Chewing Gum - Dye Free, Chemical Free

After my Natural Easter post, I got several inquiries about the artificial dye free, chemical free, additive free gum the Easter Bunny brought for the boys. 

Here are the deets.  I bought two kinds from the online Natural Candy Store.  Wee Glee Gum and Tree Hugger Gum Natural Bubble Gumballs. The boys liked them both, neither had a preference for one over the other.

I confess.  I was a Chiclets Gum addict as a child.  At least part of every dollar I was given or earned as a child went towards a Chicklet Gum purchase.  Tiny size Chiclets were my favorite.  I would dump out the packages.  Sort by color.  Experiment with flavors.  Do they taste better all mixed up, or a mouthful of pink together?    I had an old margarine tub I used to keep my opened uneaten gum in.

It was funny to watch the boys do the same thing at 6a on Easter morning.  Must be some kind of childhood instinct.  Dump out the little pieces.  Organize by color.  Ascertain flavor of colors. Taste colors separately and together.  They didn't do that with the Smarties (european M&Ms made without artficial dyes) I bought.  The dump, sort, taste is only appropriate for gum.  Mysteries of the young brain.

Check out the ingredient list for Chiclets.  No mention of chicle included, even though it is the namesake ingredient.  Head scratcher that one is.  List doesn't specify what is in the "gum" base. 

A word of warning.  Natural gum is stickier than modern gum.  I taught both my boys how to chew gum without swallowing and playing with it before their second birthday. Until this year, they have never created a gum mess.  Not a single gum in the hair, gum on the clothes, gum in the car incident.  But with this gum, little boo has gotten it all over his clothes and skin twice!  You'll have to teach your kids to take it out of their mouth using a tissue.  If they touch it with their hands, or pull it out like a string and pop it back in their mouth, it will be a mess.  Tip, rub oil on their skin to wipe it off.  Hubby did the gum laundry, so I don't know how he resolved that mess.

If you end up buying from Natural Candy Store, would you be so kind as to use this link to execute your purchase?  When you do so, I earn a referral coupon for sending you their way.  If you like, set up a friend plan of your own, then you can share the link on your FB page and earn referral coupons too.  It's helps to put a dent in the price of natural candy and shipping costs.  I only buy 2x a year, Easter and Christmas, but still.  If you'd asked me two years ago if I would pay $50 on candy annually, I would have said never, ever, ever.

Non-toxic gum and candy : $50.  Keeping toxins out of kids bloodstream and brain, priceless.

My local natural foods store, Georgia's, sells a brand of gum called Spry.  It is sweetened with Xylitol.  I'm still on the fence about Xylitol.  I don't use it in beverages or baking, and this is the only product I buy that contains it.  It may be safe, I just haven't done my due diligence on it, so I'm (mostly) avoiding it for now.  I like to keep a pack of Spry with me so I have something to offer the boys when they see other people chewing chemicalized gum.  Most parents wouldn't serve their kids diet soda, because they know that artificial sweeteners aren't recommended for kids.  But most people don't think twice before sharing their gum junked up with artificial sweeteners and phenylalanine with kids.  I'm just as guilty as everyone else.  Before this year, I too served chemicalized gum to my kids.  Now I know better so I'm doing better.

I'm working on another post that answers the question : What's the big deal?  It's just a little artificial sweetener, why is that so bad for my child?  Stay tuned. Disclaimer, I have a "post topic" list a few pages long, and an insane work and family schedule at present.  No promises when I can have it ready, but I will get to it.

This post is participating in Real Food Wednesday, hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop.