It’s that season. The candy crush. No, not the old viral mobile game that my mom still plays. I’m talking about Halloween, the spooky holiday that’s scarier for parents than it is for kids, with the sheer amount of sugary candy that invades our lives and somehow can persist for months after the actual holiday.
Last week we wrote about some handy tips to get through the candy madness. We’ve got nothing against having a sweet tooth. In fact, it’s biologically normal! But halloween candy is just about the worst of the worst, loaded with refined sugars, artificial coloring and highly processed oils. And while one day a year of candy binding might not be the worst thing in the world — they’re kids, after all — parents know that the candy bag can persist for months, rearing its ugly head daily until the stash is tapped out. And that can take a while.
So today, we’re going deeper into the candy caves with the very best low-sugar candy we recommend to mitigate some of the unhealthiness this fall season. And we bet for most of these, your kids won’t even notice the difference. These might be tricks, but they’re still treats.
- Smart Sweets Lollipops, Gummies and Caramels: The O.G. low-sugar gummy brand now has 12 different candies and flavors, ranging from gummy bears and gummy bears to lollipops and caramels. Smart Sweets forgoes funky alternative sweeteners like sugar alcohols, for fiber-based or fiber-like sweeteners like inulin (chicory root fiber) and allulose. The caramels and lollipops are great for sneaking some healthiness into Halloween bowls.
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Behave Gummies: A newer player in the low-sugar gummy scene. Similar to Smart Sweets, Behave has gummy bears, sour bears and sour stars, with allulose and fiber-based sweeteners. With about 2g of sugar per bag, binge away.
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Oobli Milk Chocolate Minis: OK, we’re very biased. But Oobli milk chocolate Minis are individually wrapped chocolate squares that are 100% kid approved (my kids beg for them). High in fiber and low in sugar with no alternative sweeteners, these are a filling treat and better alternative than the typical Hershey’s bar.
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Unreal Snacks Halloween Boxes: These fall into the category of natural. While they’re not super low in sugar (5g per peanut butter cup, for example), they use cane sugar, real ingredients and no sugar alcohols. They also round out the sweetness with agave inulin and are sustainable, gluten free and fair trade.
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Yum Earth Organic Halloween Candy: Allergy friendly natural Halloween candy? That’s right. Yum Earth is a great 1:1 replacement for those little fun size candy packs of traditional candy. They have their own versions of Skittles, lollipops and gummy bears with no artificial colors or funky sweeteners.
- Black Forest Organic Gummy Bears: They’re not the lowest in sugar, but these guys have been around for a while and are easy to find in retail stores. They have no artificial colors and no alternative sweeteners, so if your kids love gummies and are averse to the more natural ones, Black Forest are a solid option.
