This Post Isn't So Much About Candy

I'm sick, and it's food poisoning. In the candy world it's very rare to get food poisoning, but I often travel/live in places where food hygiene isn't the best. That means that I suffer from fairly regular bouts of food poisoning. The reason I mention this here is that I wanted to point out that I'm still posting a new review, even though I'm not really eating solid foods. I can do this because the truth is I have a pretty big collection of pre-written reviews. There are many advantages to having this list of reviews, one of them being that I can still post a new review when I'm not even eating solid foods.  I'm at the point where things are getting better, but I think it's going to be a while till I write a new review.

Check out this new review, from my archives?

Tasteless Journal (The Time I Lost All Sense Of Taste)

 

I lost all sense of taste, while the Covid tests came up negative, I hear they're not totally accurate. I had the symptoms, including the one I feared the most, I lost my sense of taste. I had read that in most cases the sense of taste returns, however the word "most" lingered in my brain. As you would imagine, a person who reviews candy would need their sense of taste, it made me contemplate this site, and even messed with my other senses. I started to feel a little paranoid and even learned just how much I depend on my sense of smell for so many other things. Below is the journal I decided to keep, just in case this was to be my last post on this blog.

Part 1 the first 7 Days

I have no taste… literally. About 7 days ago I started coming down with the flu. I figured it was the flu (and not Covid) because several days before Allison was very sick with the flu and we checked her for Covid and it was negative. She was just on the upswing of her flu when I started getting symptoms. Then it hit me like a freight train and I was out. About 3 days into my flu I started to lose the ability to smell and taste things. By the 4th day I was completely tasteless.

The flu started to clear up, which was good because we had a flight out of town on a trip. I wasn’t perfect, but I was beyond the stages of being contagious. The one thing that had not recovered however was my ability to taste or smell anything. By this point I was hungry, but unable to enjoy the flavours. It’s been 7 days now and the ability to taste has not really returned. 

It should be understood, I’ve lost my ability to smell and taste only sort of. My tongue still works perfectly, so I can sense sour, sweet, salty and bitter, and spicy. I just don’t get that extra kick that you get with your olfactory senses in your nose. Food flavour is very basic for me, and I’m extremely sensitive to texture. I’ll be honest, while I’m fairly sure it will return, I’m very worried that it might not. As you might imagine, taste is very important for a person who reviews candy. Fortunately I actually have several months worth of reviews lined up, so there is no immediate problem.

Psychologically it is taking a bit of a toll on me. I’m not as interested in eating at all, I’m never really hungry. When Allison and I pick a place to eat, I really don’t care at all. I do think about texture a bit when I choose foods, but there’s no particular type of food that I crave. When I do eat, I feel a little down that I can’t totally enjoy it. 

I have given more thought about texture, and realized even more the collaboration taste and texture have together. Certain textures work well on their own, however some textures need certain flavours to be satisfying. I’ve been a little experimental with texture and discovered the following things:

Pickled jalapeños - Crunchier than I thought, still burns but without the flavour.

Bread - Very satisfying to chew.

Hamburgers - All condiments are for people who can taste, otherwise just makes a hamburger into a squishy gross mess.

Gummies - Not as gross as I thought they would be, still satisfying to chew.

Meat - Tough meat is actually kind of satisfying.

Chips - Very satisfying. 

Ice water - Excellent, my current favourite thing.

Day 8

We went to the mall today and I think my sense of smell might be returning gradually. Extremely smelly places at the mall smelled like something. I’d never been so happy to walk by a Lush store. The smells are still faint enough that it’s hard to identify them, but I smell something. I’m not convinced that it’s real, or if I mentally just want to smell anything again. Every time we walk near something and I think I smell something I ask Allison if it’s real and try to identify it. A few times we’ve walked by stores and I’d turn to her to ask if she smelled anything and I’d see her choking, I’m looking at you Lush.

I think I’m also starting to taste a little too. Most notably I think I can taste my most nasty of burps. I thought I tasted my Wendy’s Bacon Mushroom Melt today, but I’m not sure. In the evening we went for a walk and smelled something kind of like garlic, I turned to Allison and asked if there was a smell and she mentioned that it was a fairly rank garbage smell. So maybe the base smell in rotting food isn’t bad, but the layers on top are not.

I experimented with a few more foods today:

Salty fries - They're better crispy than soft, temperature means less so cold is fine.

Grapes - Less satisfying than before when I could taste them, but not bad.

Day 9

Allison made bacon and eggs this morning, and I think I can smell the bacon. I’m wondering if it’s actually the fat in the air hitting my tastebuds on my tongue or if my olfactory is picking it up. I’m optimistic about it being positive, so the smell feels positive, but when I objectively think about it, this fatty smell isn’t great. 

Went to another mall this afternoon and the smells became more regular. I could only really smell strong odours like perfume shops, but it became somewhat regular. I even managed to smell waffle cones being made at an ice cream shop. I had a chicken Caesar salad for lunch and I could kind of taste the dressing and even the chicken on its own. I also got a slice of cheesecake, I went for key lime as I figured the sourness would work no matter what. It worked and I might have even had a hint of actual lime flavour too.

In general I’m feeling optimistic that I’ll regain my sense of smell and taste, but I really don’t know how long it’s going to take. At one point today we went into a fancy store and they offered us some chocolates to sample. I took the chocolates, but stuffed them discreetly in my bag in hopes of sampling them later when my taste comes back. After all, chocolate is almost completely olfactory in its flavour profile.

In my dreams I was hoping that my sense of smell and taste would just pop back instantly. Like one minute I couldn’t taste anything, then suddenly I’m back to normal. I’m now convinced it’s going to be a slower process. This is going to make it difficult to know when I should go back to writing candy reviews. For now however, the plan is to continue collecting things I want to review in the future. Maybe I’ll feel confident one day and I’ll get back to the reviews.

Day 10

I’ve decided that I’m going to blow my nose several times today, even if I don’t feel the urge. I feel like somewhere in my head there’s a backup, and maybe it will relieve the problem. This morning I had a bun that had no flavour, however I blew my nose and then brushed my teeth and I could taste the mint. I’m not sure if the bun is just not as flavourful, but I figure it can’t hurt to clear things out of the sinuses anyways.

As the day went on, things are starting to get better. I ate a Big Mac and I could taste the sauce. I actually ate two hamburgers and I finally felt like flavour was more important than texture. The sauce didn’t just make my food wet, it gave it flavour. I also ate a few chocolate treats and could tell the difference between the hazelnut nut flavoured chocolate and the regular milk chocolate.

I can safely say that my sense of flavour has returned, but it’s not at 100%. I can now enjoy food again, but I don’t feel comfortable writing reviews again. I feel like the flavour details are still missing. This makes me wonder about my tasting skills before. I know that I’ve been writing about food for many years, and I would always try and get as much information about flavour at every bite, but maybe the reason I enjoy doing this is because I have an ability to taste that is heightened.

I don’t feel like my entire ability to break down ingredients, or to find out why a candy is good or not is back yet. At this point it feels like chocolate and other flavours are just good to me. I’m not sure I could pick out better or worse chocolate, or tell the difference between Kit Kat bars manufactured in different countries. While I’m now much more optimistic, I’m not back to normal yet.

Day 11

Today I find that I’m drifting between tasting things and not. I find that when I first bite into something with a fairly strong flavour I taste it, but after a few bites my taste buds either fail, or I lose interest. I’m not sure if this is psychological or my olfactory is having some kind of endurance problems. I feel like it’s an improvement, but I’m not sure.

I really discovered during this entire ordeal how much I use smell all the time. Most notably I can’t really seem to keep flavours/smells long enough to analyze them in my brain. I just get a whiff and that’s it. I don’t know if other people break down flavours to their components like I do, but considering the reaction I’m getting the answer is no. People seem to think if I can basically taste things that’s good enough.

I’m also finding it odd when I walk around. I feel like I use smell often as a sense of direction and placing things around me. I not only smell food, but flowers, machinery and sometimes people (not really in the creepy way). I find that I can predict things that I might be approaching with smell, and right now it’s not really working. Again, I’m not sure if others do this, in fact I wasn’t even really aware that I did it until losing this sense. 

I’m still blowing my nose more regularly in hopes that it’s helping with clearing this up. While I hope this gets back to normal, I wonder if I’m going to be more cognisant of it in the future because of this.

Day 12

I'm still rejoicing when I taste something, and annoying Allison in the process. I really think that I rely on my sense of smell more than most people. I'm not at 100%, but I feel like it's coming back. The slight whiffs of smell are staying a bit longer, and the bites of food are pleasurable again. Each day it's getting better, and now it's only waiting for the flavours to come back enough that I feel confident that I can review candy again.

Epilogue

After day 12 I stopped writing in the journal, at about day 15 or 16 I felt confident enough that my sense of taste was back, I still waited a few weeks to write a review, and at that point I was able to pick out small details of flavour. I admit that I was afraid, but more than that I was sad and a little confused. Losing my sense of taste made me feel a lot less excited about food, and also made me less interested in eating. It actually became slightly dangerous at one point as I just didn't have an appetite and didn't eat as much as I should have (almost passed out 3 times). 

I also felt confused because I didn't realise how much I use my sense of smell to navigate me through my day to day. I became lost with only my sense of sight to guide me, and it turns out my sense of sight is not that reliable.

In hindsight I'm not sure if we had Covid, and just didn't test positive, but fortunately we took precautions anyways and didn't leave the house until after our initial symptoms were gone. For those of you out there feeling Covid in the long term, and those who fall on the bad side of "sense of taste returns to most", I feel for you.

CC

Candy In The Media - Do You Love Nutella?

How much do you love Nutella, could you eat a whole jar of the stuff?

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Sometimes In Life You Make Mistakes...

Why Would You Eat That?!! T-Shirt
by candycritic

I do it regularly on Chris, Why Would You Eat That?!! and Tom Yeo found a great way to illustrate this horrible situation.

Click here to check out our other t-shirt designs.

You can also check out all the episodes of Chris, Why Would You Eat That?!! here.

CC

This Week In Candy

It seems I'm at the beginning of a cold.  It doesn't seem like a really bad one, but it's not great either. I could have got the cold because I've been out of the house a lot more lately, or Allison might have given it to me (she was a little sick a while ago). It also could have come from the fact that I've been really busy, but just maybe it came from the toxic shark meat I ate the other day, but really who knows. No matter how I got the cold, I'm always looking for new fun ways to get rid of it, so if you have any ideas, let me know on Facebook or Twitter.

If I did get the cold from working hard, it might have been because of the fact that I've been creating a lot of fun content for candycritic.org.  This includes a new episode of Junk Fud On The Road, that will be coming out later this week.  This episode is all about the time Allison and I went to the Canary Islands. While on this trip we did see a few Canaries, our food choices weren't nearly as fun.

The other project I worked on this weekend has to do with eating shark meat, and it comes in the form of a special episode of Chris, Why Would You Eat That?!!  We finished shooting the episode this weekend, but it won't be going online until the beginning of April.  All I can tell you is it's one of the most intense foods we've ever featured on the show.

This week's new candy review comes from one of our Valentine's Day reviews.  I reviewed the special deluxe Hershey's Kiss, and I realized that I've never reviewed the classic Kisses.  So this week we're fixing that problem. Click here to find out why I've waited so long.

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Two Years In Pakistan

Pakistani culture is similar to its food, it can be really good, and sometimes it can be very difficult.  While I'm sure locals get over the difficult parts, as a foreigner that can be much more challenging.  If you're even somewhat  adventurous, the challenging can be at the very least educational. The part that shocked me most when moving to this country was the amount of good that there is, both in the people and the food.  People wise there is a lot of good, some of the most friendly people you'll ever meet, people who want to make you happy, and many who are willing to give the little that they have just to be a good person.

Food wise the challenges mostly came from the poverty issues. Health and cleanliness are a big issue in Pakistan.  There are really two levels of this when it comes to the food, one is that there are certain bacteria that locals can handle, but foreigners cannot, this lead to some problems particularly early on.  The second comes from other contaminants that even the  locals can not handle.  The contaminants are often found in the tap water, and this makes life very challenging. While this is a problem that cannot be overlooked, if you did you'd be in for a bad night of stomach upset, you also can't overlook how great some of the food is as well.

You can't start a conversation about Pakistani food without India.  In the 1960s Pakistan was part of India, while the religion may have been different, the food has many similarities.  Spicy is the order of  the day, and you'll have a hard time finding anything that isn't spicy, even the basic fast food places have menu items that would shock most westerners.  There is also a great range in spices used, it's not just about heat, but it's also about the flavours behind the heat.  The biggest differences you'll find  in the food between Pakistan and India is the meat.  Beef being illegal in many parts of India, is a huge part of the Pakistani diet.  Pork, while not illegal in India is not common, in Pakistan pork is illegal. This certainly makes for different choices when it comes to meals.

Subtlety there are a few differences between the two cuisines.  I found that Pakistani food tends to blend more spices together in each dish.  It's much harder to take apart a Pakistani dish and figure out what flavours are mixed in.  In Indian food the flavours are simpler, and maybe a little bit cleaner, with one or two spices leading each dish.

One of the great debates in local cuisine between India and Pakistan is who makes the best naan bread. Many people prefer the lighter Indian naan bread, but personally I really liked the thick heavy naan bread from Pakistan.  Indian naan is more flexible, and would then be easier to pick up food, but the heartiness of Pakistani naan made it a meal into itself. Pakistani naan also often had highlights, as well.  In Pakistan you can find naan stuffed with so many fillings, spicy or sweet.

As for candies and confectionery, Pakistan was a fascinating place.  In the packaged candy department there are a few locally made treats.  Most of these are either hard candies or gummies, and two of the most predominant flavours are Imli (a sweet red bean) or hot peppers.  The most popular packaged treats in Pakistan are not Pakistani at all.  Most of the chocolate bar market seemed to be British, this is likely because of the British influence from occupying this area for so long.  Dairy Milk and other British brands can be found everywhere.

Locally made treats where very different indeed.  Most treats came in the form of barfi and jalebi. As unappealing as it sounds to North American ears, barfi is a really great sweet treat, often made of milk.  It's a smooth creamy and sweet treat that takes on many forms.  Jalebi is a common sweet treat found in Pakistan that looks like a poorly made pretzel, but is in fact a sweet deep fried treat.  It's my favorite of all the treats I found in Pakistan, and something I hope to learn how to make myself.  As with the food, many of these treats can also be found in India, and there is always great debate as to where they have originated.

I can't lie, I had some trouble with the food in Pakistan. Many a night I found myself in the bathroom lying on the floor wondering what could have possibly made me this sick.  It's not a place for those that aren't adventurous (I'm still not sure how I survived).  The thing is, when it works, it works really well.  There's so much more to Pakistani cooking than just the food. I can't tell you how many times I enjoyed the environment, and people around me when I was eating. I'll never forget eating on New Food Street in Lahore, up on the rooftop of Andas restaurant looking down at a giant mosque with good people all around me.

Before I go, I can't forget the mangos... They're like nothing I've ever eaten before.

CC

This Week In Candy... Sorry It's Really Late

If you've been keeping up with our Facebook and Twitter lately, you'll know that I got a serious dose of food poisoning.  If you've been keeping up with Candy Critic over the last few years, you'll know that I've had several serious doses of food over the last few years.  This is likely because I've been in many places where food hygiene is not really as big a deal as in North America.  You could say it's my own fault, but to be honest only a few times has it been caused by a "sketchy" food choice (one of which was featured in an episode of "Chris, Why Would You Eat That?!!").  Most often the food that gets me is the surprises, the food I thought was safe, but as it turns out.  I plan on writing an article about that which will either appear here on this blog or in a newspaper or magazine.

As for what's happening here on Candy Critic, we're starting to get everything back in order, and going to push out as much as we can this week, as we had planned. Our two regular weekly posts Candy In The Media, and our Candy Thing, will be out as regular.  We're also releasing a new episode of "Chris, Why Would You Eat That?!! which we recorded in advance.  The only thing that's completely off this week is Snack Facts, our Instagram feed.  We'll be back next week with new posts, and I think it's going to be food poisoning related.

We also just managed to post our new review.  It was a simple review we had on the back burner, for just such an occasion.  All I can tell you is that if you're disappointed by the late review, you're not nearly as disappointed as I was about this chocolate bar.  Click here to read why.

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This Week In Candy

The food poisoning from last week is finally gone.  I can't say that we're 100% healthy, but we're (Allison got sick too) getting stronger every day.  We're also finally eating regular meals, and regular desserts as well. This is perfect timing, because we're just about to head off on our next adventure, India.  I've never been to India before, but it is a foodie destination, and there are lots of sweet treats that I'm very excited to try. I can't say that I'm not a little worried about getting food poisoning again, but I'll just have to be a little bit careful.  Anybody out there have any suggestions on must try treats in India?

This week we're making up for lost time.  First and foremost we're going to post a new episode of Junk Fud On the Road.  It should have been online two week's ago, but talking about food when you have food poisoning is no fun at all.  Because of the food poisoning incident, we won't have a new episode of Junk Fud History this month.  This week however we're going to post a special article, possibly the first in a sporadic series where we compare marshmallows to Circus Peanuts.  For this article we're comparing the two soft treats in how well they work in Rice Krispie Treats.  Check back later this week to see how the Circus Peanuts compared.

This week on Snack Facts, our Instagram feed, we're looking at Tim Horton's.  Every day this week we'll post a new fun fact about my favorite doughnut shop.  You can follow Snack Facts on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.

This week's review was a gift from some friends of mine who just returned from a trip to Australia.  They picked me up a few treats, but these "Pods" intrigued me.  In the end they turned out to be the most disappointing treat I've ever loved.  Click here to find out why.

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This Week In Candy

What a week it was last week... I've talked about getting food poisoning on this site before, I've talked about it on the podcast (Junk Fud) a few times, last week was not good.  People often tell me that I'm the luckiest guy in the world (and I don't argue), but people also tell me that being a food and travel writer must be all fun (it's a lot of fun), but there are some pretty heavy drawbacks.  The biggest drawback of being a food and travel writer is getting sick because you travel (or eat crazy foods). Last week Allison and I stopped in a third world country's truck stop and ordered what we thought would be the safest menu item.  We were very wrong. Yesterday was the first time we'd stepped out of the house in 6 days, before that we barely ever left our beds.  We're not perfect yet, but we're starting to get things back on track.


So what needs to get back on track?  Well first of all I haven't mentioned on this blog that we've posted the latest episode of Chris, Why Would You Eat That?!!  Rather than post it later this week, you'll see that it's embedded above.  Along with my food poisoning, I seem to have caught a bit of a cough.  Someone a while back sent me an interesting cure for a cough from days of yore.  So this week we'll be taping another episode of Chris, Why Would You Eat That?!! where I'll try this "cure".

Fortunately we had prearranged all of our posts for last week in advance, so nothing was missed.  We didn't unfortunately get to record a new episode of Junk Fud, our podcast.  We're going to try and make up for lost time, but that means that this month the podcasts may come out a little sporadically.  We're also going to continue to work on a few future blog articles this week. We're also finishing up our plans for our next adventure, which is a trip through India... Gotta be honest, after the food poisoning, I'm a little afraid (surprise me India, please).

This week on Snack Facts, or Instagram feed, we're looking at the Toblerone bar.  Probably one of the most unique bars, shape wise, and also known to be very high quality.  Make sure to check back every day this week to learn something new about this triangular bar.  You can follow Snack Facts on Twitter, Facebook, and of course Instagram.

I was sick last week, so I have to admit that this latest review was one I had lined up from a while back.  When I picked the review for this week, I thought, "what would make me feel better?" The first thing that came to mind was chocolate. So this week's review is a treat with a really unique, chocolate experience. You can read all about it here.

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This Week In Candy

I'm feeling pretty ill today. Last week we had to live in "temporary" accommodations as our house was being work on.  Then we get home for about 2 days, and I get food poisoning.  It's one of those instances where there is no doubt in my mind that it's food poisoning.  The good news about having food poisoning is that it makes you think about what you eat.  I've been thinking about my diet, the world's diet, just food in general over the last few days.  For the most part it's been random thinking with little real substance, however I did come up with one question that I can't figure out.  Why don't we eat more acorns?

This week at candycritic.org we're continuing all kinds of projects.  My plans to put together podcasts has been more planning than executing, and I've found it difficult to organize.  So I've decided to try to record a few solo shows this week to see how it goes.  I've got two ideas I want to work on, so if all goes well I should have a show or two to post in the next week.  We're also still working out the bugs of our Periscope show called "VS".  Link up with us on Periscope by looking for "candycritic" to help us compare some classic treats.

This week on Snack Facts, our Instagram feed, we're looking at cereal. Some of you may argue that cereal is not really a snack, but I'm not feeling well and it seems to be the only thing I can eat right now.  So check out our feed and learn something new about the crunchy breakfast treat every day.  If you're not on Instagram, don't worry, you can also follow Snack Facts on our Twitter feed and Facebook page as well.

This week's review is proof positive that good candy companies can't always work well together.  Click here to read the review that disapointed me.

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This Week In Candy... Sort of.

Well my weekend didn't go as planned.  It appears that as a gift for the Victoria Day holiday this year I got food poisoning. And not just a sore tummy,  full on everything doesn't want to stay in my body food poisoning. So that's why everything is a little late this week.  Just because I'm writing this, don't let that send you the wrong message. I'm still extremely sick, over the last few days I've eaten a grand total of 12 crackers, a bowl of yogurt, and 2 bananas. I've decided to take on the "BRAT" school of dietary recovery and so for the next little while it'll be bananas, rice, apple sauce, and toast (although I may go for crackers instead of toast).

So this week is going to be a week of recovery and rest. But fortunately for you we'll still have a few posts that I've previously written going online later this week.  I won't be posting a new review, mostly because I don't want to associate any candy with this very bad week, food wise.

Snack Facts, our Instagram feed will also continue as usual, and this week's theme will be on crackers. Why's that?  Well they're the only food that I can eat regularly right now, so I don't want to push it.  Check our Instagram feed everyday this week (except Monday because I really couldn't do it on Monday) for a fun filled fact about the food that's probably keeping me alive right now.  If you don't have Instagram you can also follow Snack Facts on our Facebook page and our Twitter feed as well.

Now I'm going to go to bed.

CC

A Cool Candy Thing

Nothing can help you cap off your holiday cheer like the heads of your favorite holiday characters mounted on sticks... Oh wait a minute, these are just Pez dispensers, my bad.  I guess this would be a fine thing to get for the holidays, as long as you ignore my earlier comment about them looking like the dismembered heads of famous holiday characters.  I've never really thought about Pez dispensers as dismembered heads before, and now that I do, I'll never be able to look at them the same again.  Maybe they should create a line of famous people who've faced the guillotine.  Maybe a series of Pez dispensers based on some of the characters from the Tudors television series.

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This Week In Candy

This week has started off on the wrong foot.  As of Saturday evening I've been fighting a cold that snuck up on me and leveled me out.  I had grand plans to start this week off with all kinds of fun projects, but alas I've been stuck in bed most of the time.  I've decided that I should take a few minutes to let you know what we have planned this week, but please keep in mind that some of it might be posted a little later (such as today's "This Week In Candy" post) in the day.

On our Snack Facts feed (available on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook) this Wednesday, we're going to start off our count down to Halloween list of facts.  Also, many of you may not know that we also have an Pinterest gallery, on this gallery you can see all of the latest treats we've reviewed.  Finally, last week we started posting all of our newest link discoveries on Facebook, as well as Twitter. So far we haven't had any complaints, so we're going to continue, please let us know if any of our social media changes drive you nuts.

Today's new review is brought to you by the creators of Codhoppers, one of my favorite Canadian made snacks ever.  Did they improve on their already awesome candy, you'll have to click here to find out.

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This Week In Candy

Our sister site bewarethecheese.com is going to post a whole bunch of new gummy bear photographs this week.  The theme is bright colours and gummy bears.  They'll be available as posters and greeting cards, and would surely brighten up any room, or any person.

This month we're also releasing some new t-shirts on our store.  We'll feature a new one every Tuesday on this blog.  The theme is Simple Snack Foods, and if these prove to be popular we'll design more of them in the future. Keep an eye out every Tuesday for a new design being featured, or just check out our store right now.

Finally, it seems like I'm over my cold from last week and back on track.  This week I'm working on a few projects that I hope to have posted soon.  I'm also writing a lot of reviews this week, to try and cut down on my candy stash and keep the treats from going bad.  I think this will probably lead to a review-a-thon in the near future.

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I Feel Better Review

Last week I had a cold.  It was one of those colds that simply makes you feel crappy, nothing serious, just very annoying.  Then a package came in the mail, it was a gift from the heavens, it was lozenges.  It was just what the doctor ordered (keep in mind I didn't visit my doctor just for a cold, this is just a figure of speech).  So today's review might be a little biased because I wasn't just looking for a tasty snack, I was also looking for some relief as well.

Click here to read the review that made me feel better.

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This Week In Candy

Well today is a day of good and bad news for me.  First the good news, it appears that team Canada has won the gold medals in hockey, and placed third in overall medals.  I'm a proud Canadian, so it brings a twinge of pride to me, and also makes me crave Tim Hortons for some reason.  Sadly however my week is, and probably won't be perfect.

I had grand plans this week, it was to be a week of writing, posting, and general candy fun times.  Then it hit me... a cold.  I'm presently wrapped up in a blanket playing games on my tablet and napping a lot.  When this sort of thing happens, my weekly candy review update (that was posted this morning) comes from a collection of candy reviews that I keep on hand.  That's right, I have reviewed several treats in advance, just in case I'm unable to write a review on (or close to) Monday.  Now I'm going to go back to bed with a warm cup of chicken noodle soup.

Don't worry about me being sick, I'll still be posting regularly this week.  I can't foresee any bonus articles this week, unless I discover an amazing cure for the cold in candy form.  Having said that, if any candy companies out there have said cure, sending it to me now will guarantee many posts extolling the virtues of your amazing cure for the cold candy.

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A Cool Candy Thing

Every single time I play Cut the Rope, my mouth starts to water.  Something about watching that little creature eat the candies is strangely appetizing.  The problem is, after about 20 minutes of playing I start to think that he's had enough.  Then I think about how sick I would be if I ate that much candy, then I get a little nauseous and I stop playing.

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Tic Tac Syndrome

Tic Tac Syndrome is what I call it when you can't eat just one of a particular type of candy.  Actually it's a little more serious than that, the Tic Tac Syndrome is what happens when you can't help but dump an entire package of candy in your mouth all at once.  The name comes from the candy (Tic Tac) that consists of a package of small mints that are simply unsatisfying to eat individually.

While Tic Tac’s are the best example of a candy you can't eat slowly, there are many others.  Pixie Sticks, (Canadian and UK) Smarties, and Chiclets gum, are a few other examples of candies that cause people to down an entire package in one go.  These treats just have a certain flavour and texture that is satisfying when it fills up your mouth.

While I believe that I suffer from this syndrome in a fairly bad way, I'm not the only one.  I've spoken to many candy fanatics all over the world that have had problems with the Tic Tac Syndrome.  These people have told me tails of stuffing their faces with all kinds of bite-sized treats.  Some are proud of how many of a particular treats they can shove in their mouths; while others are ashamed at how quickly they go through an entire package of candy.

For those that want to defeat the Tic Tac Syndrome, it can be a great challenge.  The best way to regulate the problem is with novelty candy dispenser, such as a PEZ dispenser.  These can slow down your face stuffing habits, but they're not perfect.  First of all, most of these dispensers are cumbersome to fill.  There's also nothing to stop you from just emptying the entire contents of these dispensers into your hand and simply eating all the candy in one gulp.

The only other cure I've heard of is an unplanned accident.  Say for example your tasting a new mint, and each mint is made up of a tiny mouth pleasing little round ball.  Many people suffering from the Tic Tac Syndrome would have a hard time just eating one or two.  Now if these mints were super-powerful, or spicy, this would leave you in a great deal of discomfort.  Having this happen enough times, or having a serious enough trauma, might kick you of the habit.  But it doesn't always work, and I'm proof of that.

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Stuff I Want To Try

Immuno Gum - ? - Because I'm getting over a flu, and I think the idea of being able to chew gum and feel better is pretty good. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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This Week In Candy

Above is my first attempt at chocolate pasta.  It worked fairly well but I'm lacking in any kid of sauce to put over top of it.  Suggestions are more than welcome.

This week is not going as I had hopped.  Last week I started a new article that I had hopped to post this week, but then this weekend happened.  I woke up on Saturday not feeling great at all, then my not feeling great turned to downright horrible.  So I'm going to be taking it easy this week.  Don't worry, there's still a new review, and many other fun segments will still be posted.  I'm starting to feel better today as well.

You may be wondering why I posted a new review when, as I said above, I'm not really feeling well.  It seems unfair to review any treat when you're sick, right?  Well here's the truth, I have many reviews sitting around waiting to be posted.  Probably about 100 of them.  I like to be consistent and always post every week (now with the Japanese reviews twice a week), but I'm not always up to tasting a treat and writing a review.  That's where this backup comes in.  When I'm sick, or too busy to write a new review, I can always go to my backup.

Well I'm going to go rest for a while, right about now I could use a cup of soup and a can of ginger ale.  If you happen to know any good recipes to help out a sick Candy Critic, just leave them in the comments.

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