Boo! Today is Halloween, which means there is candy and treats galore whether you are at the office or taking the kids / grandkids trick-or-treating. Although one or two fun-size candies won't derail your healthy eating efforts, mindlessly eating them until they are gone adds a ton of unneeded calories from unhealthy fats and added sugars.
Tell yourself what you would tell the kids, take just one or two!
What to do?
Here are our 6 tips for containing the candy indulgence.
Tip #1: Expecting trick-or-treaters? Buy less candy than you think you need.
This will prevent you and your family from having extra candy to indulge in.
Tip #2: Be unique and hand out non-food alternatives.
You can pass out mini bottles of water (all that walking requires hydration), or fun Halloween themed trinkets such as pencils or erasers.
Instead of letting the kids go chocolate crazy, everyone in the house gets to choose two pieces of candy. This keeps healthy eating in tact and prevents late night sugar highs.
Learn to negotiate with the little ones. Trade their candies for non-treat alternatives. For example, if the kids give you five pieces of candy, they are allowed to stay up later on the weekend and watch an extra TV show.
Just kidding. But do ask to keep the candy out of sight so that you're less tempted to dig for it. As back up, have healthy snacks on hand in the fridge in case you do get a craving for the sweet stuff. Fall is the perfect season for apples, keep a variety on hand for a sweet and crunchy distraction.
