Today is November 1st and last night was Halloween where I am – and maybe also where you are.
How many of you had Halloween candy for breakfast today? Haha
Well now that my kids are teenagers there is a lot less candy in my house today than in previous years thankfully. However there is some leftover from last night so the temptation is still there.
In the past, I’ve found that the week or two after Halloween is a minefield of candy & chocolate temptations. It’s literally everywhere. Kids bags full of candy at home, bowls full around the office and everywhere in between. I always find myself negotiating candy consumption with them as well as with myself as I try to resist the urge to dig through their bags after they head off to bed.
Can you relate?
Well there’s absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying those delicious little bite sized halloween treats. There is, however, a big difference between enjoying, mindless eating and bingeing.
You can make Halloween candy a part of a healthy lifestyle. Yes it’s true!
5 tips to make Halloween candy a part of your healthy lifestyle
1.Pick it out, portion it out and savor it
When my kids were around 8 or 9 years old I started to notice that after a week or two most of the ‘good’ candy (or their favourites) would be long gone. That didn’t mean they stopped eating from the bag. They would still pick at it (and lets be honest…so would I) but that was just because it was there. They liked it enough but not as much as their favourites. So I instituted a rule…If we are going to eat candy, we only eat candy we like. We do not eat candy for the sake of eating candy. The night of halloween they choose their top 5 or 6 favourite candies or chocolates and divide them out of the bag. My son loves licorice for example so he’d start by grabbing all of the licorice out of the bag and putting it in a separate spot. Once they had all their favourites, we would decide together how many they could have each day. I would make sure there were a couple of my favourites set aside as well obviously. When we ate it, we savoured it.
2.Get rid of what didn’t make the cut
I used to be able to find the odd dentist who would take leftover donated candy and often my kids’ schools would take it for treats to give away during school celebrations. Find someone in your neighborhood who is taking leftover candy and get it out of our house. If having it in your freezer isn’t a temptation for you (it is for me so I never did this), toss the leftover candy in there and pull it out for additions to loot bags at birthday parties.
3.When in doubt, throw it out.
I don’t like to waste food but I’d rather toss it in the garbage than in my mouth. I am not a garbage can…and truly neither are you.
4.Make Your Favourite Healthy Foods Convenient
Make sure that your favourite healthy foods are also around and easy to grab when you are hungry. Yes you can enjoy your candy but I did say it was a PART of your healthy lifestyle. Make sure that healthy lifestyle is still going strong by keeping some fresh fruits and vegetables as well has convenient protein sources close at hand
5.Keep Your Blood Sugar Stable
Keep that blood sugar stable to reduce cravings. When you are tired or starving it will be tempting to grab a couple pieces of candy to fill the void. Even though you are indulging in your favourites, you won’t be savouring it.
This strategy can be used all year long. As I’m sure you can tell by the decorations that have already popped up in stores, the holiday season is just around the corner. Decide ahead of time what treats are worth indulging in and really savour them when you do.
So yes, halloween candy can be a part of a healthy lifestyle…any candy can be a part of a healthy lifestyle. It’s all about balance and moderation.
Make your choices and delight in them. Savour the sweet treats and the sweet moments and you can still reach your health and weight loss goals..willpower not required.
Looking for other healthy eating tips? Find more on the blog here
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