Halloween is quickly approaching! Whether you have kids who plan to trick-or-treat until their bags are full or you have candy on hand to give out to neighborhood kids, you may end up with many tempting treats around the house. Try these tips to help you avoid overindulging on candy.
Out of sight, out of mind…
Donate it. Many organizations will take leftover candy. Look for local charities, food pantries or organizations that send care packages to our troops, like Soldiers’ Angels. You can search for businesses in your area that will accept candy donations to send to our service members and veterans. Click here to find a drop-off site. Operation Gratitude also accepts candy donations. In addition to our troops and veterans, they also make care packages for First Responders, wounded heroes and their caregivers, and military families. Click here to learn more.
Blame it on the “switch witch.” Swap some of your kids’ candy for small toys, coins or money after they go to sleep on Halloween night. Or if your kids are older and won’t believe it, try to buy it from them. You can then donate the candy to a worthy cause without feeling like you took their hard-earned candy!
Put it away. If the candy isn’t easily available, it makes it easier to avoid. You may find it helpful to bag the candy in several sandwich-size zipper bags and only have one in your pantry at a time. Keep the rest in a hard to reach spot. If you want to keep the candy handy for special treats for your kiddos, but don’t want to overindulge yourself, this article may help.
If you decide to keep it accessible…
Limit yourself. Choose a reasonable amount of candy (e.g. 1 large/full-size, 2-3 small) and only eat that amount. If you have the bag or box the candy came in, you can also check the serving size to determine how much to eat.
Satisfy your sweet tooth with fruit and healthy treats. For ideas, click here and here!
Keep it in perspective. Remember, candy is empty calories and unnecessary sugar; it isn’t contributing to your health. In fact, over time the excess calories and sugar can have negative effects.
Save your empty wrappers. The surplus of candy makes it easy to eat and eat without realizing how much you have cumulatively eaten. Saving your wrappers can help you see how much you ate and hopefully prevent you from overdoing it.
Fill up on healthy foods. If you know you have candy lying around, it can be difficult to avoid temptation, especially if you’re hungry.
Looking for some kid-specific tips? Click here for 15 ways to use leftover Halloween candy.
From all of us at Health Advocate, we hope you and your family have a fun, safe, and healthy Halloween!
