As a kid, I didn't really care too much for jelly beans. The obligatory jelly beans in my Easter basket every year were some of the last candy eaten, and only because, as a kid, I just couldn't let any candy go to waste. I was initially skeptical of Jelly Belly's because of my childhood aversion to jelly beans: I just didn't think anything classified as a jelly bean could be good. Boy, was I wrong, and I'm glad someone convinced me to give them a try.

Now, you can help Jelly Belly decide on their next flavor jelly bean. Out of thousands of entries, Jelly Belly has the choices whittled down to five. The person who contributed the winning bean flavor gets $10, 000, but sadly the voters only get the satisfaction of voting. Fortunately for me that's pretty good in my book. You have five choices, all of which sound interesting, and you have until August 31 to vote. I think I'm going for the sublime chili lime, or maybe the Thai iced tea. What flavor do you think should win?

[Via Candy Addict]

Coca-Cola is planning to launch a new version of Diet Coke in 2007. No, this isn't going to be like the disaster that was "New Coke" in the 1980s. The drink is actually going to be similar to the current Diet Coke, but it will be fortified with vitamins and minerals, meaning that people will have even more of a reason to opt for diet than just wanting to cut down on calories: they can do it for their health. Diet Coke Plus, as the drink is called, will be "the first nutrient-enhanced carbonated soda to be offered by a major brand" and will not replace the current Diet Coke, which is the best-selling sugar-free soda in the world.

A sugar-free, but nutrient-filled, drink will certainly have a lot of appeal in an increasingly health-conscious society, but is it enough to convert people to diet Coke from other sources of vitamins? Assuming that it ends up tasting like the standard diet Coke, would you give it a try?

It only took two years, since Carvel bought Cinnabon back in 2004, but the ice cream company is releasing an ice cream version of the famously decadent breakfast buns with its brand new Cinnabon Ice Cream flavor. It is a decadent mix of vanilla ice cream, vanilla crunchies, pound cake pieces, cinnamon and swirls of Cinnabon's cream cheese frosting. It would be hard to go wrong with a flavor combination that sounds that good, and since mix-ins are so popular at so many ice cream shops, consumers are probably more accustomed to the idea of having chunks of cake in their ice cream than they once might have been

The flavor will be going into limited release for the time being, but since 90% of test audiences said that they woulg definitely buy the flavor, it could make it onto the permanent menu before too long.

Cookie dough ice cream is a favorite of ice cream lovers young and old, but Baskin Robbins is taking the popular flavor to the next level with some new fall flavors. Makin' Cookies ice cream has a base ice cream that blends of brown sugar and butter flavors ice with chunks of baked chocolate chip cookies, mini chocolate chips and swirled with a cookie dough ribbon. Oatmeal Cookie Crunch ice cream is vanilla ice cream packed with oatmeal spiced cookies and swirled with a crunchy cinnamon graham cracker ribbon.

On top of the straight ice cream offerings, they have the Cookie Overload Sundae, which pairs the two cookie ice creams with caramel, whipped cream, and crushed chocolate sandwich cookies.

Head over to a store to try the new flavors when you get a chance because they'll only be available to a limited time. Besides, how could you resist brown sugar and butter flavored ice creams? These cookie flavors may not be around for too long, but I don't think anyone would complain about those being added to the permanent menu.