I Choose Ginger Chews

I have a horrible sweet tooth which sometimes can only be satiated by eating three or four candy bars and drinking a soda. This unhealthy practice creates an amazingly euphoric sugar high, followed by nausea, and then a groggy crash. While looking through the foreign candy aisles (always looking for a new and intriguing fix) at Cost Plus World Market a little while back, I discovered something I had never heard of: ginger candy! I know that ginger is a very peculiar taste and you either love it or hate it, but since I am one who loves ginger and often eats the whole pile of ginger when I go out for sushi before even touching the sushi, I decided to buy a bag of these small chewy candies made by The Ginger People (wouldn't that be funny if all of the employees were redheads?).

When first tasted, it is sweet, yet tough to chew. It warms up and becomes easier to chew after only a few seconds, and then you are hit with a tiny burst of spicy ginger mixed with sugary goodness. Most people I have shared these with initially remark that it is an odd taste, and often grimace while experiencing it. Then after the candy is chewed up and swallowed, the gingery- sweet taste lingers and creates a craving for another one, much like potato chips do. In fact, Ginger Chews could be considered the potato chips of the candy world, or at least my candy world.

Each candy has only twenty calories, and they have enough sugar to fend off sugar cravings, yet will not have the adverse effects that binging on a candy bar or two will have. According to their website here they are all natural and gluten free, as well. For something that does not taste like it is good for you, these are pretty awesome little candies. I cannot forget to mention the ginger and its health benefits. Although I am not a doctor or a nutritionist or anything else that would seriously qualify me to discuss the health benefits of certain foods, I will say that from personal experience, ginger is very good for minor stomach troubles and it helps digestion. You don't have to take my word for it, just click here to read about it from a more reliable source. I like ginger tea when my stomach is not feeling well after a big meal, but I will write about that in a later post. So if you have terrible sweet cravings like I do, and would prefer to skip the extreme highs and lows of going on a candy bar bender, try some Ginger Chews; I keep a bag of them in the center console of my car for those tedious afternoons sitting in traffic with low blood sugar when I am tempted to go through a fast food drive- through for a milkshake with crumbled candy bars in it. If you do not have a Cost Plus World Market near you (oh no! they are wonderful!) you can also find them at Trader Joe's. And you don't even have to be a redhead to enjoy them!