Healthy Halloween Candy: Take Two

I think those are great ideas! Tootsie Roll Pops were one of my favourites as a kid. Plain old lollipops are always good; there's always lots of sugar-free lollipop options around Halloween. Halloween sized bubble gum is another option. Sure it's not exactly nutritious, but I think limiting the calories/sugar is probably the more successful road to take, rather than trying to add vitamins and whatnot.

Though really, I think I would worry less about what Halloween candy to give, and put more focus on teaching kids not to pig out on candy when they receive it, you know? Individual Halloween-sized candies really aren't that bad.. it's just bad when you eat a bunch of them. The only thing is the pure quantity of candy kids get, but I think they just need to learn some moderation, or even being generous with the candy, and giving it to friends or to school and sharing what they have.

Joanna

OK.. so not cheap, but along the lines of your dark chocolate- you can get 150 mini organic, fairly traded dark chocolate bars from Equal Exchange for $28 + $3 shipping and handling. They have a 55% cocoa content, so lots of antioxidants, and you're voting with your wallet to give candy that was produced with all fair trade practices (i.e. no kids were used in the production- a lot of chocolate is produced with child labor).

http://shop.equalexchange.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=18…

Noah and Rosie's mom

One year I ran out of candy and gave out bags of instant oatmeal. It occurred to me afterwards it wasn't a bad idea, especially if it's the flavored variety, and the parents might appreciate something a little different and marginally nutritious in spite of all the sweeteners and artificial flavoring.

louise

How about small baggies of candy corn? I believe (don't quote me) that 12 pieces are only 150 or 120 calories. That may not seem like a lot to giveaway, however, but it's another option! :)

Abby

After making my 6yo go through baby root canal due to a broken tooth from chewy candies like starbursts and skittles and the like my dentist told my son "only chocolate" for my son (a rule which I've adopted for my other children). A little swish of any warm drink and all traces of bad stuff for the teeth are gone. When people give my kids "forbidden" candy they bring it to me and we swap for chocolate :-)

donnas7kids

Thanks for this post and I took my own poll on my facebook page about giving non-sugar treats for Halloween. I received some great responses. Ordering mini-flashlights (from Oriental Trading), glow in the dark necklaces/bracelets, etc. were popular with many. Last night, I picked up the mini Play-Doh containers and a whole pack of Disney card games (old maid, snap, concentration, etc.). I'll hand out Play-doh and card games to the younger ones, and quarters to the older kids. No toilet papering at my house (and no dental decay)!

Sue Ingebretson

These Hershey dark chocolate kisses are a year-round staple in my pantry as a treat. The kids love them (not too bitter), and I find that 2 or 3 will quell my chocolate cravings.

Maria

Candy everywhere?

I was at my local CVS pharmacy (there are 3 within a mile of each other) the other day (mid-August) and could not determine if I entered a candy store or a drug store.

I know folks who are into a healthy lifestyle shouldn't ruin it for people, but here goes ... when the Girl Scouts bang on my door to sell me cookies, they are selling me cookies with trans fats in them!

Thanks girls, I'll give you the donation, but keep the cookies. I'm not looking to ingest artery-clogging foods.

Happy Halloween,

Ken Leebow

http://www.highsatiety.net

P.S. Now you know why there are 3 CVS stores within a mile of each other. We're eating crap all day long.

Ken

My kids have also struggled with cavities and there are many candies that are forbidden. We also live in a neighborhood with 130 homes so we get a ton of candy. After culling the forbidden stuff, we decide on a fair amount to keep (like 30 pieces) and they choose which 30. We then donate the rest to the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan who give them out there (as good will? Weapons? :) )

Laura

Ever since the egging and TP Incident in the Neighborhood we give out full size candy bars. I know its indulgent but I want to keep those kids happy and for those special friends I make home made double dipped Carmel apples with Chocolate and a toppping Every year it is different. We have done MM's, Oreo's and a variety of other candies on my apples.

Mrs Mix It

One of my favorite autumn snacks is a mixture of candy corn and dry roasted peanuts...the ideal bite is 2 to 3 peanuts to 1 piece of candy corn...the resulting flavor is something akin to a Payday candy bar! You can give small baggies of this colorful, tasty treat as an alternative to plain ol candy corn!

Ashley

I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to disagree with the idea of handing out instant oatmeal to all these pint-size princesses of small-fry superheroes. Oatmeal, flavored or not, isn't candy or a "fun" snack. It's just regular food, and I don't think little "Caitlin" or "Owen" is going to be happy to receive regular food in his or her little plastic jack o'lantern. It seems like a good idea in theory, but as far as a kid is concerned, that's akin to tossing a can of peas or a handful of bouillon cubes into his or her pumpkin-shaped container.

Sparkina

Sue, great idea. More non-edible goodies include flavored lip glosses (or "lip pomades, to be fancy) such as Avon, Bonne Bell, or Nivea Kiss of Flavor, crayons, barrettes and ponytail fasteners, markers, toy dinosaurs, toy soldiers, yo-yos, novelty erasers, and stickers

Sparkina

Had to fix a typo:

I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to disagree with the idea of handing out instant oatmeal to all these pint-size princesses or small-fry superheroes. Oatmeal, flavored or not, isn't candy or a "fun" snack. It's just regular food, and I don't think little "Caitlin" or "Owen" is going to be happy to receive regular food in his or her little plastic jack o'lantern. It seems like a good idea in theory, but as far as a kid is concerned, that's akin to tossing a can of peas or a handful of bouillon cubes into his or her pumpkin-shaped container.

Sparkina

Yes, donate that candy! Some friends of mine still get together and send packages EVERY MONTH to about 100 soldiers overseas. If any of you want to find out how to donate your extra candy, visit greetheroes.org and scroll down to "care packages" to find out more.

Angie M.

It's great to read all the ideas, and, even more, to find a like-minded community that shares so many of my concerns and worries. I, too, am amazed that every holiday now includes candy (Valentine's Day being the most recent with the cards now having candy attached). I am also amazed by all the sugar that comes from b-day celebrations. Our dentist said that she now mostly focuses on getting kids to brush their teeth (or simply swirl with water if brushing isn't possible), so part of my response to all this is to be vigilant about teeth care. (Love, love, love the children's sonicare toothbrush; makes doing two minutes easy.) A friend of mine told me about the Candy Fairy, who shows up at their house shortly after Halloween and after her kids have enjoyed some of their candy. The kids can put their candy out, and the magical Candy Fairy takes it away and leaves them with Lego or a book or something they will like. (One year our Candy Fairy brought toothbrushes and some other things, too!)

susan fine

I get so bothered when people act like WE don't have a choice buy to make the kids happy with CANDY?? Come on, my kids are not going to die if they get non-candy items for Halloween! Are you kiddin me?? I don't eat candy so it's never in our home and I'm NOT gonna fill other folks kids up with candy! I'm not going to give in to the foollish notion that it's JUST one holiday so let me bend the rules. HFCS and dye are in SO many things (known and unknown) so how can we just pretend like it's ok to give the control up as parents for the sake of one holiday?? No, I don't give my kids candy period and they never ask for it because it's not a norm or something they miss! I know when they are with their grandparents they might give them a little candy or some non-organice fruit snack or yogurt that's full of dye or sugars so I let that slide and those occurances are very rare anyway! I never give out candy and I've never had a problem. I do apples, oranges etc and tell the kids if they don't want it that's ok but I'm sorry it's all I have with a smile. Again, never had a problem. I think we have to do better as a people to give our children a fighting chance at a healthy life. If we give them bad habits or give into their tantrums, what do they need us for?? I think we should stop being pushovers and give tough love!

Tywana

Ken.

I understand where you're coming from, but you can also buy the cookies and bring them over to your neighbors or offer them when company comes over. After all, adults are adults, and if other adults that you meet or socialize with choose to eat artery-clogging food, it's their right and their business :-)

Sparkina

I loved reading the comments as much as the post :-) I gotta say, lol at the instant oatmeal - I would totally want to do it, but probably wouldn't. I don't mind my kids getting candy - in fact, they can go crazy and enjoy the experience of collecting it, because they aren't going to eat most of it. Last year I just kept sneaking out handfuls so they wouldn't realize until they were left with little or nothing (then they knew of course). But I LOVE the idea of donating the candy to soldiers.

Tanya

Love the idea of the donations to soldiers also.

Sparkina

Thanks for all the comments! I'll share the information with my son's third grade teacher and all the parents. Tootsie Rolls and glow bracelets seem to be popular. But I'll suggest eliminating Starbursts and Skittles.

Laurie

...but....but....I like the prune idea, my kids love prunes!

Karen

Love this post and the comments! We too have struggled with this... My solution for the past two years has been to buy one of those big barrels of Halloween pretzel packs from Costco. That way the kids can have the instant satisfaction of a snack without adding to the sugar rush. (And pretzels taste mighty good with chocolate too... :) )

FYI - I included this story in my Friday food news wrap-up here: http://bit.ly/diLtG6

Jeanne @JollyTomato

Do kids like dark chocolate now? When I was young "special dark" was the nasty one leftover from the Hershey's multi-pack. You wouldn't eat it if you were desperate!

sarah

I don't know how big the costco packs are, but I found a jack-o-lantern pattern bag of 30 1/2 ounce mini pretzel bags at Smart and Final for 4 bucks Saturday... each bag has 50 calories. I love them for ME because although I like the 100 calorie packs of pretzels for "just" pretzels, sometimes I want to eat pretzels with something else, and the little packs are perfect for an apple, pretzel and string cheese snack...

Sue

Why do you have to give candy at all? Spider rings, halloween pencils or erasers, Stickers, Silly Bands. Let the kids reach in and pick what they want.

Rhonda

Last year my kids traded the candy for a toy. This year we are going to a Halloween party, so no trick-or-treating. My 5yo was sad about not trick or treating, and my compromise is making my kids Halloween baskets. They get some candy, I get to choose what it is (HFCS free, dye free, good quality). Win-win, as far as I am concerned. I know it will get harder as they get older, but it's giving us a chance to teach them how to eat well and how to moderate their sugar intake.

Bethany