How are you doing on those New Year’s Resolutions?
If you’re like us and have already found yourself hanging up the towel on whatever claim you made on January 1st, don’t worry, you are not alone!
As a matter of fact, over 800 million people didn’t even make it to January 19th before calling it on their resolutions. So if you made it this far, more power to you—keep up the good fight.
For the rest of us who’ve been craving candy the last few weeks, we thought it might be a blessing to bring you back to reality with a sweet treat that won’t totally throw you under the bus this new year.
While cutting candy out completely is the choice of some, it’s not one we partake in. Thus we needed to uncover some alternatives to cure our sweet tooth without falling back into the same candy trap we found ourselves in last year.
So we took it upon our team to find some healthier candy options that you can consume without crushing your New Year’s resolution completely. Check them out below!
Dark Chocolate
We all probably know a few people who eat dark chocolate most nights of the week and claim the habit is a healthy one, but the real question is, do they even know what those benefits are?
Dark chocolate has long been a source of fuel for people. Cocoa beans have been found to carry organic compounds that are biologically active and function as antioxidants, which help boost your immunity. From its nutritious profile and antioxidant properties, all the way to improving skin, dark chocolate can make an impact across various aspects of your health.
Now let’s be clear when we talk about chomping down on some chocolate—it needs to be done in moderation. We can’t be spending an entire TV show each night stuffing ourselves up with the dark delectable treats, but we can have it a few days a week.
And on those days when you decide to satisfy that sweet tooth with some dark chocolate, here are a few that you might want to try out…
Almond
Next on our list is the first alphabetical member of the nut family—the almond. Known for its punch full of fiber and packing of healthy fat, almonds are another great option if you’re feeling the craving for candied peanuts, but don’t want to give in completely to the sweet tooth.
Of all the tree nuts in the world, almonds have the most fiber, which can help aid in digestion as well as help ward off long-term illnesses. On top of that, some research even suggests that consuming 2 single-ounce servings of almonds per day led to fewer wrinkles—sounds pretty great, right?
(Did we just say you can eat candy and lose wrinkles—maybe, you’ll have to decide for yourself.)
While the best way to get the most out of almonds is to consume them raw, you can still get some benefits from snacking on them in your favorite sweet. Lucky for you we’ve got our shelves stacked with almond candy waiting for the taking—check out a few personal favorites below!
Cinnamon
Is cinnamon considered a candy or a spice? I like to think of it as both considering my grandmother used to make a mean apple cinnamon pie and she called it a spice, but I also am an avid fan of Red Hots—arguably the most popular cinnamon candy on the planet.
While each is entitled to their own opinion, one thing is a fact—cinnamon has some health benefits that we all should tune into.
Just listen to the boosts cinnamon can bring to the body—it helps relieve inflammation, is high in antioxidants, stabilizes sugar, even preserves brain function! Remember, this is the raw stuff we’re talking about that will have the greatest impact on your health.
But for those of us who want to feel like we’re making a small step forward in our New Year’s resolution, while still satisfying our sweet tooth, some cinnamon candy might be the perfect recipe.
So while you’re here, I figured you might want to check out some of the cinnamon candy we’re stacking on our shelves right now.
Coconut
Coming in at number 4 on our list of candy that won’t bust your New Year’s resolution is the Hawaiian island favorite, coconut.
Often unsure of what food group it falls into, coconut is technically a fruit, even though some like to think of it as one giant seed. In its raw form, it contains both meat and liquid that is nutritious and packed full of powerful electrolytes that fuel the body.
This meat, which is then dried and stuffed into some of our favorite coconut treats still contains the healthy fats that our body needs to help manage our cholesterol. So in a way, you could thank yourself for snacking on some coconut because it actually makes your cholesterol better—in small amounts!
In our candy world, most of us know these coconut treats as Almond Joy,Mounds, Coconut Bon Bons, and Long Boys. And guess what? We got all of them ready to deliver to your front door, all you have to do is click one below!
Black Licorice
When I was a child, I despised black licorice. The only people who ever ate it in my family were my aunt who was always in a bad mood (I figured it was the flavor of the licorice) and my grandfather who lost his sense of taste when he was a teenager—rendering his tongue about as useful as a deaf and blind guard dog.
As I got older, I found myself hooked on Black Licorice Drops that my grandmother had stashed away in her private candy collection in her office. One day when I asked her why she always had them on hand she responded—they keep me young!
While at the time, I didn’t catch the metaphor, I did believe that they actually made her younger. And while there’s no research to back up that claim, there is some to suggest that it can help with digestive processes, specifically indigestion and developing healthy gut bacteria.
And yes, this includes the classic black licorice that you are thinking of from your childhood. You know, the one that was rolled up into a black wheel?
Like every other candy on this list, it’s all about moderation when it comes to consuming sweets. We all have heard the saying, “too much of a good thing” and it holds true here. Black licorice can lead to cardiac issues when consumed in large amounts (multiple ounces a week for weeks at a time) so keep it to a few bites.
Grab your favorite kind right here!
What are you waiting for? Those New Year’s resolutions are old news!
Get back on that candy train the healthier way by snatching up a few sweets mentioned above and keep the sweetness coming in 2022!