Watch out this Halloween: It’s not just the kids’ teeth and bellies that are negatively affected by the trick-or-treating tradition. Adults often consume more than half of all the candy distributed on Halloween night.
Chocolate is a common Halloween favorite, and one of the most potentially damaging to a healthy diet. One mini candy bar (about 2 inches long) is recommended to satisfy your sweet tooth, but the spirit of the night may compel you to dig right into a huge bowl of sugary bounty. Set out with a plan to moderate your family’s candy intake well before the sea of brightly colored wrappers is staring you right in the face.
Six tricks to keep candy consumption under control
- Enjoy your treats on Halloween eve, giving away as much of the leftovers as possible.
- Freeze as much of the candy as possible for portioned enjoyment in the future.
- Decide in advance on your daily consumption (by number of candies or number of calories) and be consistent.
- Drink two glasses of water before indulging to limit your hunger and cravings.
- Keep in mind that there are plenty of other holiday temptations in the next two months.
- Stick to mini or fun size versions instead of the regular or king sizes.
Try these smaller, lower calorie candy options:
3 Musketeers Mini | 24 calories | 0.7g fat |
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3 Musketeers Fun Size | 63 calories | 2g fat |
Milky Way Mini | 38 calories | 1.5g fat |
Milky Way Fun Size | 80 calories | 3g fat |
KIT KAT Mini | 18 calories | 2g fat |
KIT KAT Snack Size | 70 calories | 3.6g fat |
Twix Mini | 50 calories | 2.6g fat |
Twix Fun Size | 80 calories | 5g fat |
Candy Corn (14 pieces) | 100 calories | 0g fat |
Tootsie Roll Mini | 23 calories | 0g fat |
Peanut M&M’S Fun Size Bag | 90 calories | 5g fat |
Regular M&M’S Fun Size Bag | 73 calories | 3.3g fat |
Charms Blow Pop | 60 calories | 0g fat |
Skittles Fun Size Bag | 60 calories | 0.7g fat |
Butterfinger Mini | 45 calories | 2g fat |
Butterfinger Snack Size | 100 calories | 4g fat |
Have a happy and healthier Halloween!