It ‘s Halloween in Las Vegas. I’ve had several kids already at the door doing the trick or treat thing and all decked out in costume. To me, Halloween is really a bitter-sweet anymore. (Bitter sweet…cute) The bitter comes in 2 forms, the first being that it’s just not the way it used to be sadness. It was never a worry about weirdo’s kidnapping us or getting drugs in our candy…never (and I grew up in LA!) Hey, we’d get apples, carmel corn, popcorn balls, and get served “witches brew” from a smoking cauldron from the craziest lady on the block….it was so cool! Homemade stuff….AWESOME, and generally that would be eaten and done before we got home with the goods. We knew the rules that were set by our parents and by society of what was wrong and right, when to be home, and how big our bag could be. And you know…we loved it! Yes, it WAS the holiday of holidays for all the kids. So the first bitter is the tradition diminishing….WTH is “trunk or treat”? Sad.
The second bitter is seeing the epidemic, first hand, AT YOUR DOORSTEP with every ring and knock. The epidemic I’m referring to is CHILDHOOD OBESITY (CO). In addition to CO, is the rise in children simply being poorly nourished and so sedentary. So here we are at Halloween, and yes, you can give out pencils, rubber bracelets, alternative wrapped foods like peanuts, raisins, whatever you think….fine. And sure, I too am always trying to be creative in what to give out. But what about candy! There are some candies that are favored over others, sure. But you know what? The fact is a candy here or there shouldn’t be a conflict or a guilt trip for the average child, it just shouldn’t . But when your child is obviously way overweight and /or sedentary or a complete sugar addict….YOU GOT A PROBLEM! We kids once. So I’ll rant on this next statement maybe another time but WHY IS YOUR CHILD STRUGGLING………..PARENTS….WHO’S IN CHARGE! DO YOU COOK REAL FOOD OR JUST MICROWAVE? YES, REAL VEGGIES, FRUITS, REAL, REAL,REAL….Your children learn from you. So bitter number two for me is watching our children struggle with something unheard of before….Childhood Obesity.
BUT HERE COMES THE SOLUTION, IDEAS, or what I’ll say is the SWEETNESS OF HALLOWEEN…
If your child is out of balance with their nutrition and activity, obviously, the ideal amount of candy (and kids-at-heart) is NO candy. But this is not the night to be hard guy/gal cop. So here is a FYI of ideas that can help in keeping the spirit of Halloween ALIVE with a little tradition.
Set (and enforce) limits on how much candy may be eaten each day and when (i.e., only after meals). We’d sit around after we got home, dump it all out on the floor and cluster it into the good stuff and the cheap stuff. If your child has way too much, the let them pick out a LIMITED AMOUNT and monitor with them how much and when.
Halloween candy should be enjoyed instead of and not in addition to other sweets that the kids might otherwise have. Limit other sources of sugar such as sodas and sweetened drinks, sugary breakfast cereals, cookies, and desserts, while the Halloween candy is around.
The World Health Organization recommends limiting added sugars to 10% of total calories. For a 90-pound 11-year-old, that's about 50 grams.
Candies that are lower in sugar (less than 20 g per "fun size" serving):
Hershey's Reeses Sticks, Nutrageous , Chocolate covered peanuts , Hershey's Chocolate Almond Bites Mr. Goodbar , Reeses Pieces , and Kit Kat.
Candies that are lower in calories (less than 100 calories per "fun size" serving):
Bubble gum, Twizzler's Bites, Jelly Beans,Bit-o-Honey,York Peppermint Patty,Tootsie Rolls,Raisinets,Gumdrops,Skittles, and Starburst.
Now the question is, “are there any candies that are both low in sugar AND low in calories”?
The best option found in chocolates is CocoVia. Their bars and bites (with various fruits and nuts) are a bit lower in sugar and calories than most similar candy bars. Plus, they are extra high in those flavonoids that make chocolate so good for you. Unfortunately, they're not cheap.
So my sweetness is knowing that WE CAN have Halloween and that THERE ARE STILL a few knocks at the door. I had thought about dressing up to scare the scary kids right back, but my sweetie said my Devil Girl costume was a bit too, let’s say… “Devilish” for the little ghouls….darn.
