Tag: candy

fun-sized candy bars

In a recent post about trying to be a responsible adult with a bowl of chocolate, I ended it with the idea of eating “a reasonably-sized piece of chocolate”. That made me think of “fun size” candy bars. That’s a weird bit of marketing. Does anyone think those bite-sized candy bars are actually more fun?

Plenty keeps me up at night. Global warming. The world my kids will inherit. The logic behind calling the smallest candy bars “fun size” when the real fun comes from eating a mass of chocolate the size of a brick. ~ Jon Wertheim

Can’t argue with that. 🙂 If there were truth-in-advertising laws that applied here, those “fun size” candy bars might be called “small enough to make you mad” or “it’s tiny so we can say it’s not many calories” or “try to eat just one”. 🙂 Some of those are so small that you have to make a concerted effort to make it more than one bite.

One time I saw a 5-pound Hershey’s chocolate bar. I think it was at the Hershey’s store in Times Square in New York City. Attempting to eat that would be a lot more fun than one bite of chocolate. It would be so unhealthy and unreasonable, too, but we’re talking about fun. Healthy and reasonable might be eating a salad instead, and where’s the fun in that? (I will admit that it is possible to make a great tasting salad, but healthiness decreases at an inverse rate as tastiness increases, which is a discussion for another day.)

Also, think about how great a gift it would be to give someone a 5-pound chocolate bar. Young kids would not be able to contain their excitement and astonishment. They might even start dancing spontaneously. Some adults may also not be able to hide their excitement, either. 🙂 The recipient might be excited at having so much chocolate to themselves, or they could share it and be the life of the party. Giving away chocolate makes any party better!

bowl of chocolate vs responsible adult

What should be done with this?

We have a big bowl of chocolate candy bars in our dining room. This is not normal, because we try to eat reasonably healthy most of the time. But we just passed Halloween, and for various reasons we had less trick-or-treaters this year. (I’d guess because it was a Monday — a school night — and our closest neighbors decorated less than normal. More people went to the other side of our subdivision, which had more decorations.) Regardless of how and why, the end result is a lot of tempting chocolate in my house.

So what am I supposed to do with all this chocolate? The obvious answer is to EAT IT! But there’s a flaw in the slaw: I’m trying to be a responsible adult here. One of my goals is to lose some weight and be more fit, and chocolate bars don’t exactly fit in fitness. But the counter-argument is that I’m a grown-up, so I can eat whatever I want. And that’s true. Therein lies the dilemma.

Do you remember being a kid and being limited by your parents on things like eating sweets and watching TV and playing video games? You probably dreamed of how one day you’d be a grown-up who can set your own rules and how wonderful that will be. And it is good. But you also (hopefully) learn that there are good reasons to be responsible and it’s better to do those things in moderation. It reminds me of this funny quote:

I don’t think I can talk Jen into installing a deep fat fryer in our kitchen. That’d rock! A short order grill. I can sit home and make grilled cheese sandwiches, hash browns, French fries, and pancakes all day long. Mmm. The fat kid in my brain just got really excited. The adult in my brain has to calm him down. Which really is what “growing up” is all about — telling the kid in your brain to sit down and behave, while the grown-up in our brain says, “You know, it’d be more responsible of us if we did this instead…” Stupid brain. ~ Jeff Schell

That’s the mental battle that we all must endure. But let me caution and encourage you with the word “moderation” in another context. Being an adult — especially when you have children — means being serious and responsible a lot more often than you may want to be. If we go too far on the serious side, it can drain the joy and happiness out of life. We don’t want to become an adult that forgets how to have fun. (I suppose that applies to everyone. But if you don’t want to laugh and be happy, that’s your choice, but I don’t recommend it.) Life is much better when it’s enjoyed. You can still be responsible and serious while enjoying the journey. That’s where moderation applies here — it’s not just about limiting the fun, but it can remind us to be serious in moderation. Allow yourself to have fun, even when life is busy and overwhelming. Actually, being able to enjoy your life makes the serious parts less tedious! So it’s helpful to have fun!

So the next time you’re about to eat a piece of chocolate that you might feel somewhat guilty about, find the balance — set a limit of how much, but within that limit, enjoy it as much as possible. While eating it, don’t think about calories or saturated fat grams or sugar or how much exercise it would take to burn it off — just close your eyes and savor each delicious bite. (You tend to enjoy it more when you eliminate distractions, so closing your eyes actually helps.)

Now go enjoy a reasonably-sized piece of chocolate! 🙂

it’s time to replace the Easter Bunny

Have you ever wondered why there’s a tradition of an Easter Bunny that leaves eggs and candy for children?  Is that believable?  Surely there’s a better way.

I came across an article on this issue that makes a lot of sense: replace the Easter Bunny with an Easter Ninja.  Now, for those stuck in the rut of tradition, this may seem absurd.  But you should read the article, because it really does make a lot of sense.  Plus, it’s humorous.  And as he explains, not only would it be better for children, but a ninja is much cooler than a bunny, along with being much more believable.

Here’s a quick preview:

Ladies and gentlemen, say goodbye to the Easter Bunny, and say hello to the Easter Ninja!  The Easter Ninja’s modus operandi is similar to that of the bunny, i.e. he breaks into your house and leaves baskets of eggs and candy.  The only difference is instead of leaving carrots for the bunny, children leave carefully constructed booby traps that the Easter Ninja must negotiate without setting off to fill their baskets.  Everyone knows thwarting traps makes ninjas happy, so the Easter Ninja will reward clever children with baskets of eggs and Easter Ninja shaped chocolates. ~ Chris Carlisle

Here’s the full article:

Replacing the Easter Bunny with an Easter Ninja.  [link broken]

I’m thinking we should start a petition to make this happen.  Spread the word!

the special days of June, pt 1

As we’ve done in previous months, we’re going to look at the special days and holidays of this month.  As usual, this is not a complete list — those can be found elsewhere.  But I guarantee you will not find another list like this one.  This is not a mere list, because we add our own unique commentary and analysis.  In other words, we try to make it more fun.  And you are welcome to add to the discussion in the comments section.

Let’s get started with the month-long celebrations and observances in June:

  • Candy Month — This is a good one to start with.  The best way to celebrate candy is to eat it!  So choose whatever you like, such as candy corn, candy bars, etc.
  • nachos (click to enlarge)Dairy Month — Dairy products include milk and cheese and ice cream.  That would also include chocolate milk, nachos / chip-n-dip, and milkshakes.  And this holiday / celebration lasts all month!  I can get excited about this one!
  • National Adopt a Cat Month — Doesn’t this seem kind of mean?  If you adopt a cat for a month, feeding it, playing with it, then you take it back to the pound or just release it into the wild — isn’t that mean?  Did someone create this as a secret way to treat cats badly?  I’m not going to participate in this one.
  • National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month — Who comes up with this?  I’m boycotting this holiday.   Besides, meat is a better meal than vegetables — even the Bible tells us that.
  • flowersRose Month — There’s a certain reader here who will appreciate this one.  (He also gets a kick out of this particular picture, for some reason.) 🙂
  • Turkey Lovers Month — Shouldn’t this be in November, because of Thanksgiving?  But I reckon people already eat lots of turkey then, so whoever created this wants us to eat it at other times.  I wonder if this was created by people who sell turkeys for consumption…
  • Great Outdoors Month — More outdoors, less work.  (Although, if you work outdoors, you might want a holiday for staying home to watch TV or play video games.)
  • National Iced Tea Month — This is what I’m talkin’ about!  Since I already drink tea on a regular basis (and you should too), here’s how this should be celebrated : all restaurants offer tea (both sweet and unsweet) for free for the whole month of June.
  • National Tennis Month — Tennis is an excellent sport!  Everyone should play.  It’s even fun if you don’t understand the rules and just want to hit the ball hard at each other.  🙂
  • Potty Training Awareness Month — Let’s face it, if you aren’t potty trained, you should be aware of it if you’re older than 2 years old.  If that’s you, the people around you are certainly aware of it!  I don’t think we need a holiday for awareness of this.

Now let’s move on to the weekly celebrations:

  • Week 2 — Email Week — Send a personal e-mail to all your friends.  And remember that you can use our Contact Us page to ask any question whatsoever.  I’ll be your friend.  (Sing with me: “Won’t you be my neighbor?”)
  • Week 4 — National Camping Week — Camping can be a good time.  Go out in nature and “rough it” for a few days.  Catch your own food and cook it over an open fire.  Sleep under the stars.  Or do like many people do — take a camper to sleep in, where you have a toilet and a real bed.  That’s not really “roughing it”, but it can still be a good time.  It’s refreshing to be out in nature, away from civilization.  Take some time away from technology, like TV, cell phones, the Internet (unless you’re out for several days and need to keep up with the latest randomness at this blog).  🙂

This is becoming a long list, so I’ll continue it in the next post.  Click here to search for the other entries for June.