Don’t be Haunted by Halloween: Tips for a Healthy Holiday
At Brighter Bites, we promote eating fruits and vegetables at every meal and snack. But on Halloween, we know that it’s difficult to keep kids away from the candy. Well… maybe not just the kids! One thing that can be just as scary as the ghosts and zombies tomorrow night, we be all the leftover candy collected from trick-or-treating. It may be difficult to know when enough is enough with seemingly endless bowls of chocolate-covered everything hanging around the house.
Image Source: POPSUGAR Photography/Jenny Sugar
As you can see from the above photo, popular Halloween candy is often already packed in 100 calorie pieces. Those little pieces add up when families start replacing Halloween candy for a piece of fruit at dessert or snack time. Don’t be afraid though! Treats like Halloween candy can fit into any healthy diet. Here’s how:
- The “out of sight, out of mind” philosophy is one that could work when children bring home an abundance of Halloween candy after trick-or-treating. Keeping the candy in a bowl or storage bag on a high shelf or in the back of a cabinet may make it easier for the whole family to avoid over indulging and prevent kids from sneaking candy when the adults aren’t looking.
- Another important factor in making healthy choices at Halloween is portion control. Most Halloween candy already comes in small, bite-sized packages, which makes portion control even easier. Setting the limit to one or two pieces at a time for all members of the household will ensure everyone gets a treat without overdoing it.
- Suggest to children that they select three pieces of candy from their trick-or-treating bags, and give the rest to your local dentist participating in the Halloween Candy Buy Back program, which sends candy in care packages to U.S. troops serving overseas.
- Finally, savor the candy that you eat. Eating the candy slowly and enjoying each bite will help you feel satisfied and keep your portions in check.
There can be a lot of scary things about Halloween, but candy doesn’t have to be one of them. Eat some apples, make some pumpkin muffins, and have a happy Halloween!