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I Paid: $3.99 for a box of four 2-ounce snack packs (prices may vary by region)
Let's put my own bias on the table right from the outset. I really, really would like to like giddy dip'ems, a snack kit for kids consisting of a sweet dipping-stick biscuit plus fruit sauce. The biscuit (halfway between a dense graham cracker and a piece of whole-wheat bread) is baked with whole grains; there's no high-fructose corn syrup anywhere in the whole snack, and the dipping sauce is made with real fruit. Each 140-calorie snack pack comes with four dipping sticks and a pot of fruity dipping sauce, and the amiable complexity of the package would keep little hands occupied for a good stretch: First you open the wrapper, then you take the cover off the dipping sauce, then you dip each biscuit, in turn, into the fruit.
Plus, wholesomeness! The packaging beats it into you in a beautifully designed if ultimately aggressive fashion: "nothing artificial"; "balanced, healthy living"; "wholesome"; "engaging, interactive"; etc. etc., OK, enough, yes.
Here's the catch. My adult palate—a palate, mind you, that's increasingly fond of salt on caramels, stinky cheese, and peaty Islay Scotch—found these things to be austere verging on punishing. The fruit dip is almost puckery in its intensity while being relatively one-dimensional in flavor. The mango/pineapple Tropical variety was more tart than sweet, Sour Apple was truly sour, and even the Grape and Strawberry varieties offered little in the way of sweetness, which is too bad—the dipping sticks have a bit of that whole-wheat bread aftertaste to them, and a sweet finish would have been a nice antidote.
The idea of getting kids off of the sugary garbage they eat and crave is an entirely sound one. But the odds are against giddy dip'ems being the wholesome and effective dessert methadone our HFCS-addicted young people actually need.
Cornrefiner: In my experience, the problem with HFCS in foods is that I am not satisfied with eating/drinking a small/moderate portion of HFCS-sweetened food. Sugar-sweetened foods provide a different kind of sweetness which is more quickly satisfying than HFCS. I can barely get through half a can of Mountain Dew Throwback, for example, but could easily suck down a 44-ounce HFCS-sweetened...+READ
Cornrefiner: In my experience, the problem with HFCS in foods is that I am not satisfied with eating/drinking a small/moderate portion of HFCS-sweetened food. Sugar-sweetened foods provide a different kind of sweetness which is more quickly satisfying than HFCS. I can barely get through half a can of Mountain Dew Throwback, for example, but could easily suck down a 44-ounce HFCS-sweetened Mountain Dew. They may be "nutritionally indistinguishable," but there's a big difference between a satisfying 6 ounces of soda and a 44-ouncer you could swim around in and still want more.-COLLAPSE
Dippin Stix by Reichel are way better than these things. My kids and I absolutely love them and they actually taste great. They have apples, carrots, hummus, and lots of dip combinations, they are sooo good! They are at Wal-Marts and if you love yogurt you have to try the yogurt and apples - I wish the yogurt was sold on its own, it's absolutely delicious and its only a 90 calorie snack! DIPPIN...+READ
Dippin Stix by Reichel are way better than these things. My kids and I absolutely love them and they actually taste great. They have apples, carrots, hummus, and lots of dip combinations, they are sooo good! They are at Wal-Marts and if you love yogurt you have to try the yogurt and apples - I wish the yogurt was sold on its own, it's absolutely delicious and its only a 90 calorie snack! DIPPIN STIX TRY THEM!!!-COLLAPSE
Not crap, per se, but, less good than Cane Sugar.
Cane Sugar tastes better than HFCS.
No matter how you spin it HFCS tastes like crap.
According to the American Dietetic Association, “high fructose corn syrup…is nutritionally equivalent to sucrose. Once absorbed into the blood stream, the two sweeteners are indistinguishable.”
High fructose corn syrup has the same number of calories (4 per gram) as table sugar and is equal in sweetness. It contains no artificial or synthetic ingredients.
It is a popular misconception that high...+READ
According to the American Dietetic Association, “high fructose corn syrup…is nutritionally equivalent to sucrose. Once absorbed into the blood stream, the two sweeteners are indistinguishable.”
High fructose corn syrup has the same number of calories (4 per gram) as table sugar and is equal in sweetness. It contains no artificial or synthetic ingredients.
It is a popular misconception that high fructose corn syrup is more ‘processed’ than sugar, fruit juice concentrate, or agave nectar production. In fact, they all go through remarkably similar production methods that aim to refine the raw botanical material into a food grade standard sweetener that can be formulated into a wide range of foods and beverages. Read more at www.bit.ly/gez2Gl.
As many dietitians agree, all sugars should be consumed in moderation as part of a balanced lifestyle.
Consumers can see the latest research and learn more about high fructose corn syrup at www.CornSugar.com.
Audrae Erickson
President
Corn Refiners Association-COLLAPSE
Plus, wholesomeness! The packaging beats it into you in a beautifully designed if ultimately aggressive fashion: "nothing artificial".
I don't know... my friend's 8 year old LOVES the puckery sour stuff right now. He'd be all over this.