Q: How do I keep my kids from devouring all of the Halloween candy in a day or two?
A: Planning! Start ahead of time. Halloween is a perfect opportunity to teach kids about healthy eating. Turn it into a teachable moment by talking to them about portion size and limits, lessons that can be reinforced all year long. So, a few days ahead of Halloween, start talking to your kids about all of the treats they may get. You and your kids should agree in advance on how much candy they can eat at a time, and when they can eat it.
Encourage your kids to wait until they get home to eat any of their treats. It's best to inspect them to make sure items are wrapped well to prevent food contamination.
When they get home from trick-or-treating, have your children sort their candy into piles of "favorites" and "not so favorites," and make sure the favorites pile contains miniature pieces to help control portions.
Candy has a long shelf life, and there's no reason why you can't put some of it in airtight bags and store it in the freezer. This tactic will at least space out the temptation and minimize candy binge eating.
Remember, 100 extra calories a day adds up to 10 pounds in a year, so keep that in mind when your kids (or you) are tempted to have "just one more."
If you haven't purchased your Halloween candy to give out to trick- or-treaters yet, good for you! It's best not to buy it (if you must) until Oct. 31. Having a candy supply in the house before Halloween only entices you to have some early.
Or, this year, consider mixing up the candy bowl with a variety of nontraditional but nutritious goodies like: packages of trail mix or nuts; cereal or granola bars; small boxes of raisins or other dried fruit; sugar-free gum; mini juice boxes; bottled water; snack-size packages of peanut butter and crackers; or packages of animal or graham crackers. Or, consider non-food treats like Halloween pencils, pens, stickers, tattoos, and spider rings.
Calories for some favorite Halloween candies
Oh Henry, 1 fun-size bar, 120.
Peanut M&Ms, 1 fun-size package, 110.
Almond Joy, 1 fun-size bar, 100.
Butterfinger, 1 fun-size bar, 100.
Plain M&Ms, 1 fun-size package, 90.
PayDay, 1 snack bar, 90.
100 Grand, 1 mini bar, 90.
5th Avenue, 1 snack bar, 80.
Twix, 1 fun size bar, 80.
Milky Way, 1 fun-size bar, 80.
Skittles, 1 snack-size package, 80.
Snicker's, 1 fun-size bar, 70.
3 Musketeers, 1 fun-size bar, 70.
York Peppermint Pattie, 1 small pattie, 70.
SweetTarts, 1 snack-size package, 60.
1 Tootsie Roll Pop, 60.
Baby Ruth, 1 fun-size bar, 60.
Milk Duds, 1 snack size box, 53.
Nestle's Crunch, 1 fun-size bar, 50.
Kit Kat, 1 fun-size bar, 50.
Hershey Miniatures, 1 bar, 45.
Twizzlers, 1 snack-size package, 45.
1 Brach's Caramel, 40.
Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, 1 miniature, 36 calories.
1 Tootsie Roll, 1 small roll, 25.
1 Jolly Rancher, 25.
1 Hershey' Milk Chocolate Kiss, 25.
1 Werther's Originals Hard Candy, 20.
1 Starburst Chew, 20.
1 Brach's Jelly Bean, 11.
1 Lifesavers, 10.
1 Junior Mint, 10.
1 Brach's Candy Corn, 7.
Comments
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denak (anonymous) says…
Turn it into a teachable moment by talking to them about portion size and limits......"Why would we want to do that! It is a holiday. Trying to teach portion size and limits on halloween is as useless as trying to teach portion size and limits on Thanksgiving.Geesh, this is a kid's holiday. Let them be kids and have fun.Not everything has to be a teaching moment.It isn't as if adults don't have their little indulgences. Let kids be kids!Dena
humble_simpleton (anonymous) says…
I agree with denak. Its a kids holiday, leave it be. Of course they want to eat candy... They're kids!