Do you have a sweet tooth?  From time to time, I need my candy fix.  My weakness is taffy or anything chocolate.  Typically, I do not give into temptation; however, this is the time of orange and black, not to be mistaken with “Orange is the New Black,” but this is the season where there is no shortage of candy.  As orange and black themed packaging overloads the aisles of many stores, offices, and homes, there is temptation everywhere.  According to the National Retail Foundation, Americans purchase about 600 million pounds of candy each year for Halloween, which is equivalent to the weight of 6 Titanic ships.  The average of American households will spend $47 on Halloween candy.  So where does all that candy go?  Well, the average American will eat 3.4 pounds of candy over Halloween.  The consumption of this much candy is not good for your teeth or waistline, as most candies are high in added calories, sugar and fat.

Whether or not this is the one time out of the year you indulge in sweets as you pick your favorites from your child’s plastic pumpkin or from the desks of your co-workers, you do have options to make a healthier choice.  Here are a few popular Halloween candies that have been deemed a healthier or better option compared to their sweet counterparts.

Better Candy Choices

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups vs. Snickers
Better Choice: Snickers

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups has more protein, but compared to two fun size pieces of Snickers, Snickers contain less total fat, saturated fat, and 10 less calories.

Peanut M&M’s vs. Skittles
Better Choice: Peanut M&M’s

A snack size bag of Skittles contains 61 calories.  Though the same size bag of Peanut M&M’s contains more calories, 91 calories, it is lower on the glycemic index, and will release sugars slower into the bloodstream; whereas Skittles will spike your blood sugars at an increased rate.

Twix vs. Kit Kat
Better Choice: Kit Kat

A Kit Kat has 20 less calories, and less saturated fat and sodium.

Candy Corn vs. Tootsie Roll
Better Choice: It’s a tie.

Candy corn one of the most popular candy choices during Halloween, there is even a day designated to it; October 30th is National Candy Corn Day.  However, Tootsie Rolls and candy corn have the same nutritional value if you were to consume 26 pieces of candy corn or 6 pieces of the bite sized Tootsie Rolls.

Butterfinger or York Peppermint Pattie
Better Choice: York Peppermint Pattie

For three fun size York Peppermint Patties, it contains 150 calories, 3 grams of fat and 15 miligrams of sodium.  Two fun size Butterfinger bars contains 200 calories, 8 grams of fat, and 100 milligrams of sodium.

Starburst or Jolly Rancher
Better Choice: Jolly Rancher

Consuming three pieces of Starburst candies has fewer calories compared to a Jolly Rancher.  However, since Jolly Ranchers are hard candies it takes longer to finish, and you will be less likely to eat more. 

Sweet Tarts or Smarties
Better Choice: Smarties

Do you sometimes think who eats Smarties?  I know I do, and now you know why.  For an individual roll of Smarties it contains 25 calories, and 5 grams of sugar.  As for Sweet Tarts, it contains 50 calories and 13 grams of sugar for 8 pieces.

Pay Day vs. Milky Way
Better Choice: Milky Way

In two fun-size pieces of Milky Way, it contains 50% less fat and sodium.

Almond Joy vs. Mounds
Better Choice: Another tie.

It’s a tie between the two.  For each fund size Mounds and Almond Joy, they both contain about 80 calories, have equal amounts of fat, 4.5 grams, saturated fat, 3 grams, and carbohydrates, 10 grams.

While the average amount of candy consumed is more than three pounds during Halloween, just remember moderation is important.  You can curb your sweet tooth with juicy fruit, low-fat yogurt with honey, or dark chocolate if you need a chocolate kick.

We all go through it — the sudden urge to taste something sweet. Perhaps it is a craving for a delectable dessert after dinner, or even as simple as adding sweet sugar to our morning cup of Joe. The energy and joy we feel as the sugar settles in can become an addictive feeling that we crave time and time again. Unfortunately with sugar “highs” come the sugar “lows” when we feel tired and the urge for something sweet starts all over again. It’s time to uncover the truth about sugar cravings and how we can finally tame our sweet tooth and break our sugar addiction.

Sugar Addictions

How it works – Sugar fuels every cell in the brain so the brain perceives sugar as a reward, which causes our sugar cravings to want more. Simple sugars found in syrup, soda, candy, and table sugar quickly gets absorbed into the bloodstream, causing our blood sugar levels to spike (known as the “sugar high”). Once the blood sugar is moved out of the bloodstream and into our cells for energy, (with the help of the hormone insulin), it causes a drop in blood sugar levels. These rapid changes in blood sugar levels leads to the crash, or sugar “low”, leaving us to feel tired and wiped out and in search for more sugar to regain the “high”. This sets us up for bad eating habits that are hard to break.

The Good News! – Sugar is not needed as much as we think. We can retrain our taste buds to enjoy things that are not as sweet or find ways to curb our sugar cravings. The best way to do this is to gradually cut down foods or drinks with added sugar. This change is more doable for long term so that we are not likely to fall back into bad habits. Try one less sweet food or drink from your diet each week. For example, pass dessert after dinner or use less sugar in your coffee or cereal. Over time, you will lose the need for the sweet, sugary taste!

Most Americans consume about 19 teaspoons or more of added sugar a day, which equates to up to 285 calories. You should be aiming for no more than 6 teaspoons daily for women and 9 teaspoons for men, cutting it down to 100 calories and 150 calories, respectively. Try some of these tips to cut down on added sugar consumption:

No need to completely give up on sweet treats. Simply replace table sugar or sweet processed foods with the “good-for-you” sweets such as fresh berries or fruit in oatmeal instead of sugar. Try dried, frozen, or canned fruit without added sugar. Also, a low-sugar yogurt can help provide you with natural sugars to satisfy your cravings.

• Protein helps! High protein foods digest more slowly, keeping you feeling full for a longer period of time and curbing the sugar cravings. Lean proteins such as lean meats, low-fat yogurt, eggs, nuts, or beans are good choices and also do not make your blood sugar spike up and down the way refined carbs and sugars do.

• Fill up on fiber. Like protein, fiber helps in keeping you full and giving you more energy. Fiber does not raise your blood sugar, preventing any crashes or sugar “lows”. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are some good examples to aim for. Smear some peanut butter on an apple for a protein/fiber combo!

• Watch out for hidden sugars. Get in the habit of reading food labels and filter out high sugar foods before they hit your shopping cart. If sugar is listed in the first few ingredients, the product is likely to have more than 4 total grams of sugar, or 1 teaspoon. Sugar can also be labeled differently with names like: agave nectar, brown rice syrup, high fructose corn syrup, evaporated cane juice, malt syrup, molasses and words ending in –ose (glucose, lactose, sucrose, etc.) Foods that are not commonly seen as sweet may contain high amounts of sugar such as ketchup, barbecue sauce, pasta sauce, and reduced-fat salad dressings, which is why it is important to read food labels to help control added sugar intake.

Looking for some fun Halloween treats and cocktails for your next holiday bash? Halloween usually aims to satisfy your sweet tooth, but before you go to the store and splurge on all the candy and chocolates, try some of these delectable, lighter party treats and cocktails that won’t leave your party guests looking and feeling like little jack-o-lanterns later.

Halloween Treats

Candy Corn Quesadillas

A simple, flavorful, and fun Halloween treat perfect for party guests! First, preheat oven to350 degrees. Cut 12 corn or whole wheat tortillas in a triangle, leaving the bottom uncut and round (to resemble the shape of a candy corn). In a small bowl, mix 3 tablespoons of salsa and 3 tablespoons of (low-fat) sour cream together. In a medium mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of diced roasted chicken, 1½ tablespoons of chopped green chilies, and the salsa/sour cream mix. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon 1/3 cup of chicken mixture onto tortilla and place corresponding tortilla on top. Place sliced cheeses on top to resemble candy corn pathttern with a white cheese at the tip (Monterey Jack or White Cheddar), dark orange cheese in e middle (mild or sharp Cheddar), and light orange cheese at the bottom rounded edge (Tillamook). Place the 6 quesadillas in the oven and bake until cheese is melted (about 5 minutes). Remove from oven, trim any extra cheese if desired, and serve.

Mummy Dogs

Try these mummified hot dogs that are sure to please and easy to make. All you need is 1 can of refrigerated crescent  dinner rolls for every 8 large hot dogs (try soy dogs or a low-fat, low-sodium chicken sausage for a healthier choice).  Cut each triangle in narrow strips of dough (strips should be a quarter of an inch in width) and wrap strips around the hot dog, starting at the base. When you reach the top of the hot dog, leave a separation for the mummy’s face. Place on ungreased cookie sheet or pan and bake for 12-15 minutes or until dough is light golden brown. Cool for 2 minutes and use a toothpick dipped in mustard (or another favorite condiment) to form two eyes. Dig in and enjoy!

(Party tip: try cutting dogs in half or use cocktail sausages for a mini-mummy party treat!)

Snack-O-Lantern Fruit Cups 

Slice off the top of a navel orange and hollow out the interior by scooping out the orange segments. Carve a pumpkin face on one side of the orange and repeat for other oranges. Dice up your favorite fruit (including the orange segments) and fill each cup. Set the lid back on top and serve.

Frozen Boo-Nana Pops

Although this is made with white chocolate (only half an ounce each pop), it’s much healthier than candy, andcertainly a frozen Halloween snack for all to enjoy! For an even healthier version, you can substitute white chocolate for yogurt. All you need is 1 medium banana, 1 cup white chocolate (or yogurt), 8 mini chocolate chips (for the eyes), and 4 popsicle sticks. Cut eat each banana in half lengthwise, then in half to make 4 quarters to yield 4 boo-nana pops. Insert popsicle sticks into bananas and freeze on a wax paper lined cookie sheet prior to dipping in melted chocolate (easy way is to microwave chocolate in coffee mug for 30 seconds at a time, stirring until chocolate is soft and melted). Add chocolate chips for the eyes before chocolate hardens.

Witch’s Broom

For this fun easy snack, you will need 12 slices of your favorite cheese, 12 pretzel sticks and 12 fresh chives. Fold eachcheese slice and cut the fringes of the broom using a pair of scissors. Roll the slice of cheese around the pretzel stick so that the fringes are hanging down like a broom. To keep the cheese in place, wrap the chive around the stick and tie it. Simple as that, enjoy!

Halloween Cocktails

Who says Halloween is just for the kids? Try these fun Halloween Cocktails for your next costume party!

La Llorona (The Weeping Woman) Martini:

One of these intoxicating drinks contains 3 ounces of Pisco Brandy, 1 ounce fresh lime juice, 1 ounce fresh lemon juice, 1½ tablespoons granulated sugar, crushed ice, dash of Angostoria bitters, and dry ice for the spooky effect of wispy smoke that emulates the long, flowing gown worn by La Llorona. In a cocktail shaker filled with crushed ice, combine brandy, juices and sugar. Cover and shake vigorously for 15 seconds and strain into a cocktail glass. Top with a few drops of bitters and add dry ice.

(Note: Dry ice is safe to use in drinks, but be sure to wait for the ice to melt before actually drinking it as it can burn your skin).

Caramel Apple Punch:

All you need for this drink version of a tasty treat include the following – 1 quart of chilled apple cider, 1¼ cup spiced rum, 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice, and 1 red apple, thinly sliced. I a large pitcher or punch bowl, combine the cider, rum, and lemon juice and chill for up to 12 hours. Serve over ice and garnish with the apple slices.

Pumpkin Martini:

Try this delectable drink for your next party mixer. Combine 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 1/8 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice on a small plate. Dip the rim of a chilled martini glass in water, then in the sugar mix to coat. In a martini shaker filled with ice, combine 3 tablespoons of vodka, 2 tablespoons of half and half, 1 tablespoon of canned pure pumpkin puree, 1 tablespoon of maple syrup, ¼ teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, and 1/8 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice. Shake vigorously and then strain into prepared martini glass.

Vampire Punch: 

This sweet-tart drink will be sure to pack a punch at your next Halloween bash. Combine ¼ cup sugar and ¼ cup water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until sugar is completely dissolved, usually in 1-2 minutes. Let it cool. In a large pitcher or punch bowl, combine ½ cup Campari, ½ cup of gin, ½ cup of fresh-squeezed orange juice, and the sugar-water mix. Chill for up to 12 hours. Just before serving, add 3 cups of chilled club soda, ½ cup of pomegranate seeds and 1 thinly sliced orange. Serve over ice.

Dark and Spooky:

Fill a glass with ice and pour ½ cup of ginger beer and 2 teaspoons of fresh lime juice. Float 3 tablespoons of dark rum onto the ginger beer by slowly pouring the rum over a metal spoon turned upside down. Garnish with a lime wedge and enjoy the deep, intense flavors of this dark and spooky cocktail.

*Please drink responsibly.

Halloween is a festive holiday that parents can enjoy with their kids, but it can be challenging to assure healthy eating habits since the goal of most children is to get as much Halloween candy as possible. Don’t wait until this time of year to prepare the family for resisting the sweet temptations of this holiday. If you and the family try to eat healthfully all year, kids will be more likely to make wise decisions when faced with the temptation to overindulge in unhealthy foods. Help kids enjoy Halloween without overindulging by following these tips:

1)      Do not send your children trick-or-treating on an empty stomach. Serve them a healthy meal beforehand to help reduce the urge to snack.

2)      Give children trick-or-treat bags that are appropriate for their size. Older kids may carry larger bags, but not as large as a shopping bag or plastic garbage bag. Smaller bags take a shorter amount of time to fill and also give them the impression that they have lots of treats to choose from in comparison to filling up a much larger bag.

3)      Limit the houses your children can visit to a two to three block radius so that treats will most likely come from friends and neighbors, and the moderate amount of treats will be manageable.

4)      Instruct children to wait until they get home to eat their treats so that they can be inspected first. This way, you can manage which treats you want available to them and throw away any treats with signs of tampering.

5)      Promote good health by passing out a variety of fun, non-candy alternatives (or lower calorie, healthy alternatives) to trick-or-treaters at your house this year.

Not sure what healthy dishes to serve while upholding the Halloween spirit? Try some of these fun, nutritious Halloween treats for the whole family to enjoy!

1)      No-bones-about-it vegetable skeleton. Create a spooky skeleton with different veggies such as carrots, celery, colorful bell peppers, and cucumbers, while using hummus dip for the face. Vegetables come in so many shapes and sizes so they make the perfect building blocks. Have fun and be creative!

2)      Jack-o-latern dip. Carve out a small pumpkin or orange to use as dip containers for hummus, salsa, or yogurt-based dips. Paint a face on the pumpkin instead of cutting holes.

3)      Black & orange dip. Serve black bean dip served with sweet potato chips/fries or orange bell pepper strips.

4)      Brains! Carve a small, seedless melon (watermelon or cantaloupe) to resemble brains. Cut the outer skin of the melon, leaving the white pith. Cut through the white pith with a knife to resemble the brain’s squiggly folds. Then carve to expose a little of the flesh (works well with a watermelon to expose red-colored flesh).

5)      Boo-nanas. Dip peeled bananas in orange juice, then roll in shredded coconut to make white ghosts. Add small raisins or chocolate chips for eyes, then insert a wooden craft stick for a handle (so the ghosts can float about hauntingly). Serve as is or frozen.

6)      Witches teeth. Core and quarter an apple. Remove the wedge from the skin side of each quarter to form a mouth. Insert variously shaped and sized slivered almonds for teeth.

In all honesty, we should all be monitoring our carbohydrate intake a little more closely these days. Watching sugar intake is particularly important for a person who is living with or trying to prevent diabetes. So what do we do about Halloween?

 Should a child or adult with diabetes avoid candy altogether, or do what they do every other day of the year– learn how to incorporate the occasional treat into their daily lifestyle?

We definitely want to know your thoughts! 

Here’s what the American Diabetes Association had to say.

For all of the costumes and cobwebs and carved pumpkins, Halloween is for most kids one big sugar rush. It’s all about the candy: whose house has the best selection, how much you can carry, and which pieces to eat first. But what about children (and grown-ups) with diabetes who want to participate without sending their blood glucose levels soaring?

Here’s some good news: Trick-or-treating isn’t off-limits. “Diabetes is just part of their whole life,” says Joanne Roney, RN, CDE, a certified diabetes educator with the Rush Adolescent Diabetes Program at Rush Children’s Hospital in Chicago. “We don’t want to prevent kids from having regular childhood experiences. It needs to be incorporated into their lives.”

Sure, high blood glucose is a concern. But you can play it safe by allowing your child to eat candy only once he or she has returned home. There you can dose the correct amount of insulin for the carbs in the candy. “It’s really a matter of the parents’ need to keep an eye on everything,” says Debra Counts, MD, division chief of pediatric endocrinology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “The kids can have some candy, but they need to account for the sugar and cover it with insulin.” In fact, allowing your child to have some candy can be a good thing. “Anytime you completely restrict anyone from something, it creates this taboo around it. And it increases the chances they’ll sneak it,” says Michael Avram Harris, PhD, a psychologist and associate professor of pediatrics at Oregon Health & Science University. “It’s not like [eating candy is] life-threatening. So why create the taboo?”

While you want your child to celebrate the holiday just like all the other kids, there are ways to take the focus off the sweets. “Our family is really big on Halloween, and we have a big dress-up party every year,” says Leighann Calentine of D-Mom Blog, whose 6-year-old daughter, Quinn, has type 1 diabetes. “For my daughter, it’s more about dressing up and trick-or-treating and seeing all the people in the neighborhood than the candy.” Cutting down on sweets is smart for the whole family, too; no one really needs to eat 10 mini Snickers in one sitting.

Want more? Find out how many calories, grams of fat, and carbohydrates are in those mini candies you find on Halloween.

Host a costume party where the kids are the stars. Invite a bunch of your child’s friends over to carve jack-o’-lanterns. Or gather family and friends to bob for apples, make papier-mâché pumpkins, or paint their faces like goblins or ghouls. When the party’s at home, you can control the food, swapping candy for healthier—but still festive—fare (like the recipes here, here, and here). “The focus is less on getting as much candy as possible and consuming it,” says Harris. “It’s focusing on these other things, which kids actively enjoy.”

As for the massive bag of loot most kids tote home after trick-or-treating, some parents “buy” their kids’ candy with cash (which the child can then use for toys or games), or trade it directly for toys or trinkets. Calentine picks through her daughter’s stash and sets aside any non-chocolate sweets for treating future low blood glucose (hypoglycemia). Roney suggests invoking the Great Pumpkin: Let your young children keep a handful of candy, then set the rest outside. Overnight, you can secretly replace it with a gift or toy, attributing the switch to the mythical character.

Many of Counts’s patients save a stash for hypoglycemia and then donate the rest to a children’s hospital for kids who are too ill to trick-or-treat. It’s a good reminder to children with diabetes that there are other kids in the world who are much sicker than they are. Experts also recommend buying small toys—Calentine picks pencils, plastic rings, and mini containers of Play-Doh—to hand out in place of candy. At night’s end you won’t be left with buckets full of sweets that will tempt both you and your children.

Another tip: If you’re an adult with diabetes but want to give out candy, purchase sweets you don’t like. If Skittles don’t do it for you, stock up on those to avoid temptation. Adults with diabetes who don’t have kids begging to celebrate the holiday can form their own ritual. Instead of giving out candy, make a tradition of going to dinner with close friends, seeing a movie, or hosting a Halloween cocktail party.

After the festivities, kids who took home a sack brimming with sweet plunder may be tempted to eat it all at once. According to Harris, portion control is key. (It’s important for adults with diabetes, too.) “In general, teaching moderation across the board is important, and we tend not to moderate well during the holidays,” he says. “It’s pretty hard to eat and take control, whether you have diabetes or not.”

So set a rule as to how many pieces of candy your child can eat each day (as long as his or her blood glucose isn’t high) and stick to it. If you have more than one kid, make the rules for everybody. It’s an extra step the whole family can take to make sure your child with diabetes doesn’t feel left out.

Above all, it’s important to remember that even with diabetes, no holiday foods are forbidden. Enjoy treats in moderation, but keep in mind that there’s more to October 31 than sweets. You’ll enjoy the holiday most when your focus is on friends, family, and celebration—instead of what you can or cannot eat.

Skinny Gene Related Posts:

Halloween Temptations

Sugar Aliases

Here are some common techniques to consider. 

1.  Avoid the candy like the plague.  Seems like a good idea, but can often backfire and ultimately make you want the delicious bite size treats even more and set you up for a future binge.   But this can be a positive way to handle the situation as well, completely avoiding the sweet taste as well as all the calories, sugar, and fat that follow. 
2. Switch-a-roo.  Instead of diving into the candy, find a healthy alternative to satisfy that craving, such as a chocolate pudding or frozen yogurt.
3. Just one piece and savor every second.  This can be a nice compromise, but it requires tremendous willpower.  The single taste of sweetness can often open a box of worms leaving you craving more.  Remember, the enjoyment of candy is often a short-lived pleasure.  If you have tried the old saying, “I’ll just have one” and in turn had more, you may want to consider technique 1 or 2 instead, otherwise be sure to adjust your diet and exercise plan to even it out!
4. Eat your favorite candy until you get your fix.  This technique can be dangerous as even with bite size pieces the calories, sugar, and fat can add up fast!  If this is the route you chose, be sure to balance out the candy with exercise (maybe more than usual) and modify your food choices several meals before and after. 

No matter how you handle the candy overload that Halloween brings to your door, it is good to know the facts.   This Halloween, keep these nutritional values in mind:

Fun size Kit Kat (2 small bars)                 

• 104 calories                         5 grams sugar                    3 grams fat

Fun size Snicker                                            

•   71 calories                           8 grams sugar                    4 grams fat

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup (1 cup)         

• 88 calories                           8 grams sugar                    5 grams fat         

Fun size Skittles                                             

•   81 calories                           15 grams sugar                  1 gram fat

Starburst (2)                                                     

• 40 calories                           6 grams sugar                    0 grams fat

M&M’s

•  103 calories                         13 grams sugar                  4 grams fat

Milky Way                                                          

• 77 calories                           10 grams sugar                  3 grams fat

Tootsie Roll                                                       

•   25 calories                           4 grams sugar                    0 grams fat

Looking for healthy alternatives to the Halloween candy binge?

• Trade out your children’s candy for a toy or money.
• Handout Halloween stickers, pencils, yo-yos, spider rings, crayons, or other small toys.
• Substitute candy for pretzels, popcorn, granola bars, or fruit snacks.
• Pick out a few favorite pieces and then freeze the rest, it will last for months.

Have a safe and happy Halloween from our Skinny Gene family to yours.  Oh one last thing… when the costumes are replaced with jammies and the make-up is washed off, don’t forget to brush those teeth!

By Emily Barr, MS, RD, CNSC

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