Forget the haunted house — the spookiest Halloween specter is the candy. Don’t be scared; be prepared!
Halloween is a hard time to stay on Plan. Store aisles overflow with 5-pound bags of candy, your kids come home with bags of loot from parties and trick-or-treating and at night’s end you’re inevitably left with half a bowl of candy by the front door. How can you be expected to resist your favorite candies when they are within arm’s reach, no matter where you turn?
Here’s how. These tactics will help you stay in control in the face of nightmarish temptation.
Resist sales and bargains. Don’t fall for coupons or BOGO deals. A 5-pound bag of candy on sale is still a 5-pound bag of candy. Buy what you think you’ll hand out to trick-or-treaters, and not a mini-bar more.
Buy late. The closer to Halloween you buy the candy, the better. And once you bring it home, don’t even rip open the bag until the first trick-or-treater comes. That way, you’ll have less total temptation time to cope with.
Choose candy you don’t like. Hate coconut? Load up on Mounds and Almond Joy. You get the idea.
Devise a game plan. Start giving out more candy to each costumed kid as the night wears on, so there’s less left over. If there are still remainders, get them out of the house. Give the candy away to a food charity, collect it all and offer it to the neighbors or bring it to work (and drop it off in a different department!).
Go out on a full stomach. If you plan to escort your kids house-to-house, make lunch your big meal of the day, so you’re not walking around hungry with bags full of candy at your disposal. Carry a mug of something hot to sip on, or chew minty gum. It’ll help kill your urge to put candy in your mouth.
Manage the kids’ haul. Once the candy’s home, work with your kids to decide what to do with it. Have them pick their 10 favorite pieces and save the rest for lunches and parties.
Ditch the sense of occasion. Remind yourself that you can buy candy any time of the year. There’s no need to load up on fun-size bars on October 31 when you can enjoy them whenever your heart desires.
Keep things in perspective. Eating a little bit of candy on Halloween doesn’t make a person overweight — it’s constant overeating that can pile on the pounds. So don’t assume you can’t enjoy even a single treat, especially since deprivation is a tactic that often backfires.
No Tricks with These Treats!
We searched the shelves for lower PointsPlus value candy that still satisfies a sweet tooth. Miniatures are a great deal in terms of portion control, while chewy candies turn out to be a big mouthful bargain, and hard candies and lollipops score high for long-lasting satisfaction. Here’s a sampling:
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