Spooky Sweet Treats

Boo! Halloween is just around the corner. Here are five fun tips from Nestlé to ensure you and your friends have a frightful night. 

Decorate. One of the best ways of getting into the scary spirit is by dressing your home with hints of Halloween. Think sculls, cobwebs and even a graveyard.

Tell haunted stories. Telling stories are a great way to bring the family together over some shared scary fun. Make sure to pack your stories with adventure, mystery and thrills for some frightening fun!  

Have a dress-up theme. Whether you make your own costume or buy one from a store, dressing up as your favourite super hero or tv characters is easier than ever and a fun way to get both you and your family in to the Halloween spirit.

Enjoy a scary movie. Set the mood for this spooky season by watching a scary movie; whether it’s a family-friendly flick or a terrifying thriller it’s sure to get everyone in to spooky spirit.

Host a Halloween party. Once you’ve decked out your house, carved the pumpkins and put out your scary treats, it’s time to throw a party and invite the ghouls and goblins of your neighbourhood for a spooky celebration.

Even if you're not throwing a party, you'll want to stock up Nestlé "Crave Yard" Scary chocolate bars. The four chocolate bars are ones that kids and adults alike already know and love, but these limited edition versions have gotten into the dress-up action, too, with spooky-themed packaging and cute names. Be sure get your hands on ScAero, Scaries, Coffin Crisp, and KIT KAT before the Halloween season is over.

$7.69 (box of 8 full-size bars) or $5.99 (pack of 24-treat size bars) at grocery, drug and mass merchandise retailers across Canada

CCG Giveaway Alert!*

Want to make your Halloween a sweet and spooky one? Here's your chance to win one of two Nestlé "Crave Yard" Scary Chocolate Bars Prize Packs!

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Mother Nature in a Bag

There's no better way to start the work day (or any day) than with a healthy and delicious breakfast. One of our have breakfast choices, granola with yogourt and fresh fruit, just got even tastier. Montreal-based La Fourmi Bionique are the "producers of granola with distinctive personality". They bake granola using local organic oats and then add orange petals, elderberries, currants, and other delicious botanics. And with names for their mixes such as Euphoric (granola with crunchy hazlenut praline, milk chocolate and natural marshmallow), Divine (granola with macadamia nuts, white chocolate pieces, and black elderberries), how could you possibly resist giving them a try? Our fave, the Aphrodisiac mix, has granola roasted with golden Quebec honey mixed with dark chocolate, roasted almonds, currants, and Siberian ginseng. The company also produces granola bars and fruit and medley mixes, so there's sure to be a granola snack to please everyone's tastebuds.

$5.50 (300g) and $12.50 (925g)

Order in bulk from lafourmibionique.com/shop or visit the site's store locator to find your nearest retailer

Good as Gold

From the makers of the ice cream bars with the signature crack when you bite into it comes a brand new flavour — Magnum Gold?!. The luxuriously sweet treat is made with silky vanilla bean ice cream with a sea salt caramel swirl and dipped in a golden coating made with Belgian milk chocolate. Also available in a mini size for those who want to indulge, but in a smaller serving. We dare say it, the newest ice cream bar from Magnum is as good as gold. 

If you are in Toronto, be sure to visit the Magnum Pleasure Store (11 Bloor Street West, open Mondays to Saturdays from noon to 10:00pm and Sundays from 11:00am to 6:00pm) where you can create your very own custom ice cream bar just like celebs Toronto Maple Leafs player Joffrey Lupul, Chef Mark McEwan, and actor Joe Manganiello. Hurry though — the store is only open until August 30th!

Joffrey Lupul, left winger for the Toronto Maple Leafs, stopped by the Magnum Pleasure Store to make his own custom ice cream bar and meet fans on July 25, 2013.

$6.99 (package of 3) at major grocery stores

Canadian Caffeine

There's nothing like a caffeine jolt to get our Monday started. As Starbucks fans, we are loving the coffee company's new True North Blend, a mellow and soft blonde roast coffee. Formerly known as the Veranda Blend, the blonde roast coffee has recently been given a new name in honour of coffee-drinkers all across our beautiful country. The blend of Latin American beans has delicate nuances of soft cocoa and lightly toasted nuts—it's so smooth tasting that we're sure Canucks from coast to coast are sipping it up with delight from coast to coast.

$15.95 (1 lb) at starbucksstore.ca or at your local Starbucks

Delectable Investment

Here's a treat that's a must-have for the emergency snack stash at work - OMG's are mouthwatering clusters of chocolate and graham wafers mixed with diced almonds and crunchy toffee bits. Available in both milk and dark chocolate, these candies are the brainchild of the same guys who brought us Clodhoppers and they were even featured on reality show Dragon's Den. The outcome on the show? They successfully secured an investment and, OMG, are we glad they did.

$4.99 (135g) at Shoppers Drug Mart, Loblaws, Atlantic Superstores, Zehrs and Fortinos

Fairest of them All

Oh, how we love our coffee in the morning! We've found a fabulous new favourite in 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters, the Vancouver-based company that produces custom roasted coffee beans. Our current favourites include Guatemala La Bolsa Ventana Grande, El Salvador El Naranjo, and Organic French Roast.

What's more, we love hearing the story behind the green coffee. Owners and master roasters, Michael and Vince Piccolo, travel to coffee farms around the globe to meet with and develop ethical business relationships with the farmers who provide the beans for roasting. With the Piccolo brothers personally sourcing coffee beans from Africa, the Americas, as well as Central America and South Pacific, we can positively attest that every cup tastes like the freshest, highest quality coffee we've ever drank—now that's what we call a great way to kickstart the work day.

Starting at $14 (12 oz) at 49thparallelroasters.com

Fluffy Fun

We were drawn to this book immediately with its colourful image and "puffy"-feeling cover—so fun and playful! And the contents of Marshmallow Madness! Dozens of Puffalicious Recipes (Quirk Books) by Shauna Sever are just as whimsical. Once we mastered making Sever's classic vanilla marshmallow, we were on our way to whipping up the book's other recipes including yummy cocktail-inspired versions (margarita or crème de menthe marshmallows, anyone?) As an added bonus, there are tasty recipes for homemade graham crackers, whoopie pies, and s'mores cupcakes, too. Delicious!

$18.95 at randomhouse.ca

Sheer Decadence

After a long work day, this is one treat that will satisfy and make you forget your troubles. The President's Choice The Decadent Molten Chocolate Chip Cookie is just like their popular signature cookie except you heat this version so that the centre flows with chocolatey goodness. Pop it in the microwave or in the oven and you'll have a to-die-for dessert in mere moments. Yum!

Sweetly Patriotic

We're gearing up for Canada Day early by treating ourselves to the Purdy's Chocolates Canadian Tin. Inside the pretty red and gold maple leaf tin are 12 of Purdy's best-loved assorted chocolates. Once the chocolates have been devoured, the keepsake tin can be used for storing away our post-it notes, pens, and other office supplies. How patriotically practical!

CCG Giveaway Alert!*

Want to win a Purdy's Prize Pack? Click on through for your chance!

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Mealtime Inspiration

What's a gal to eat when she's bone-tired from a long day at work but wants nothing more than a home-cooked meal? We head straight to the grocery store spice aisle to pick up one of six different Club House Recipe Inspirations by McCormick Canada, and voila! We've just completed the first step to preparing the evening's quick, healthy and delicious dinner.

Each Recipe Inspiration has the six pre-measured spices needed to create a traditional menu-inspired dish with a twist, as well as a recipe card listing all other required ingredients. As busy working gals, we love that this item lets us experiment with new herbs and spices we might not otherwise try, and gets dinner on the table in less than an hour.

With six different recipes to choose from—Rosemary Roasted Chicken and Potatoes, Mexican Lasagna, Garlic Lime Chicken Fajitas, Pasta Primavera, Asian Sesame Salmon, and our personal favourite Cran-Apple and Sage Pork Chops—these spice packets are a great and pleasantly efficient way for us to take home-prepared meals to the next level.

$1.99 each at major grocery stores

Sushi Dress-Up

Sushi is one of the prettiest foods to look at, so it's only natural for its serving vessel to be just as arty. The next time you order in from your favourite Japanese restaurant, give your maki rolls a whimsically dressed-up presentation with the adorable Sushi Service for Two. The six-piece set comes complete with two each of a serving plate, dipping bowl & holder, and set of chopsticks.

$16.99 at joieshop.ca

Sweet Saviour

We've discovered a sweet treat to reward ourselves with after we've finished a gruelling report. These yummy Candy Pouches by Laura Secord are available in three heavenly flavours: Lemon Blueberry Shortbread, Chocolate Covered Blackberries & Raspberries, and French Mint Caramels. They all sound so good we don't know which one to buy--lucky for us, there's a deal when you buy three at once so now we can try them all!

$5.99 each or 3 for $15 at Laura Secord stores; visit laurasecord.ca to find a store near you

Brown bag it & save!

Looking to load up on nutrients while cutting down on expenses? Here are some great ideas from nutritionist Kerri Glassman for healthy, affordable and yummy lunches you can make at home and bring to work:

Choose cheese!

Hmmm... what shall we have to satisfy our afternoon munchies at work? We've discovered the most pleasurable snack to curb our cravings! The oh-so-yummy Cheesestraws are just the savoury treat we like to nibble on before the clock strikes five. Handmade by Toronto-based specialty food company All The Best Fine Foods, the cheesestraws come in three delectable flavours: Herbed Chevre & Walnut, Sesame & Cheddar and our favourite, Lemon Cracked Pepper Reggiano. Keep a box of these crunchy, gourmet sticks stashed in your desk drawer--though we're willing to bet they won't last long in there! Makes for a fabulous party snack too.

$7.99; To find a retailer near you, go to allthebestfinefoods.com/wholesale.html