8 Tricks for Buying Halloween Treats
Halloween candy can have a frightening amount of sugar, calories, and fat. Here are some tricks on how to make the candy you buy less scary:
- Buy candy late. How many times have you had to go back to the store to get candy for Halloween night because you already went through your stash for trick-or-treaters? Buy candy a day or two before Halloween. This way you and your kids have less time to be tempted.
- Find fun-size options. Choose fun-size candies instead of regular or king-size bars. But don’t let their small size fool you when snacking. For example, six fun-size Milky Way Snacks contain 60 grams of sugar, 480 calories and 18 grams of fat.
- Choose dark chocolate over milk chocolate. It’s higher in antioxidants and the healthier of the two. Also, avoid chocolate that contains caramel or peanut butter, as these tend to pack on extra calories and fat.
- Don’t be fooled by candies with words such as ‘fruit’ in the title – especially if they’re chewy, sticky substances. Chewy sweets like gummy bears tend to get stuck in teeth and can cause cavities. Select sugar-free gum as an alternative.
- Read labels. Find out which candies are high in sugar, calories and fat. Compare choices and make the best possible selection.
- Buy candy that you and your kids don’t like. If your favorite candy is in the house for days leading up to Halloween, you might end up eating it yourself. The same goes for your kids. Buy candies that don’t tempt you or your kids.
- Consider giving out unique treats. Give out individually packaged healthy treats such as nuts, raisins, sunflower or pumpkin seeds, cashews, whole grain crackers or little bags of microwave popcorn.
- Skip the sale on November 1st. Cheap bags of candy may seem like a good buy, but you don’t need the extra sugar and calories. Avoid the after-Halloween candy sales.
