Chocolate

As Forest Gump said, “Life is like a box of chocolate; you never know what you’re gonna get.”

Except when you sink your teeth into a decadent chocolate bar; then you know exactly what you’re gonna get. (Pure bliss, joy, happiness.)

Not to mention when you open up a piece of Dove chocolate specifically, there’s always a saying on the wrapper like “Chocolate therapy is ‘Oh, so good’” What more could you want from your chocolate wrapper than positive vibes?

In addition to chocolate’s second-to-none taste, it can be used for a countless number of gifts. Every Valentine’s Day, many people get their significant other a box of chocolate. When your close friend is feeling down in the dumps you get them their favorite chocolate.

But why chocolate? Because chocolate is the superior candy, that’s why.

Furthermore,there are also many health benefits.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, dark chocolate is the healthiest type of chocolate. I know, I know, you’re probably thinking, about the fat and sugar that must be hiding somewhere behind that “healthy” front. Wrong.

The fat in chocolate is derived from cocoa butter and can act as an antioxidant.

So next time you peek inside the candy drawer, don’t be afraid to grab a piece of chocolate. It might be doing you more good than you think!

— John Mattison, Staff Writer

Fruity Candy

For today’s lesson on why fruity candy is an all around better choice than chocolate, we will be hitting the books.

Take a trip back into the beginning of the history books, to the days that men and women lived in caves and you will find what many believe to be the first candy creation. The fruity chewy candy we know today as taffy was being made by these barbarians, out of honey, sugarcane and fruits.

Jump to around 2000 BC and Egyptians and Greeks continued to use honey in the process of making candied fruits.

Take a look around you the next time you stroll through the candy isle at a grocery story or a candy shop. Fruity and sweet candies dominate the shelves.

Skittles, Starbursts, Laffy Taffy, Gummy Bears, Twizzlers, Sprees, Gobstoppers and my childhood favorite, Fun Dip. These candies are all different but remain similar because of their ties to the fruity flavor they emit to our taste buds.

Whether the flavor is cherry, strawberry, grape or orange each piece of candy can be eaten separately, or combined with other flavors to give your tastebuds a wild new ride. Nothing is better than opening a pack of skittles and rather than eating them one at a time, popping a handful in your mouth all at once and getting a little bit of everything.

Fruity candy trumps chocolate by being more creative than a boring old chocolate bar, or box of assorted chocolates that every plain old guy gets his girl on Valentine’s day to look like he cares.

— Trent Tetzlaff, Sports Editor