By Taylor Sutton, MS, RD
United Supermarkets’ Lifestyle Desk
Halloween is just around the corner! Between haunted houses, scary movies, carving pumpkins, and trick-or-treating, this spooky time of the year is full of exciting activities to do with friends and family. However, with what seems like endless piles of candy around, this holiday can also bring up feelings of stress and guilt for parents wanting to maintain healthy habits for themselves and their kids.
Have no fear! These tips from our Registered Dietitians will help you balance health and fun so that you and the family can fully enjoy the frightening festivities this Halloween.
Tip #1: Don’t buy candy early
You may have noticed Halloween candy displays popping up at the grocery store around Labor Day. Although it can be tempting to stock up ahead of time, save candy shopping for a of couple nights before Halloween so that there isn’t a stockpile of candy sitting in your pantry before its time for trick-or-treaters to come by.
Tip #2: Eat nutritious meals leading up to Halloween night
Feeding the body with satisfying and balanced meals before trick-or-treating can help reduce the appetite for snacking in between houses and eating copious amounts of candy at the end of the night.
Tip #3: Don’t be the candy police
This is not another title for you to add to your resume or parent title. Creating strict rules around candy can take away from the trick-or-treating fun that only comes once a year. Associating candy with guilt and shame could lead to undesirable food behaviors like overeating or sneaking candy late at night. Instead, allow you and your kids to enjoy the process of collecting the candy and savoring a couple pieces at a time with a meal or as a snack.
Tip #4: Encourage exploration
After a long night of trick-or-treating, your kids are probably going to assess their candy haul for how much of their favorites they’ve collected. Encourage them to try new candies rather than just sticking to their usual choice. Let that mindset of trying new textures and flavors translate into everyday food consumption.
Tip #5: Have fun!
Enjoy every single part of the spooky season! Turn up the fun by finding new activities to do and new Halloween-themed recipes to make with the whole family this year. As mentioned earlier, this holiday only comes one day a year, so fully embrace the Halloween spirit!
Let’s also not forget to hit on the after Halloween effect as well — leftover candy! What better way to utilize your leftover candy than creating cookie dough that you can freeze for when the craving hits or right them. This is a great way to utilize leftover candy from your stash or the kids night out for another project.
Monster Mash Cookies
INGREDIENTS
1 c. butter, softened
2 eggs
3/4 c. brown sugar, unpacked
3/4 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
1 ¼ c. white flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. Baking soda
1 tsp. Salt
3 c. crush chocolate candies of choice (we used M&Ms, Kit Kats, Reece’s Pieces, Whoppers, Milk Duds, and Hershey bars)
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Cream together butter and sugar
3. Crack eggs and mix in one at a time to mix
4. Stir in vanilla
5. Add in all dry ingredients and mix until roughly combined
6. Crush candies into about M&M sized pieces and add to dough mixture and roughly combined
7. Scoop out into 1 1/2 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet and bake for 10-13 minutes
