Halloween is a holiday that many people celebrate and enjoy. Last weekend was the Downtown Guelph Trick-or-Treat event and there were plenty of cute and scary costumed characters visiting the businesses giving out sweet treats.
With Halloween now finished for this year many families still have plenty of chocolate, candies and chips in their homes. Leftover Hallowe’en candy doesn’t have to be scary. Read on for ways to enjoy Hallowe’en candy and practice competent eating in tasty ways.
There is plenty of pressure on parents at Halloween. After concocting the perfect costume and strolling down the most generous street while staying warm there is the challenge of managing the candy. Many parents find it stressful to navigate how their kids enjoy their treats. Should you trade all the candy for a gift from the “Switch Witch?" Maybe it’s best to let the kiddos have a free-for-all? Or dole it out one treat at a time until spring? Or maybe it’s easier to just eat it all yourself!
Shifting away from an all or nothing approach to food means Halloween treats do not have to be “good” or “bad." Once the judgment is removed from food, it can be easier to hatch a plan for enjoying the treats. Emilia Moulechkova, a fellow dietitian, mentions Ellen Sattyr’s approach saying, “Halloween is a great time to practice the Division of Responsibly in Feeding. You as the parent are responsible for offering a variety of foods at regular meal and snack times, while kids decide what and how much they want to eat from the foods you provided.”
With this method parents can continue the Division of Responsibility by offering food at meals including Halloween treats. Kids can practice deciding what to eat and how much. Kids can even pick out the treats to be shared with their meal. Not only does this give families the opportunity to practice making decisions about food, it also takes some of the frantic energy away from eating candy. When a food like candy is forbidden it takes on a lot of power. Similarly, when a food is available often and with ease it is just another food.
The nutrition in Halloween candy is energy dense meaning it provides energy as calories. They do not always have a lot of nutrient density (think vitamins and minerals) although even a few mini Snickers offer a few grams of protein. And if food isn’t “good” or “bad” then it always has something to offer and candies or treats can fit into snacks and meals for both kids and adults.
Wondering about ways to include your sweets? Melting mini-chocolate bars into a chocolate fondue and dipping fruit into it is delicious. You could make a trail mix with nuts, seeds and M&M candies. Crumbling bags of chips on top of a casserole for a crunchy topping can get kids involved in cooking and make good use of your Pringles.
Much scarier than sugary candy or salty chips is the food security crisis in our country and our own city. There are many great initiatives helping to ensure everyone has access to food and the folks at Your Downtown Guelph Friends are one great example.
Your Downtown Guelph Friends describe themselves as a volunteer-led and youth-driven group that unites to build a stronger, more compassionate community. This group of people do so much in our community to ensure people are cared for and fed. They provide free meals on Sunday afternoon at 176 Wyndham Street and on Monday and Tuesday by the fountain downtown. Recently they jumped in to help with food provision when RCM was forced to close its Monday/Tuesday schedule Your Downtown Guelph Friends can use your support. They might even take your extra Halloween candy off your hands! Connect with them through their Go Fund Me page.
