Treats that Trick

Like most holidays, Halloween offers the opportunity for overindulgence on sweet treats. After all, it’s centered around candy. Whether it’s the kids bringing home too much candy or being too prepared for trick-or-treaters, it can be all too easy to give into the candy corn and bite-size Butterfingers. We always preach moderation in all things, so you can enjoy some Halloween candy and not blow your diet. Here's how to keep Halloween from haunting you!

1) Be conservative. When purchasing Halloween candy, don’t buy a truckload. “But I have a million trick-or-treaters in my neighborhood!” you say. That doesn’t mean you need to buy enough to feed an army. Don’t be afraid to run out of candy toward the end of the evening. If you do, just turn off your porch light. The little goblins will just skip right over to the next house, no hurt feelings.

2) Get rid of it. If you do happen to over-buy candy, get rid of it before you can consume it. You don’t necessarily have to throw it away (but feel free to do so if needed!). Take it to work to share or put it out of sight and limit yourself to a treat every day or two. You can even freeze it so that it's difficult (and literally hard) to eat more than one or two treats at a time.

3) Don’t eat your kids’ candy! Don’t use checking your kids’ candy for razor blades as a cover for testing each treat they got in their plastic pumpkins. Limit your kids to a couple of treats a day, and then restrict yourself from sneaking bites from their loot. And if you do eat too much of their candy, challenge them to a game of Burn-the-Halloween-Calories Tag.

4) Avoid small pieces. This can seem counterintuitive. After all, what’s wrong with a jelly bean here or a candy corn there? This is what’s wrong: It can be so much harder to know how much you’re eating when you’re popping small bites of candy for an hour. If you can’t resist the candy corn or Hershey’s Kisses, make sure you measure out the appropriate serving size and enjoy every bite. And then quit.

5) Get the fun size. I know this seems contrary to No. 4, but allow yourself the fun-size candy bar. Back in my trick-or-treating hey-day, it was always awesome to hit those houses that gave away the full-size candy bars. If your kids happen to hit the jackpot with those, avoid them. A fun-size Milky Way has 150 calories. Not enough to break the bank, and it’s still a nice treat. The full-size candy bar has 260 calories—quite the caloric punch!

Need some ideas for FBG-approved Halloween candy? Here’s our short list!

1) Twizzlers. Four cherry-flavored twists come in at 150 calories. And because they’re so chewy and long, you really feel like you get your calorie’s worth.

2) Tootsie Pops. Clocking in at just 60 calories, the Tootsie Pop will give you a long-lasting burst of sweetness with a chewy center. If you need a chocolate fix, this is your best bet. How many licks does it take?

3) Jolly Ranchers. Three small pieces of original Jolly Ranchers will only cost you 50 calories. You’ll get lasting fruit goodness and won’t go overboard.

Don’t let Halloween pass you by without having a bit of a sweet treat. And don’t forget that walking the kids around the neighborhood counts as exercise! —Erin

Photo grabbed from Juushika Redgrave at Flickr.