Heavenly Organics Honey Mint Patties

My friend Erika introduced me today to a nice little treat from a company called Heavenly Organics. They are made simply with raw honey, unsweetened chocolate and peppermint oil, making them perfect for my trifecta of gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free. They truly taste exactly like a Peppermint Pattie, only much healthier. A delicious treat after any meal.

The only challenge I suppose will be finding them. Erika got hers at the register at Cal-Mart, so I will certainly be keeping my eyes out for them in the marketplace. Click here to visit the company's website.

18 Rabbits

Just tried this granola bar handmade in San Francisco by a company named 18 Rabbits. It's gluten-free and sugar-free and completely delicious. This is the "Haute Diggity Date" flavor, but they have several others. Click here to check out their website.

The 76 Dangers Of Sugar

My friend Erika sent me this article on sugar and its evils. Not that I needed any more evidence, but it's always good to learn more about something that impacts your health in such a harmful way. It's pretty exstensive and maybe even a little overwhelming to realize not only the negative effects sugar has on your body, but how hard it is to avoid eating it in today's society. I highly recommend reading it, and if you still want more check out the book Sugar Blues. It's an oldie but a goody. Here are some of the 76 dangers of sugar that stood out to me:

• Sugar can suppress your immune system and impair your defenses against infectious disease.
• Sugar feeds cancer cells and has been connected with the development of cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostate, rectum, pancreas, biliary tract, lung, gallbladder and stomach.
• Sugar can cause premature aging. In fact, the single most important factor that accelerates aging is insulin, which is triggered by sugar.
• Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function.
• Sugar causes food allergies.
• Sugar can impair the structure of your DNA.
• Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.
• Sugar can cause depression.
• Sugar can cause gum disease.
• Sugar can cause your saliva to become acidic, tooth decay, and periodontal disease.
• Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.
• Sugar has the potential of inducing abnormal metabolic processes in normal, healthy individuals, thereby promoting chronic degenerative diseases.

Bear Market

Sugar-free, gluten-free gummi bears! Sweetened with agave nectar and fruit juice. I don't even really care about gummi bears, but I like anything that is free of refined sugar and gluten. Thanks, Steve!

Go Raw Chocolate Super Cookies

Not eating sugar or gluten can narrow the field of food you eat considerably, but particularly when it comes to snacks and desserts. Go Raw is a great company that has a line of products called Super Cookies that come in many flavors, but the chocolate ones are my personal favorite. They are simply delicious and completely healthy. Not only are they incredibly tasty, I love the packaging, and especially love that the ingredients are front and center in big bold font against a white background. If all our food was packaged this way we might be a little more aware of what we're consuming, rather than having to find the tiny ingredients list on the back at the bottom and decipher what all the complex names and chemicals mean. You should definitely give these a try if you get the chance. They're super grubbin'.