Choose You Blog

I’m an adult woman who usually makes mature decisions, but there is something about candy that makes me act like a child.  Put a bag of chocolate and nougat in front of me and three minutes later all that’s left is the wrappers.

But my behavior is nothing compared to my friend who has absolutely no willpower around Halloween candy.  To make it worse, she has a 10-year-old so she can’t just ignore the holiday.  Here’s what happened last year…

My friend bought bags of Halloween candy and then she ate it all before the holiday arrived.  So she had to re-buy the candy again.  On Halloween night, the neighborhood kids quickly discovered she had “the good stuff” and cleaned her out. So, she didn’t have any leftover candy to tempt her, but right after Halloween her daughter spent the night with a classmate.  My friend found her daughter’s candy stash and proceeded to eat all her kid’s Halloween candy.  I’m totally serious.  She cleaned out that plastic pumpkin and then panicked and had to replace the sweets.

So, my friend went to the store (again) and bought Halloween candy (again).  If you lost count, that’s three times that she had to buy candy because she kept eating it.

The moral of this story (which is totally true, I swear!) is that if you’re trying to cut down on sugar, calories, and fat then maybe handing out healthier Halloween treats is the way to go so you won’t be tempted by having candy into the house.  Here are some suggestions for 10 delicious snacks that kids will love and that won’t harm your diet goals:

1. Yogurt-covered raisins
2. Fruit rollups
3. Granola bars
4. Fruit newtons
5. Pretzels
6. Peanuts
7. Sunflower seeds
8. Cheese and whole-wheat cracker packages
9. Sugarless gum
10. 100% real juice boxes or bottled water (the kids need something to wash down the treats!)

Be sure to have a variety on hand, especially if you give out nuts, since some children have allergies.  Of course, Halloween treats need not be edible.  You could hand out party favors like plastic rings, stickers, or noisemakers.

So, how do you handle Halloween?  Do you buy your favorite candy so you can snack on some, or do you buy candy that you don’t like so you won’t be tempted?

Lynn Lamousin is a Choose You subscriber from Atlanta, GA who signed up to Eat Right, Get Active, Get Regular Health Checks, and Protect My Skin. (She quit smoking many years ago, but still dreams about cigarettes.) Her mother and brother both lost battles with cancer.