3 Tips for A Guilt-Free (Almost Healthy) Halloween

I am by no means going to promise that I will succeed in perfectly accomplishing all the tips I’m offering you, but a lot of my friends have been asking about how to keep their kids from going nuts (with candy) on Halloween, so I thought I’d share them with you too.  Part of me feels like it’s one day of the year and who cares, right? Let the kiddos have fun! But I also know that can end in a disaster when your kids either sugar crash an hour into trick-or-treating, or worse yet, won’t go to bed at all. 

And to be quite honest with you, it’s not my kids I’m worried about. It’s me. Just like them, I use Halloween as an excuse to binge on my favorite candies . . . caramels, tootsie rolls, and old school bubble gum (the best!)

So here are my tips for keeping your Halloween a little healthier, so you wake up on November 1 feeling a little less guilty:

1. Bring a Healthy Trick-or-Treat bag.

Your kids can fill their trick-or-treat bag with as much candy as they want. You, on the other hand, should bring a healthy bag of treats: baby carrots, apples or even a protein bar. This way when you think you are hungry (or you see your kids eating too much candy), you have something to offer them and yourself.

2.  Drink up!

Hydrate! When you think you are hungry you are usually actually dehydrated. If Halloween is going to be a long night, make sure you bring water with you.

3. Plan ahead.

Decide on the number of pieces of candy your kids (and you) are allowed to have ahead of time. That way they know “the rules” up front, and no one is just mindlessly chowing down.  I know Landon usually constantly asks me, as we are trick-or-treating, if he can have another piece of candy. This year I’m going to attempt to have him decide ahead of time how many he’s going to have, and we can make a game out of counting them. And yes, I might set a number for myself. How does 20 sound? LOL

Wishing you a healthy and happy Halloween!  Would love to hear in the comments below what your favorite candy is and how many you are allowing yourself, or your kids, this year.