Halloween: the nightmare holiday for parents who try to keep sugar at bay with the the little ones. Heck, that goes for adults too. We’re all human and we all have a biological sweet tooth. So why is it so hard to keep our kids from the sugar crash of this scary fall holiday?
Halloween should be a time for joy and celebration, dressing up the little ones and feeling the festive feels of spooky decorations along with school and family events. But as any parent knows, Halloween isn’t just one night. Oh no. That bag of candy can last for weeks — months even — with kids tapping into it on a nightly basis to keep the party going as long as possible.
How bad is it? Well, a little bit of sugar is OK. And if it were just once in a while or a little full-fat ice cream, this might be a moot point. But Halloween candy is some of the worst of the worst, loaded with refined sugars like high fructose corn syrup, processed oils and food dyes that have been banned in many different countries.
So while it may seem like an arduous task, there are some ways you can reduce the candy craziness this season. Here’s how.
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Try natural alternatives: Want to keep the candy but ditch the artificial dyes and refined syrups? There are loads of natural candies out there that may not kick the sugar, but remove the colorings and use plain old cane sugar as a sweetener.
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Let them have a one-night binge: This might sound insane. But hear me out: one night of no limits often brings a lesson for the little ones, stomach ache or no stomach ache. Try bargaining with the kids and trade them one night for as much as they want, but the candy goes bye-bye the next day. This way you’re not dealing with the neverending candy bag that the kids try to bring to school and dip into every night.
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Eat a protein-packed meal before the candy craziness: Kids actually don’t need as much protein as you might think, but still, make sure to include a decent amount of protein before trick or treating. Why? Eating protein before sugar/carbs slows down digestion and minimizes the blood sugar and insulin impact of all the sweets.
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Prioritize candy with chocolate, nuts or other fats: Why fat? You guessed it. Dietary fat also slows down digestion, which can help with the heavy glucose intake of all those sweets.
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Swap in Oobli’s award-winning, low-sugar chocolate: Oobli’s milk chocolates are a game-changer for Halloween sweets. With only 1g of added sugar and no refined sugars, weird sweeteners or oils, these are Halloween-tested and kid-approved. And bonus: they come in individually wrapped squares called Minis that are perfect for handing out on the night of. Try them all!
