Halloween, our birthday, and a GIVEAWAY

By Giselle Wedemire

PIcky Bitchez turned two years old this month (!!!) and Halloween is right around the corner, so we've been feeling pretty festive lately while struggling with ideas of what we could do to celebrate our blog's birthday while making our readers' Halloween festivities even sweeter. And is there any better way to improve trick-or-treating season than by filling you in on what candies are both vegan and gluten-free?

Nope, there isn't. Because that right there is a good deal -- a scary good deal, if you will.

But before we get to the good stuff, we've got a scary story to tell to get you in the spooky spirit of the holiday:

Photo courtesy of Flickr

It was a dark and stormy night, and the CEOs of major candy companies were tired of thinking of humane ways to improve their treats. Looking for any possible way to cut expenses and maximize profits, they came up with the perfect plan: make use of the leftover parts of the 3,000 animals slaughtered every second around the world and use cheap fillers like wheat to bulk up the sweets.

Soon enough, the candy factories were alive with the hum of working machinery: Vats of gummi bears bubbled with the boiled hide and connective tissues of pigs and cows. Batches of chewing gum and raspberry-flavoured sweets teemed with the anal secretions of beavers, while treats of all kinds thickened with icky gluten. And those fun-sized chocolate bars? Yeah, those were chock-full of blood, pus, feces, and antibiotics.

Once the candies were made and packaged, they were shipped to stores around the world, where they were purchased and eaten by an unsuspecting population who were oblivious to the fact that their treats contained gross ingredients that were kept a secret. 

The really scary part of that story is that it's not entirely a work of fiction -- some candies really do contain icky, animal- and wheat-derived ingredients for no apparent reason. Dun dun duuuuuuun!

I know that as a vegan and/or celiac, you probably habitually read the ingredients of any and every packaged food you lay eyes on (just to check if what you're considering buying/eating is safe), and that can be pretty hard on the eyes when you're trying to decipher the fine print on the sides of fun-sized Halloween candy bars. So, to save your eyesight, we've compiled a list of Picky Bitch-approved gluten-free and vegan-friendly candies (and where you can get them in Calgary) that are perfect for gorging on while watching scary movies on Netflix handing out to trick-or-treaters.

A trick-or-treating staple, Rockets (or Smarties, as they're known in America) are both vegan and gluten-free.
(Photo courtesy of Reddit)

• Rockets (available in large bags at Target, and in bulk at Bulk Barn and Superstore)
• Airheads (available in bulk at Bulk Barn and Superstore)
• Jolly Ranchers hard candies (available at Dollarama and Wal-Mart)
• Fun Dip (available at Dollarama and Bulk Barn)
• Candy corn lollipops (available in big bags from Target)
• Spooky wrapped gumballs (available in bulk from Bulk Barn)
• Pumpkin face gumballs (available in bulk from Bulk Barn)
• Hubba Bubba bubble gum tape (available in large bags at Dollarama)
• Double Bubble bubble gum (available in large bags at Dollarama)

You may have noticed that many of these goodies can be found at Bulk Barn stores, (if you didn't notice at first, take another look). To help celebrate our blog's birthday, and to make your Halloween as sweet as possible, we're giving away a $25 Bulk Barn gift certificate. Simply enter the contest below, spread the word, and cross your fingers.

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