Anyone else scared of Halloween?

kfitz10103

I am a HUGE candy lover. I am so scared to buy all that candy to give away for Halloween and have it in my house. I know I do well with my restraint on almost everything around the house. Hubby and I have different weaknesses so he buys red meat and salty snacks, but he never brings home candy. I can stay away from the chips without much problem. My solution is I am going to buy small bags of pretzels to give away this year. That will solve one problem... now what to do about all the candy my kids bring home..
Any suggestions welcomed.

I have thought about throwing away all the candy they get after the first night and switch it out with twizzlers and pretzels. (They can have a bit of candy that first night of course.)

alyssamiller77

Yeah I've been kind of dreading it as well. The way we do it in our familiy is our kids come home with their bags, they get choose three items that are "theirs". Everything else goes into a single large bowl for the whole family to share. I usually end up munching from it. This year needs to be different, I'm just not sure how I'm going to do it beyond sheer willpower.

gretchensnyders

I am scared too!! I made them put it in thier rooms last year - that helped because it was not in my face. Other suggestions?

cramernh

When my daughter did the whole trick-or-treat, after we examined the candy, it was then put into the freezer. "Out of Sight - Out of Mind"...

I never did like candy to begin with to be honest and its a good thing too with my current medical diagnoses....


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out of site - out of mind...
And if it comes to mind, make sure you fill yourself up a few gallons of water for the fridge and go for a glass EVERY time you want candy.....

deathstarclock

I'm terrified. I can't handle ghost costumes :frown:

Fitnin6280

A friend of mine said that in order to get candy from her kids, she forces herself to ask them first. After all it is theirs. So after a while it gets a little embarrassing to constantly be asking your kids for candy.

quara

Try not to buy candy for the trick-or-treaters until very close to Halloween (I know if you wait until the day-of, you might not find anything good, but if you buy it two weeks ahead of time, good luck resisting!!) Also, don't open the box/bag until the trick or treaters are coming to the door. Otherwise it's too easy to "have just one!" And log what you eat!! Good luck!

Edit: Oh sorry, guess I didn't read it properly! I like the idea of having to ask the kids permission!

kfitz10103

I'm terrified. I can't handle ghost costumes :frown:

Too funny!

Jennloella

I am so excited for Halloween. We are THAT house on our block, the one that everyone pushes someone else to go first up to I am not a candy person, so I buy the good stuff for the kids. my weakness is in the comfort food department! so I'm dreading Thanksgiving!!!

wickedcricket

Don't give out candy? I don't believe handing out all that candy is good for kids in any way. Give non-food treats or healthy ones. ANY health food store or farmers market will offer healthy alternatives.
If nothing else, this is what I do. I save pennies. I collect them in a 30 gallon garbage can (a new one, not used lol) whenever my grandkids come over, I let them grab a handful to throw in the fountain downtown.. at the mall - whatever. I also let trick or treaters grab a handful. They can take as many as they can get in ONE hand. Kids seem to enjoy this, I haven't had any negative response - my children, grands and neighborhood kids all know my home is a 'junk free' zone
PS - I purchased a large bottle of sanitizer at Sam's club for hands handling pennies

SLambertAlaska

Asking your kids if you can have a piece of their candy is a great health strategy and great way to teach your children about politeness, theirs vs. mine, etc. etc.

First we throw away everything they don't like. Then we freeze the rest. They get out one a day. After a few days they end up forgetting about it. We've even been known to give out last year's candy after it sits in the freezer for a year. (I know, freezer burn yuck - but it's cheaper!)

Babygirl082578

Does Wendy's still do the Frosty Coupons to hand out????
What about giving out pencils or something fun that isn't food?


I hear you too! I am not a junk food person too much but if it is there I will eat it. My plan is to get rid of as much as I can by putting it in a bowl in the office for other non-dieters to eat

avninjalette123

I say buy smart! Go to the dollar store and buy some cheap knock off candies you wouldn't touch! Kids arent picky so they'll eat it but when its sitting in the hand out bowl and you're staring at it, you might think twice if it's something you don't like.

Maybe get something else, like one house gave out tooth brushes...also come in bulk at the dollar store! ;]

jcbernahl

I always had the kids put the remainder in the freezer. They could pick out a couple of pieces they liked then the rest to be frozen. My son now does this with his family. When the kids have friends over, etc. they will bring some out for them to munch on or they will take a piece in their lunch for school. Between three children they get a lot of candy!

heathersmilez

I love it b/c the candy are in snack-sizes therefore it's much easier to STOP after eating just 1 rather than eating a full size chocolate bar.

Toss the extras in the freezer so they won't go bad and also sucking on frozen chocolate will give you that sweet and happy sensation longer without having to eat more of them to keep that taste on your tongue.

jcbernahl

And I now buy candy I don't like (which would be anything that isn't chocolate) so it's not a problem wanting to munch.

Onesnap

Humanely raised red meat actually has wayyy less fat and is better for you overall. In my house we call this "happy meat" and try to buy the majority of our meat from small family farms. Believe it or not, this type of meat is processed differently in the body (source: 'Eating Animals'). So there's really no need to feel guilty if you are buying meat that is not factory farmed. It's a bit more $ but so much better for your body.

In regards to Halloween my tip is to make up those little bags for the trick-or-treaters. Put 3 candies in each little bag and prepare them ahead of time. That way you're not dipping into the stash because you would be shorting some little kid.

HMonsterX

Hallowe'en seems to be a much bigger deal in the US. Over here the whole trick or treat thing moved from being a cute things that little kids do, dressing up in costume etc, to something people dread as now it's just a load of chavs putting on a sheet, saying "wooo!" and demanding money, else they'll key your car.

I just make sure I'm out for the evening.

Onesnap

Does Wendy's still do the Frosty Coupons to hand out????
What about giving out pencils or something fun that isn't food?


I hear you too! I am not a junk food person too much but if it is there I will eat it. My plan is to get rid of as much as I can by putting it in a bowl in the office for other non-dieters to eat

No offense to Frostys lovers out there (they are tasty) but some of the Wendy's frosty drinks have 78 ingredients! (crazy!) I would not want to encourage my neighborhood kids to eat/drink something like that. A milkshake should really just have a few ingredients, not 78.

Shirley61

I go through this every year. There is just my husband and me now
and we still buy chocolate bars to give out and then I start eating them
in between. Mind you they are the mini ones. LOL

I thought about chips this year, but I like them too. Too much
salt for me since I have high blood pressure.

We can't win. If there are any leftover I can freeze them.
Out of sight out of mind. :drinker:

The group of kids are getting less and less every year as they grow
up and move away.
Thanks for this post I will really have to rethink this. :drinker:

Onesnap

I can't find which one had more than 70 ingredients but here's info on two of them at least. One with 14, one with 25:

http://socialmediaseo.net/2010/05/25/wendys-frosty-hey-whats-in-your-drink/

dsak

1. Don't buy your candy until much closer to Halloween (plus... it might be on sale then too).
2. Buy the candy you don't like and won't eat. I love chocolate, and we used to buy yummy chocolate stuff, and we'd eat a bag before Halloween even rolled around. My kids like things like Starburst, Skittles, lollipops, etc. So... I think this year we will buy those for hand-outs
3. A few of the dentists in our area will collect and take back candy from Halloween, and offer to give the kids prizes instead. Haven't done that in the past, but... we might this year so it's not lying around our house.
4. Take it to work and share with co-workers -- to get it out of the house.

I'm dreading Halloween too, but... hoping I can make it through fairly well (fingers crossed).

Good Luck!

maillemaker

Yup. I'm worried about will power and Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas!

Kalrez

While I don't have kids of my own to think about bringing home candy, I do have trick-or-treaters. I posted up this (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/348108-halloween-healthy-trick-or-treat-options) thread to get ideas for what to give out to the kids.

I'm going with little packs of grapes, a juice box, and maybe a glow-in-the-dark thingy. I might give out a piece of Smarties candy too, but I doubt it. I'm not doing the Frost Coupon thing that people are suggesting, because 1.) I don't want to encourage kids to go to a fast food joint, and 2.) there isn't a Wendy's for 25 miles of my neighborhood so it isn't a convenient thing.

GreenGettingLean

I'm dreading Thanksgiving personally. Not a big candy eater, but I have quite a soft spot for baked goods and comfort food. Not to mention, I *should* be at my goal weight by then, so I worry that I may get a little too lax about eating healthy between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

robin52077

I have thought about throwing away all the candy they get after the first night and switch it out with twizzlers and pretzels.

I've gotta ask...why twizzlers?
They are just as bad as any of the rest. And a piece of chocolate is actually better...especially dark chocolate.
Twizzlers are pure sugar, like sticking a spoon in the sugar bowl and eating it....no better than any of the other candy.

Mkrug221

We don't open anything until Halloween. If the bag isn't open, it's not as much of a temptation. Then I let my kids pick out a few items they want and I bring the rest to work with me. My co-workers will demolish it in less than a day so I don't have to worry about munching on it.

jmruef

DH and I buy candy to give out that we know we won't eat - i.e., nothing chocolate. We also don't tend to buy a lot - one or two bags. When it's gone, we shut off our light. Sorry kids...

kfitz10103

[/quote]

I've gotta ask...why twizzlers?
They are just as bad as any of the rest. And a piece of chocolate is actually better...especially dark chocolate.
Twizzlers are pure sugar, like sticking a spoon in the sugar bowl and eating it....no better than any of the other candy.
[/quote]
My oldest likes twizzlers and I don't. She won't eat much of it - she doesn't eat much of anything. The youngest won't eat any candy since she is only 1 year old.

rockstarginaa

I get candy for trick-or-treaters that I don't like that way if there is any leftover I won't eat it. If I had kids I'd tell my man to hide it from me.

AdymondNtheRuff

OMG!!! TErrified is an understatement I am a sweet-a-holic I dont know how say No only thing that helps me is i am down to checking one bag vs two my son is off to college so i dont have to worry about his bag!!!