of dark chocolate and figs, and that they are both superfoods. Ounce for ounce, figs contain more calcium than whole milk, more potassium than bananas, and more fiber than prunes. And besides being delicious, chocolate has more antioxidants than green tea or red wine. Figamajigs are still candy and should be eaten in moderation, but are a healthier choice, containing only 2 grams of fat per bar and five grams of fiber. They also only count for 2 points on the Weight Watchers program plan.

Here's the breakdown on the nutritionals for my favorite bar, the original:
40g, 1.41oz, Calories 130, Fat Cal. 25, Total Fat 2.5g, Saturated Fat 1.5g, Trans Fat 0g, Cholesterol 0g, Sodium 10mg, Total Carb 26g, Fiber 5g, Sugars 19g, Protein 1g, Calcium 4%, Iron 8%

I wish they had a little more protein and less sugar, but I love that they are gluten free, and contain no high fructose corn syrup.

Locally, I have found them at Whole Foods Market. You can also buy them online here. This is one candy I would love to receive for Valentine's Day.