As trick-or-treaters are filling their goodie bags with sweets this Halloween, diabetics and others who maintain a sugar-free diet might feel a bit left out of the fun. Well, there’s no need to worry, because we have plenty of sugar-free treats to satisfy your sweet cravings!

Sugar-Free Chocolate

We carry a wide selection of sugar-free chocolates, from sugar-free dark chocolate chips to sugar-free chocolate pretzels! For those who love chocolate-covered nuts, our favorites include sugar-free chocolate-covered macadamia nuts and milk chocolate pecan clusters. If you’re a fan of classic boardwalk-style fudge, try our Sugar-Free Old Fashion Chocolate Fudge!

Sugar-Free Hard Candy

Hard candy is a classic treat! Try sugar-free IBC root beer barrels or root beer floats. If you enjoy having a variety of candies to choose from, our sugar-free Assorted Old Fashioned Hard Candy includes flavors like cinnamon, butterscotch, and coffee. For chocolate lovers, we suggest Assorted Chocolate Hard Candy!

Sugar-Free Candy Chews

There’s something satisfying about chewy candy, isn’t there, whether it’s chocolatey, fruity, or toffee flavored? Sugar-free salt-water taffy is a chewy nostalgic treat, and so are gummy candies!

What kinds of chewy candy do you crave?

Our Health Nut and Registered Dietitian, Molly Morgan, answers our customers’ most pressing health and nutrition questions and recommends her favorite products!

If you’d like Molly to answer one of your questions in a future blog post, please email your question to health@nuts.com. If we feature your question in The Nutty Scoop, we will also send you a pound of your favorite Nuts.com product.

Q: Later this year I’m going for a gastric bypass, and as much as I’ve learned, I still have a mountain of questions. One that I’ve been scratching my head over is this: Can I use nuts or other items to boost my protein intake? Should I avoid or focus on some rather than others? – Betsey

Answer: If you have had or are planning to have gastric bypass surgery, it is important to fully understand your food guidelines, as they can vary from person to person and from procedure to procedure. Following surgery, it is likely that it will take time to return to eating solid foods, and you will advance gradually from a pure liquid diet to pureed foods to soft foods and then to solid foods. Once you arrive at eating solid foods, there will be foods that you cannot tolerate and/or are advised to avoid all together.

Even once you are back to eating regular foods, it is often still recommended to avoid nuts and seeds. However, there are still plenty of ways that you can get protein from plant-based foods, and here are a few ideas to try!

Amaranth: Amaranth is a sweet grain that provides protein, iron, and fiber. This is a great alternative to oatmeal and works well in soups!

Spirulina: This blue-green algae is considered a complete protein because it contains all the essential amino acids, plus the protein is highly digestible! Spirulina contains other key vitamins and minerals, too, like calcium and vitamins A, B, C, D, E and K. For a protein boost, try mixing it in guacamole, or into your juice or smoothie!

Lentils: This member of the beans family provides protein. Lentils make an excellent addition to soups, or you can enjoy them on their own! The best part is that there are so many different varieties (such as red, green, or toor dal) to choose from. Try red lentils as a side dish mixed with fresh chopped vegetables and light balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

Sometimes you get a hankering for something sweet or savory or even a little spicy, and your taste buds won’t be happy until you find the right snacks to satisfy your craving. Here are a few of our favorite snacks that are ideal for each mood:

Slightly Spicy

Ginger Snaps

You loved crisp, sweet and slightly spicy ginger snaps when you were a kid, and they are just as good as you remember. Our cookies are made with real ginger and molasses, so they have the perfect amount of sweetness with just a little kick. Pair a few ginger snaps with a mug of tea or hot cocoa to warm you up on a chilly day.

Sweet

S’mores Trail Mix

Everyone loves s’mores, but sometimes you don’t have a campfire and all the ingredients ready to make your own. Our s’mores trail mix gives you all of the flavor of s’mores without any of the mess, combining milk chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers in a tasty and portable blend.

Savory

Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin seeds aren’t just for Halloween anymore. We offer a wide variety of in-shell seeds and pepitas (shelled seeds) that are great for snacking on the go, sprinkling in salads or serving at a party. Here are a few of our favorites:

• Roasted & Salted Pumpkin Seeds: Traditionalists love these freshly roasted pumpkin seeds, each lightly salted and ready to be devoured. Bring a bag to the ballpark or on a road trip for your snacking pleasure.
• Organic Pepitas: These shelled raw pepitas are certified organic and high in protein, iron and phosphorous. They are delicious plain by the handful or salted and sprinkled in your favorite salads and side dishes.
• Cilantro-Lime Pistachios & Pepitas: This blend of pistachios and shelled pumpkin seeds is sure to wake up your senses with flavors of fresh cilantro, tart lime, spicy jalapeno and a custom blend of spices.

What is your favorite sweet, spicy or savory snack?

It’s wonderful to feel like a kid again, isn’t it? When you take a moment to hop on the swings when you walk by a playground, or page through a book you loved when you were little, you reconnect with your inner kid. Treating yourself to your favorite childhood candy is another fun way to zoom backward in time!

Among our old-time candy, you’ll find old-fashioned treats such as Wax Bottles and Retro Candy Boxes themed by decade. Novelty candy like the World’s Biggest Candy Necklace and Candy Buttons will make you smile.

One of our favorite childhood treats is gummy candy. Who can resist its chewy, fruity deliciousness? Here are a few gummies to try!

Halloween Gummy Candy

Gummy Pumpkins and Halloween Gummy Worms: Their bright fall colors will put you in the Halloween spirit!

Gummy Bears

We carry varieties of Gummy Bears to suit any tastebuds! Choose from a 12-flavor pack, classic Haribo Gummy Bears, Milk Chocolate Gummy Bears, and more. For those with special dietary needs, we have vegan and sugar-free gummy bears.

Gummy Rings

Gummy Rings are a popular childhood treat! Pick your favorite flavor, such as peach, blue raspberry, or gummy apple rings! If you can’t choose just one flavor, our Gummy Rainbow Rings provide an assortment.

Gummy Raspberries

Gummy Red and Black Raspberries: These candies are imported from Germany and are full of raspberry flavor!

What are your favorite gummy candy goodies?

Our Health Nut and Registered Dietitian, Molly Morgan, answers our customers’ most pressing health and nutrition questions and recommends her favorite products!

If you’d like Molly to answer one of your questions in a future blog post, please email your question to health@nuts.com. If we feature your question in The Nutty Scoop, we will also send you a pound of your favorite Nuts.com product.

Q: I’m on a weight loss diet and need a fiber product that tastes good and has high fiber content. What would you suggest? – Rob

A: Fiber is an important part of a weight loss eating plan (and any eating plan) because fiber helps to keep the body full and slows the digestion of food through the digestive system. There is a big difference between fiber and other food components like fat and protein, because fiber is part of plant foods that passes through your system basically undigested. So how can this non-digesting material do so much good?

Fiber, specifically the soluble type (meaning it dissolves in water), is linked to lowering bad (LDL) blood cholesterol levels. It can also slow the release of sugars into the body, which leads to better blood sugar control. Soluble fiber is found in foods like beans, oats and flax seed.

It’s a great idea to add foods to your diet that are high in fiber! With the right mix of foods, you can easily achieve your daily fiber goals. A daily goal for fiber should be between 25 – 38 grams or more per day. Reminder: When increasing fiber intake, make sure to increase water intake, because the extra bulk can be difficult to digest without plenty of water.

Try these tasty foods that are high in fiber:

• High Fiber Hot Cereal – each serving has 10 grams of fiber and is made from a blend of ground oatmeal, flax seed wheat germ, oat bran and wheat bran.
• Chia Seeds – This seed is loaded with heart helping omega-3 fats, plus each ounce has 11 grams of fiber! Try sprinkling a teaspoon on salad, in cereal or yogurt. Or try my Chia Seed Pudding Recipe.
• Dried Figs – Figs are great to curb a sweet craving, diced and added to cereal or trail mix, or just snack on! Each serving of figs has 5 grams of fiber! Try other dried fruits as well that range in fiber content from about 2 – 5 grams of fiber per serving.
• Quinoa – Although technically a seed, quinoa cooks up like a grain and is a great stand-in for side dishes and salads. It also provides a great fiber boost. Quinoa and most whole grains — like brown rice, millet, or barley — will have around 3 grams of fiber per serving.

It’s easy to eat fresh, homemade salads during the spring and summer when tomatoes, greens and other produce are widely available. But how do you feed your salad craving when the weather gets colder and fresh fruits and vegetables become more sparse? Try one of these hearty and healthy fall salads, and break out of the boring bowl.

Roasted Vegetables With Pine Nuts

Roughly chop your favorite in-season vegetables — onions, bell peppers, carrots, squash, eggplant brussel sprouts, etc. — and toss on a baking sheet with olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast in the oven at 400 degrees for around 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Pour the vegetables into a serving bowl and mix in a generous dose of pine nuts.

Greens With Candied Walnuts, Dried Cranberries and Gorgonzola

Wash greens — such as romaine lettuce, spinach or mustard greens — and spin dry. Toss in a bowl with chopped Belgian endive, candied walnuts, whole dried cranberries and crumbled gorgonzola cheese, and serve with a balsamic vinaigrette.

Crispy Kale With Salad Topper Mix

Arrange fresh, washed kale leaves on a baking sheet and brush with olive oil and salt and pepper. Bake at 250 degrees until kale is crispy, about 30 minutes. Mix the kale with fresh greens and other vegetables (such as carrots and beets), then add a white wine vinaigrette and a sprinkling of the salad topper mix, a delicious blend of sunflower seeds, soy beans, imitation bacon bits, sesame seeds, vegetables and spices.

What is your favorite fall salad?

With the leaves changing and weather cooling down, fall wedding season is in full swing! One modern tradition we love is creating a wedding candy buffet on a table decorated in the theme of the wedding.

Jordan almonds are a classic choice for both favors and wedding candy buffets. In Italian wedding tradition, five almonds given as favors to guests in small bags or boxes symbolize five blessings for the health of the bride and groom: health, wealth, happiness, fertility, and longevity.

There are plenty of other colorful candies to choose from, as well! Our candy by color chart helps you pick from a broad palette, and our color samplers include a variety of treats. For example, our orange sampler contains candies including Chocolate Covered Sunflower Seeds, Pastel Creamy Chocolate Apricots, and Peach Fruit Slices.

Here are a few ideas for how to create a wedding candy buffet:

• Add seasonal touches to the candy buffet table, such as autumn leaves for a fall wedding or wildflowers in the spring.
• Choose two colors of candy that represent you and your partner (such as each of your favorite colors, or the ones you’re wearing in the wedding) and blend them together to symbolize joining together in marriage.
• Fill large glass jars with a single color of candy, or create layers different colors.
• Send guests home with colored candies tied up in little tulle bags as wedding favors.

What are your ideas for creating a festive wedding candy buffet?

Our Health Nut and Registered Dietitian, Molly Morgan, answers our customers’ most pressing health and nutrition questions and recommends her favorite products!

If you’d like Molly to answer one of your questions in a future blog post, please email your question to health@nuts.com. If we feature your question in The Nutty Scoop, we will also send you a pound of your favorite Nuts.com product.

As a mom of two young boys, I can say that the excitement around Halloween is mounting and the candy is coming! Here are some healthier, yet fun, treats to try for your Halloween celebrations this year.

Make Your Own Snack Mixes

Snack mixes make amazing healthy Halloween treats! Place a mix of items and mini bags our for guests to make their own personalized mixes to take home with them. Check out the following ideas:

Fall Themed Mix

• Fall chocolate pretzels 
• Orange Jordan almonds 
• Golden raisins 
• Vanilla light and crunchy granola 
• Yogurt raisins

Apple Pie Mix

• Yogurt raisins
• Infused Dried Apple Wedges
• Graham Cracker Cookie Gems

Sweet and Salty Mix

• Candy Corn 
• Pumpkin Spice Malt Balls
• Pretzel Flats
• Butter Braided Pretzels

Pumpkin Patch

• Spicy Pumpkin Seeds
• Sprouted Pumpkin Seeds
• Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Fall Coffee Treats

And for the adults, set up a fall-themed coffee bar!

• Apple Pie Coffee
• Pumpkin Pie Coffee
• Bailey’s Irish Cream Coffee
• Coffee and Cream Espresso Beans

We don’t want any tricks, but we sure can’t turn down those treats! Halloween is coming up in a few weeks, and now is the time to put together scary costumes, carve jack-o-lanterns and stock the house with a variety of Halloween candy to satisfy the sweet tooth of trick-or-treaters (and maybe a few snackers in the house…).

Whether you prefer traditional wrapped candy or party-ready snacks, our selection of Halloween treats will make your taste buds happy.

Halloween Candy for Trick-or-Treaters

These little morsels are individually wrapped and ready to hand out when your doorbell rings. Browse our large selection, or try a few of our favorites:

Hershey’s Nuggets Assortment

The chocolate lovers in the crowd will go wild for this mix of four types of Hershey’s Nuggets chocolate bars: Milk Chocolate, Extra Creamy Milk Chocolate with Toffee & Almonds, Milk Chocolate with Almonds and Special Dark Chocolate with Almonds.

Caramels

Sweet, soft and chewy, these traditional caramels are a crowd-pleaser.

Dum-Dum Pops

Dum-Dum lollipops have been a Halloween candy favorite for generations. The company started with seven flavors back in 1924, and now there are 34 flavors, ranging from sour apple and strawberry to root beer and buttered popcorn. The assortment of 16 available flavors rotates every year.

Organic Butterscotch Drops

Yummy Earth’s Organic Hopscotch Butterscotch drops are made with organic ingredients and have that classic butterscotch flavor that makes it hard to eat just one.

Halloween Treats for Parties

Fall Yogurt Pretzels

These pretzels are delicious and festive — they are dipped in white yogurt and drizzled with orange and brown fall colors.

Halloween Gummy Worms

Creepy, crawly and yummy! These multicolored gummy worms are hits with little kids and big kids alike.

Pumpkin Spice Malted Milk Balls

Combine a traditional malted milk ball with pumpkin pie filling and you have this tasty pumpkin spice malted milk ball.

Candy Corn

Nothing says Halloween like a handful of orange, yellow and white candy corn. Put out a bowl at your Halloween bash and watch it disappear!

What is your favorite kind of Halloween candy?

The month of October is full of fun events! Last week, we highlighted six special occasions to celebrate by snacking. Each occasion we mentioned, such as Vegetarian Awareness Month and Celiac Awareness Month, focused on a special type of healthy eating. As we all know, balance is important, and October also happens to be a time to indulge your sweet and salty snack cravings! Here are four more occasions to celebrate by snacking:

 1. National Dessert Month

Each of us has our favorite type of dessert. Some of us love to finish off a good meal with a few squares of pure chocolate. Others like feeling like a kid again by eating the marshmallow bits you find in cereals or savoring the nostalgia of old-time candy. Maybe you even prefer to keep it simple and freshen up with a few melt-in-your-mouth dessert mints!

2. National Cookie Month

Crispy, chewy, or crunchy cookies are a satisfying treat! Try our Peanut Butter Creme or classic Chocolate Creme Cookies, or start getting your tastebuds ready for winter with Holiday Shortbread Cookies. You can even buy crushed cookies for ice cream toppings or milkshake mix-ins, and bake your own cookies with our cookie mixes!

3. National Caramel Month

What can we say about caramel besides YUM? You can enjoy this sweet, sticky, buttery treat in so many ways. Go the classic route with wrapped caramels or caramel creams. Those who are crazy for salted caramel will want to try Salted Caramel Nut Fudge and Milk and Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels. You really can’t go wrong!

4. National Popcorn Month