Before you fill up the cauldron to hand out some goodies to the friendly goblins, ghosts and fairytale creatures that come knocking at your door, here are some friendly facts on candy.
Halloween is a child’s candy fantasy and a dentists’ nightmare. As for parents, it depends on how you look at the whole candy piece. If you have a sweet tooth like me, you’re probably sneaking into your kid’s stash late at night when they’re fast asleep and stealing some, thinking that you’re doing them a favor since ALL that candy can’t be good for them!. I don’t even have to do that anymore….my kids will just hand over all the “Almond Joy” candy saying “here you go mom” since they know that is my favorite candy. Apparently, 90% adults dip into their kids’ candy stash (Source : National Confectioners’s Association)
Some Nutrition Facts or ( non nutritious facts) on candy:
- The healthiest goodies are marshmallows and mints as they are lower in calories and fat. On the flip side they are horrible for any child with braces …… getting stuck between teeth is messy. I should know this because my oldest has been teeth wired for the last two years.
Hard candy, lollipops , licorice, taffy and caramels are a close second (calorie wise that is) but they are cavity makers. Here’s why: The longer any sugar sits in your mouth it promotes tooth decay and hard candies tend to stay longer as you savor them slowly. To a large extent, this can be avoided by brushing and flossing after the sugar/ candy has been consumed. The same goes for bubble gum and chewing gum (low-calorie, but cavity makers) unless they are sugar-free and kids eating “sugar-free” candy can have problems of its own. A butterscotch candy is only 20 sweet calories and a pack of smarties is a low 25. I personally prefer the hard candy over the rest since my husband is really good at enforcing the ” Brush teeth” after eating.
- Chocolate (a favorite with trick or treaters) is laden with sugar, cholesterol, fat and higher in calories. For ex : a mini butterfinger = 83 cals vs. a mini bag of smarties= 25 cals. The best chocolate covered candy (nutrition wise) would probably be “Twix” since it is part biscuit. The worst (alas my favorite) is “Mounds” = 92 calories and plenty of saturated fat – courtesy of the delicious coconut filling. Dark chocolate is good for the heart, but how many kids like dark chocolate? If you really want to get into the nitty-gritty details of calorie and fat information on candy, click the link below.
Having said the above, the following works in my home:
- We have a “leniency policy ” on eating candy on Halloween provided kids eat dinner before and brush and floss after eating a *certain* amount of candy.
- We also have a common area to stash both my kids candy loot. I sneakily sort through and discard some of the candy I do no want them to eat. That way it’s under some supervision and if you think about it….. having candy stashed in a kid’s room becomes irresistible.
- Candy is rationed out over the next few months and kids are encouraged to donate candy to “Whatever cause they want to” the lesser candy around the house the better.
- We do not purchase untill the day before Halloween. Buying it beforehand and having it lying around is very tempting for everyone ( me included).
- We also do not hand out candy that we would not like our kids to eat. This said our cauldron is filled with a mix of hard candy, some chocolate, Jelly bellies ( my fav low-calorie candy) some healthy granola bars, packs of raisins, Rice krispy treat, bags of pretzels and some little knick knacks. I avoid buying candy that has Trans Fat on the nutrition label. To look for indications of trans fat, look for terms that say partially hydrogenated etc., Take the poll below to see how other families fare on this.
- My neighbors actually fill their cauldron with loose change in the form of pennies, nickels and dimes and kids grab a handful. This is money they would normally spend on Halloween candy. My kids love to dip into the loose change.
I am quite sure that you have your own rules and regs when it comes to candy … do share, would love to hear from you. Have a Safe Sweet Halloween!
Nutrition facts for some common candy
Take this cool Trick or Treat Poll
Hi there! I’m Sunithi, AKA Sue, a registered dietitian with a sweet tooth and a passion for eating healthy (quite a combo) currently working as an independent consultant in the DC Metro area. I’m also a blogger, health nut, nutrition geek who jogs to keep sane :)! I love to revamp recipes and add some ‘Nutrition Bytes’ to them. All my recipes are gluten free! I also blog on natural health and fitness! Visit often and drop me a note if you have any nutrition queries!
Hmm .. did not know those facts about hard candy Vs chocolate 🙂 rethinking my options since I do have an slightly overweight child at home . Thanks for the useful info 🙂 Like the links on nutrition facts especially since they mentioned amounts of trans fat. The poll is nice too !!
Yeah, the info on trans fat is really good !! The Poll is very cool too. Did you vote ? I did 🙂 Thanks for visiting !
Hi sue, confessions of a sweet tooth mom huh ? I sneak in and clean out all the snickers .. howz that and they don't even miss it . Great tips as always 🙂 Hmmm.. maybe will do the money this time $15.00 you think ? Later
Penny, your kids won't let you do the coins ….take my word on it. My girls love to grab coins , but insist that I only hand out candy. If you have luck with the coins let me know ….would be so much easier. Thanks for visiting and all your kind comments ..TTYL
Since you linked to my poll I notice that more people are voting 'no!' than before. If a majority say 'no' by Halloween, you might be saving the teeth of some local Boca kids!
He He … maybe between the two of us since it is your poll we may do some "major " teeth saving 🙂 Thanks for sharing the poll. Had a lot of positive comments on it 🙂
Love this piece … very practical tips and ALL !! Shared on my Fb page and got a lot of comments . My kid wears braces and I know how difficult it is to get them clean every night , so now I knwo exactly what to avoid. Thanks Sue !!
Thank you for sharing this on your FB page ! Do appreciate that. Braces can be tricky 🙂
SWEET !! nice info
🙂
I must admit… Halloween is not one of my favorite holidays for this very reason, way too much candy that is bad for our teeth. Like you mentioned in your post if it's sitting in my house I feel the need to eat it.
Great Post! Visiting from Triberr!
Thanks for visiting Sarah 🙂 yeah, we get our candy the day before …very helpful, especially for me since I have the biggest sweet tooth 🙂
Hi there , checked in to see the new background that you tweeted !Goes really well with your post 😉 Planning to change it after Monday I guess ? Good tips 🙂 Took the poll too. Intresting to see the results so far. Do keep us posted on poll results if you can ! Great Lively looking blog !!
Thank you !! I just changed the background .. and will probably change it after Monday 🙂 As for the poll results .. will have to check with the creator of the poll 😉
I’m not whorty to be in the same forum. ROTFL
Since people come to the USA from all over the world, I would speculate that the average American is exposed to more diverse cultures than the average European.
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