A Junk Fud and You Where I Talk About My New Books

 In this episode I talk about my two new books, Treats and Beasts and The Complete Snack Facts.

You can pick up your own copies of either (or both) of these books right now.

Pick up Treats and Beasts here.

Pick up Snack Facts here.

You can also follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram if you like.

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This Is A Very Cool T-shirt

Vincent the Vulture T-Shirt
by candycritic

 I feel like watching a vulture eat ice cream would be very interesting, although I don't think I'd like to eat the same flavour of ice cream as a vulture would.

Check out all the Treats and Beasts stuff and maybe get yourself a copy of the book.

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Dessert Themed Candy

You would think that making a dessert themed candy would be easy. Some people even think that desserts and candies are pretty much the same thing. While I will agree that there is some crossover between desserts and candy, saying they're the same thing is like saying lunch and dinner are the same thing. While both are similar and can even have similar ingredients, there's a certain something that differentiates these two meal, and the same is true with candy and desserts. This is why I find that not all dessert themed candies work. I feel like the people that come up with these dessert/candy combinations don't really understand the difference, and I even think they figure mixing these two themes is an easy combination.

My latest review is an attempt to mix a dessert with a candy, it tastes pretty good, but I don't think it worked.

I've got another Cow Tales review going up later this week, make sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter to check it out.

Don't forget to get my latest comic collection called Snack Facts if you want to learn even more about sweet treats.

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Crazy Eyebrow Skills

 I'm not sure if this makes me want to eat Cadbury chocolate, but it does look cool.

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Not Every Letter Is Equal

Ursula the Urchin T-Shirt
by candycritic

 Writing some of these beasts is a little more challenging than others.

Check out the whole line of Treats and Beasts merchandise as well as the cool book you can buy.

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Raw Dangerous Cookie Dough

I have a question for you, has raw cookie dough always been dangerous? I ask because I've been eating cookie dough for a long time. In fact I can't remember the first time I've ever tried it, and I can safely tell you that I don't think a year of my life has gone by without eating cookie dough. It just seems like in the last few years people have had to make special cookie dough for me to eat. When I was a kid, I would just eat the stuff right out of the bowl, or tube as the case may be. I never thought about raw eggs being dangerous, I guess I figured mixing it in a bowl made it safe?

Check out my fun review featuring very safe cookie dough.

You can also follow me on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook too.

While you're looking for something sweet to do, why not pick up my book called Treats and Beasts?

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Buying Snacks Can Be a Challenge

 I feel like the world needs more inconvenience stores.

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Is Today The Day?

 Is today the day I get to eat something so strange that my mind shuts down and I just curl up in a ball and weep? Or is today the day I'm disappointed by the fact that my mind is still awake and I have not curled up into a ball?

Check out all my videos on my YouTube channel.

Also make sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter too.

While you're at it, pick up my new book called Treats and Beasts.

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This Totally Tortoise T-Shirt Is Terrific

Tanya the Tortoise T-Shirt
by candycritic

 I feel like watching a tortoise eat taffy would be very time consuming.

Check out all my other fun merch and even the book.

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Mac Tonight?.. With Cheese?

 

There's a lot of attention on social media to rail against "stunt food". I would argue that the originator of stunt food has to be the candy industry. It's been decades that this part of the food industry has dared it's customers to go for really silly food combinations and flavours. Strangely this is also the area where I see very few social media posts railing against it. For the most part it seems that people are okay with weird and over the top candy creations, but when it comes to regular food, and even desserts there seems to be a problem. This makes me very happy because I would have nothing to write about on this site if candy companies didn't try new things, and I for one even enjoy the crazy projects that go horribly wrong.

Check out a fairly strange candy concept, and see if it went the way you thought it would.

Make sure to follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram to keep up with all the other weird treats I come across.

While you're at it, check out my Patreon page for even more weird content.

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Terrifying Japanese Candy Commercial

An odd casting choice was made when making this commercial.

If you like twisted gummy treats, check out these twisted gummy bear t-shirts.

SSSSSSlip Into This T-SSSShhhirt

Stew the Snake T-Shirt
by candycritic

 I'm not sure that snakes like salted anything to be honest.

Check out all my other fun Treats and Beasts merchandise in my store.

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Take A Chunk Out

I'm very biased about the shape of candy bars. I've realized that if a candy bar does not fit the common size of candy bar on the store shelf, I'm less likely to buy that bar. There are a few exceptions, but most of the time it has something to do with where I'm buying that chocolate bar. If I'm at a candy specialty shop I tend not to think too much shape of my candy, but if I'm at a pharmacy or grocery store I feel like buying odd shaped candy is weird. Am I the only person that thinks this way? When was the last time you bought an odd shaped candy bar?

Read my latest review and find out why you should pick up an odd shaped bar.

If you want more oddities, follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Pick up my latest book right now, it's called Treats and Beasts.

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That's One Expensive Chocolate

 I'm not sure I'd even want to eat it after I paid for it.

If you like chocolate, maybe you'll like this cool chocolate themed t-shirt too.

Making Treats and Beasts - A Few Problems

In past entries in this blog I've mentioned that there were a few problems making this book. The one that people ask me first and foremost every time I tell them about the concept for this book is "how did you mange with the letter X". I won't lie, for the animal in this case I had to do some research. This was probably the only animal in the book that I can't prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that it exists. The candy however was actually fairly easy, in fact that reason I felt comfortable using candy in this book was because I knew I had a candy for the letter x.

The next problem came about when I started thinking about making this project into a book, or selling it in any way. I realized that I couldn't use brand names for candy without either paying out companies or risking breaking some kind of copyright. Once I started working on these drawings I started to have to update a few pieces in order to make sure the beast was enjoying a generic treat. I actually enjoyed this challenge. I did use some research material for finding generic candies, but thankfully it was almost entirely my own website candycritic.org. I also decided that it would be okay to use the names of candies from outside North America.

I would be lying if I told you that turning these drawings into a book was not filled with some other frustrations. I had to double check spelling and grammar at least a dozen times. I also had to figure out how to format my drawings to they could be printed into a book. I've worked on books and comic books in the past, but frankly someone else almost always did the pre-press work for me. I learned a lot and it actually left me confident enough that I made a second book quickly after (the complete Snack Facts).

I hope you enjoyed my tales of putting together Treats and Beasts. As always, if you want to pick up your own copy, check it out right now on Amazon.

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You'll Really Run Rampant With This New R T-Shirt

Rachel the Raccoon T-Shirt
by candycritic

Of all the treat and beast combinations I've done for this series, I feel like there's a possibility that some day I'll see a raccoon eating rhubarb custards in real life.

Check out all of the Treats and Beasts merchandise right here.

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The Right Ingredients, But Not

I sometimes feel like the research and development departments of some candy companies don't really understand what makes candy great. I feel like sometimes (this new review is a prime example), these companies "know" what works in a candy bar, but they don't understand why. It's too often that I try a treat that should work on paper, but the design of the bar or the quality of ingredients just makes it a complete failure. With this treat I had my hopes up, but they were dashed on the first bite.

Check out this disappointing review and find out why it failed.

Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter too since we have a bonus review going up later this week.

If you've just eaten one of these bars, and you need something to cheer you up, pick up a copy of my book called Treats and Beasts.

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