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: