Racquet

Issue date: 10/31/07 Section: Health

As a kid growing up, my brothers and I had the same routine on Halloween: we would get our costumes on, pose for a few pictures in front of our freshly carved pumpkins to appease our mom, and then grab our empty pillowcases and run out the door in a rush to fill them with as much candy as possible. We would proceed to make our usual stops; the old couple that thinks we're so cute, the "too cool for Halloween" teenager that would apathetically drop a piece of candy into our pillowcases, and the best houses of all with the bucket of candy left on their front porch with a sign that read: "Please take one," which of course meant we took handfuls. Disappointment awaited us, however, as it did every year at our neighbor's house. Instead of just going to the store and buying candy to hand out to us oh-so-hopeful children, they would always make something themselves to give to us: popcorn balls. As good as they may have been, as an 8-year-old that's the last thing you want to get on Halloween. So when we would get home that night and organize our candy, the popcorn balls got thrown in the trash and we stuffed ourselves for the next week with candy.
Oh, how I miss the days when I could depend solely on my metabolism to get me through the Halloween binge. So to help with our unfortunate consequence of aging and in the spirit of being healthy during an extremely tempting time during the year, with a little help from WebMD, here are some tips to help you through this Halloween…

1. Buy Candy You Don't Love - if you're going to hand out candy to the local trick-or-treaters, buy candy that will not tempt you to eat it.
2. Keep the Extra Candy Out of Sight - if you don't see it all the time, it is easier to resist eating the candy in excess.
3. Savor One Piece Per Day - choose your favorite treat and a time of day to eat and enjoy it.
4. Chew Gum - It provides a sweet taste with low calories and helps manage your hunger.
5. Keep the Empty Wrappers - if you see all the empty wrappers in front of you, you will be more conscious of how much you ate.
6. DRINK - tea or a light hot chocolate, that is. This will keep yourself busy and satisfy your sweet tooth.

And for those of you who go organic or vegan, National Geographic provides a list of organic and vegan hard candy, organic snacks, and fair-trade chocolate products. (http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/110/candy)






WebMD Source: http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/10-tricks-avoid-halloween-candy-temptations

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