Halloween kicks off the holiday season -- when all your best intentions to eat a healthy diet can go out the window. We often give our kids a “pass” too during this time of year. However, with a few simple tricks, you can enjoy Halloween treats without sabotaging your family’s health and tipping the scale in the wrong direction.

The trick to avoiding sugar-overload is balance, moderation and a little pre-planning.

Healthy Treat Choices

Here’s a few strategies to avoid sugar overload:

• Purchase non-candy or sugar-free treats such as:
  • snack size animal crackers, pretzels or baked chips
  • fruit snacks made from fruit
  • mini rice cereal treat bars
  • sugar free gum
• Another option is non-food treats such as Halloween pencils, pens, stickers, tattoos and spider rings.
• If you want to include candy among your treats, read the labels and choose those that are low in sugar and fat with less than 60 calories each.
  • Good options are lollipops, hard candy, sweet tarts, tootsie rolls, and sugar free gum.
  • Avoid caramels, candy bars, caramel corn and marshmallow candies. Even a snack size candy bar can contain over 150 calories and 6 grams of fat.
• Avoid temptation. If your willpower isn’t the best, don’t buy your favorite candy.

Moderation is a Must

As with any treat, candy can be a part of a child's healthful eating plan—in moderation.

You and your kids should agree in advance on how much candy they can eat at a time, and when they can eat it. And don’t forget to consider your child’s current health and exercise levels. If your child is already overweight, you may need to limit their candy consumption to once a week or less.

When they get home from trick-or-treating, have your children sort their candy into piles of "favorites" "not so favorites" and those they simply don’t like. You can speak with your child about keeping only their favorites and sharing the balance with others or donating some of their candy to charity (food banks or care packages for servicemen overseas).
Parents should also be the “keeper of the candy” and store candy out of sight so no one, even mom and dad are tempted to overindulge.

Source:

American Dietetic Association