Let’s face it - with Halloween, comes candy. Candy everywhere. Candy at work, candy at home, candy at school, candy just laying around yelling “eat me” everywhere you go. You want to eat it, but you also don’t want to feel guilty about eating it. So, here’s the thing: don’t feel guilty. Make that choice confidently, allow yourself that indulgence, and enjoy it, but don’t let it send you over the edge. Don’t indulge in two-thirds of your children’s trick-or-treat haul in one sitting, and then feel awful for days, and craving sugar for weeks afterwards. Pick one, eat it slowly, savor it (think about how sugary and not-as-good-as-you-imagined it is), and then be done. Now, using that same strength you used to enjoy that candy guiltlessly, choose not to eat seventeen more pieces, maybe promise yourself another one tomorrow if you need to. I know, it can be really hard not to let candy control you, it’s super addicting. I’ve had days where I’ve eaten so many Sour Patch Watermelons that I had a stomach ache, and somehow I still wanted more of them. The pleasure centers in your brain just love what sugar does up there, it makes it really hard to enjoy in moderation. So, I decided to compile a few little tips for avoiding, choosing, and recovering from Halloween candy.
1. Be Prepared
I know this article was probably published a little too late for you to have prepared this year, but for future reference: stock up on healthier sweets, and alternatives to the usual suspects. If you don’t already keep dark chocolate on hand at all times, you’re doing it wrong. You could also consider chocolate chips, natural peanut butter, dried fruit leathers, dates, and fresh fruit. When you see candy laying around, and start thinking about indulging in it, you’d be surprised how satisfying these other things can really be. (Hint: I’ve been known to sit, dipping a nice piece of super dark chocolate into it a big spoonful of peanut butter from time to time, can’t go wrong with pb+chocolate)
2. Choose the Lesser of the Evils
If you’re going to go for it, try picking a candy that’s made of actual food ingredients. Most things you’ll read will tell you about which candies are the least calories, or the lowest in fat, but come on now, if we’re eating candy we’re not worried about calories, fat, or sugar for that matter - we’re just indulging. So, for me the key is trying to pick the ones with the realest ingredients. If I’m going to have candy fine, it doesn’t need it be laced with chemicals too. This means you can skip literally any candy that comes in a pretty color (Skittles, Starburst, Twizzlers, Air Heads, etc.) these candies are literally just manipulated and colored sugar. The artificial food colorings in them are linked to behavioral and mental health problems, as well as cancer, birth-defects, allergic reactions, and more #NotWorthIt. Try going with a chocolatey-type candy instead, really, if you can be satisfied with a regular Hershey bar that could be your best bet. Just about all the popular candies today have some controversial ingredient in them, and none of them are going to be a "healthy" choice, so again the biggest key here is: indulge in moderation.
3. Get Rid of It
Do not go to the store and buy the candy that’s half-off the day after Halloween. Do not keep the leftover candy that the trick-or-treaters didn’t take. This one’s going to sound extreme, but I’m saying it anyway – let your kids pick some favorites from their haul, and throw the rest away, you are not depriving them of anything (except maybe diabetes/obesity/general poor health) if you don’t let them keep a giant bowl of candy on the counter for the next three+ weeks.
4. Recover
Once you’ve indulged, once, or a number of times. Your brain’s sure to insist on more. Eat fruit for natural sugar-cravings-satisfaction, drink lots of water, and remember that the cravings will eventually subside (so long as you don’t keep giving in to them).
Alright everybody Happy Halloween, those are my tips! You have to at least give me credit for acknowledging the reality of candy being everywhere. I know you’re going to eat it, I just don’t want you (or your kids) to eat all of it. Let me know what you think! Thank you for reading and good luck, it’s a sugary world out there.
