It’s that time of year again of when we go into the annual holiday eating frenzy cycle of where much of the focus is on food.  It all begins with Halloween and doesn’t really end until after Valentine’s Day.  It can be a difficult dilemma for those watching their weight and wanting to adhere to a healthy diet. 

Halloween can be particularly scary since it is based mainly around candy and there is no “health food” category for candy.  While just about all candy is full of too much sugar and/or fat, some candies fare better than others in keeping calories and grams of fat and sugar to a more reasonable level, thanks to the mini or fun size portions. 

Here is a list of Halloween candy that isn’t too frightening – they each have less than 100 calories, 6 grams of fat and 10 grams of sugar – and it’s all because of their small portion size:

·         Hershey’s Miniatures Special Dark – 1 miniature has 88 calories, 5.2 grams of fat and 9 grams of sugar

·         Twizzlers – 2 pieces – contains 80 calories, 0 grams of fat, 9.5 grams of sugar

·         Peanut M & M’s – 1 fun size – contains 93 calories, 4.7 grams of fat, 9.1 grams of sugar

·         Reese’s Peanut Butter Mini Cup – 2 mini cups – contains 88 calories, 5.2 grams of fat, 9.2 grams of sugar

·         Tootsie Roll – 2 minis – contains 52 calories, 4 grams of fat and 7.5 grams of sugar

·         Payday – 1 mini – contains 90 calories, 5 grams of fat, 8 grams of sugar

·         Mounds – 1 fun size – contains 80 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 8 grams of sugar

·         Raisinets – 1 snack size – contains 67 calories, 3 grams of fat, 10 grams of sugar

·         Smarties – 1 roll – contains 25 calories, 0 grams of fat, 5 grams of sugar

Other tips on keeping candy consumption at a bare bones minimum include:

·         Keep candy out of sight and in an inconvenient location to get to it. 

·         Instead of buying candy to hand out to trick-or-treaters, consider non-food treat items such as stickers, erasers, small bulk toys or pencils.

·         Another idea is to hand out lower calorie/sugar/fat foods.  Certain foods come in smaller calorie controlled portion sizes such as popcorn, fruit snacks, graham crackers, Goldfish crackers, or pretzels. 

·         For those with children, feed them a light meal or snack before heading out to trick or treat.  This will help squelch any tummy rumblings tempting them to eat any candy during their haul. 

·         Even though the mini sizes are small, the calories they contain add up quickly if you eat too many.  Follow the above serving sizes. 

·         Craving sweets may be a sign of reduced serotonin levels, a hormone that regulates mood and appetite.  When we eat sugary sweets, they increase serotonin improving our mood.

There are better ways to increase serotonin – exercise, getting outdoors, or stress management.

·         Buy only enough candy for trick-or-treaters. If you have leftovers, give them away so as not to be tempted to indulge.   

·         There are always healthier foods to choose from than candy.  Try roasted pumpkin seeds, apple slices with a healthy fruit dip, popcorn, whole wheat crackers with hummus, just to name a few.  Also check out this website for more healthy Halloween treats.

It is okay to treat yourself to a little bit of candy every now and then with the emphasis on small portion sizes.  Have fun this Halloween without going overboard on the sweets.