Published: October 27, 2009 10:16 am      

Halloween treats are just fine in moderation

Costumes have filled the racks and bags of candy line the shelves. Children all over Oklahoma are trying to figure out what to dress up as for Halloween. In addition, children have visions of a trick-or-treat bag stuffed with sugary, sticky and sweet treats. While the children are excited about trick-or-treating, many parents may be wondering how all of this candy will fit into a nutritious diet.

Before the big day arrives, discuss with your children how you plan to deal with the overload of candy they’re sure to bring home. Between school parties, town-sponsored activities and trick-or-treating itself, kids are sure to bring home more treats than they could possibly eat. Many children already have difficulty with their weight and loading up on a lot of candy isn’t a good idea. Moderation is the key. It’s also a good idea not to eat any treats while out trick-or-treating. Parents should inspect all of the candy before any of it is consumed.

To help curb your children’s consumption of treats, make sure they have a healthy snack before they leave the house to trick-or-treat. Kids who are not hungry are less likely to gorge on the candy when they return home.

Parents may want to consider allowing their children a day or two to enjoy the Halloween candy, then dividing it into daily servings and letting their children pick out what they want each day.

Another idea is if your children receive a lot of miniature chocolate bars, consider freezing them and using them in recipes containing chocolate chips for upcoming holiday baking.

Parents who have trouble staying out of the candy themselves should keep in mind to not buy Halloween candy early. You could easily fall victim to eating too many sweets before the holiday even gets here.

If you prefer not to hand out any candy, consider other alternatives such as sunflower seeds or small bags of pretzels or microwave popcorn. Pencils, colorful erasers, trading cards or stickers also make fun alternatives to sweet treats. Just remember that a little bit of Halloween candy isn’t such a bad thing as long as limits are set.

For more information in Pittsburg County, call 918-423-4120 or log onto www.oces.okstate.edu/pittsburg. LaDell Emmons is the Extension Family and Consumer Sciences Educator for the Pittsburg County Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service. Contact her vie email at ladell.emmons@okstate.edu.