When I was a kid, my brother and I would hit the streets on Halloween manned with pillowcases, going from house to house and store to store, trick or treating our way into a sugar frenzy! There was no talk about the evils of sugar nor nutrient based foods.
Today, however, we know that the USDA suggests including 250 discretionary calories per day in our food plans; and that ingesting copious amount of candy on Halloween far exceeds that amount. We are now hip to nutrients. We now want to purposefully create a fun, healthy and happy Halloween for our children.
Instead of mindlessly gobbling the candy down, here are a few tips on how to make this Halloween a safe and healthy one!
1. Pre-Holiday Warning. Before Halloween goes into full swing, remind your kids that before ingesting the candy, it needs to be carefully examined. Sad to say, but the danger that foods are deliberately contaminated exists. We don’t want to stick our heads in the sand. Do we?
2. First, a Nourishing Meal. Before your kids hit the streets, serve up a nourishing meal. Send them out sated and fully fueled with nutrient packed foods
3. Make Halloween Last. Encourage your kids to sort through their candies and portion them out into a number of small treat bags, allowing them to enjoy their treats throughout the holiday season.
4. Frozen Chocolate. Toss all the chocolate treats in the back of the freezer! Every so often, go on a treasure hunt, and pull a piece. Frozen chocolate is divine; one piece at a time.
5. After Dinner Only. Remembering that candy is not overflowing with nutrient rich ingredients and therefore, limiting these treats to post-dinner will allow your children to eat healthfully, filling up on nutrient rich foods, without spoiling their appetites.
6. Tithing Candy. For the ‘overachievers’ who collect copious amount of candy, pillowcases jam packed with sugar, consider giving 10% of the goods away! Package it nicely and donate to your next church or community event!
7. Toss the Cheap Stuff. While sorting through the candies, ask your kids what they like best and what’s not really so great. There’s no point in eating foods of any kind that you don’t totally, 1,000% enjoy! Toss the not-so-great, cheap stuff and save the good stuff.
8. Out of Sight. Out of Mind. Remember the old joke? I’m on the ‘Seafood Diet.’ I see food and I eat it. There’s no doubt that when we see food, we tend to eat it. Leaving candy on the counters, in plain sight, is a sure way to send your kids down the sugar track. Package it, freeze it, place it on high shelves in cabinets that close.
Enjoy!!!
Hungry for more Halloween Tips and a Halloween Candy Calorie Chart?
Spread the word … NOT the icing,
Janice Taylor
Weight Loss Success Coach
wise * fun * utterly useful
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