Okay, I don’t have a new recipe for you, today. I may come up with something between now and then, but on Wednesday, we’re heading up to New Orleans for the Produce Marketing Association’s Fresh Summit! We’re part of a small group of food bloggers assembled by Kitchen Play to search out trends and get the behind-the-scenes lowdown on what’s happening in fruits and veggies, today. And no, it’s not the royal “we” – the 6’2″ Flamingo’s going with me. 🙂 I’m going to be looking for the “next big thing”, and to hook up with some of our very own local and Florida farmers to see what they’re up to, and turn you guys on to what I discover. At the same time, I’d like to know: What would it take to get you and yours to eat more fresh produce?
I’m also looking for inspiration for new Freakin’ Flamingo flavors, so throughout the weekend, check in with me on Facebook (here or here) and Twitter, and let me know if you think I’m on the right track. If you want to see what we’re discovering and tasting along the way, follow #TeamFreshSummit on Twitter! It should be a fun and interesting (and tasty!) weekend, so stay tuned!
On the flip side, Halloween’s coming! I started a Halloween board on Pinterest and invited several of my favorite twisted food bloggers to share some of their (and mine!) very favorite Halloween recipes and treats with you! Some are sweet, some are savory, and all are wickedly spooky! Click here and be inspired!
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And while we’re on the subject of Treats, let’s not forget the actual Trick or Treaters! While we’d love to give them some of our delicious Maggot Balls, we have to face the facts that you can’t give homemade treats to random kids that show up on your doorstep anymore. So, you have to break down and buy commercially sealed candy and such. Then you get all conflicted. Is the chocolate fair-trade? Are those fun-sized packs full of high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives? All the stuff you really wouldn’t want to give your own kids? (We’ll talk about the goodies you sneak out of their bags when they’re not looking, another time.)
Fear not! Your friendly neighborhood Flamingo has found a couple of fun and tasty (and dare I say, healthier?) alternatives to the JUMBO bags of crap on the shelves right now, and if you’re willing to pay a little more for quality, you won’t mind having some of these around the house if you have leftovers after Halloween.
Unreal Candy: Unreal’s been around for a couple of years now, and you can find many of their “unjunked” candy in lots of stores these days. Their candy-coated chocolates (regular & peanut) are colored with natural vegetable dyes instead of synthetics. Their chocolate is fair-trade sourced, they use real ingredients, they’re slightly less sweet than the other brands, and their flavors mimic (if not exactly duplicate) popular candies such as peanut butter cups, M&M’s, Snickers, Milky Way, etc. Unfortunately, they don’t name their different candies, they give them numbers, so you have to figure out from the descriptions what you’re buying. And, they don’t make “fun-size” JUMBO packages for Halloween. Yet. We keep asking though, and hopefully, one day they will. Certain varieties do come in individually-wrapped, small, personal sizes, though, and you can buy those in multi-packs (usually about 12 pieces per package). Our personal favorites are anything with peanuts. But that’s just us. Still, Unreal is the real deal, and you can check ’em out and find out which stores near you carry them, by clicking here. If you can’t find them in your neighborhood, you can always order them from my Amazon Store, over there in the sidebar.
G.H. Cretors Chicago Mix Popcorn: The folks at G.H. Cretors contacted me a couple of weeks ago and asked me to try their products, and I have to say that Mike and I are now fans. The Chicago Mix, a blend of their caramel corn and cheddar cheese popcorn flavors, is their most famous, having been featured recently in an iconic scene of the movie, Red 2, with Mary-Louise Parker chowing down on an enormous bag of the stuff in Costco. It’s also the only flavor they make in a small, snack-pack size, perfect for lunch boxes or handing out to Trick or Treaters. All natural, non-gmo, gluten-free, and certified kosher, what’s not to love? This is really tasty stuff! And addictive! Finding it may be the trick, so visit their website and use their store locator to find the treats. Unfortunately, the 24-pack of single-serving size is only available online. Order from G.H. Cretors directly, or from my Amazon Store to get it in time for Halloween. Make sure you get some big bags for entertaining, too! I’m deadly serious – you want this. 😉
I received nothing from Unreal Candy. They don’t even know who I am. I do buy it for Halloween and my own chocolate cravings with my own money. I just like it and think you should know about it. G.H. Cretors sent me several bags of their popcorn products for review and I thank them for the use of their product photographs. I received no promises or compensation of any kind. All opinions are my own, as always. Really? You had doubts? Hmmph.
