Kobi and Ruby last year doing the Halloween Taste Test

“So, do you let your kids eat candy on Halloween?”

Being a Health Coach, I get this question a fair amount.

Here’s how we’ve handled Halloween in our house.

When my kids were really little, we made Halloween a no-candy event…we just kind of avoided the whole eating-the-candy part. The kids enjoyed trick or treating, and then we simply shelved their candy (and it was forgotten). In hindsight, I’m actually not sure how we pulled it off, but it worked ’til my son was about 5 and my daughter was 2.

Then for the next 3 years years, we limited the amount of candy the kids could eat to 2 pieces each. You may at this point be thinking: “Oh my gosh, that’s harsh!” But really it worked great. We were clear about the limits. We had a fabulous time carving pumpkins, making costumes, trick-or-treating, and then sorting and trading candy. It was more of a game, it wasn’t about actually eating the candy.

Then 3 years ago – it became more about the candy as the kids got older – they trick or treated for longer and had a larger selection of candy to choose from. They also became more savvy to the ways of the world (or at least of other kids). Now we have this technique…

Halloween Candy Taste-Testing:

How it works:

1. Sort and trade all candy!
2. Separate all candy that are “food-like substances” (a Michael Pollan term). For example, things that look and feel more like plastic get segregated. Things that have high-fructose corn syrup or partially hydrogenated fats get segregated. Then all of these items get tossed…they’re not to be considered food, or edible.
3. The candy that’s left – pretty much chocolate bars – get sliced into small pieces.
4. We make a chart.
5. We try one sliver of each candy and rate them. (I wish I could tell you what rated highest in the past few years, but I can’t remember.)
6. Everyone gets to try everything, no-one feels deprived, no-one feels sick, and I have children who are not bouncing off the walls on sugar. We have thoroughly enjoyed all the aspects of Halloween.

O.K. so I’m imagining  you really want to know what my kids think of this approach.  Here’s what they have to say.

I asked them: “How do you feel about our taste test and do you wish you could have more candy?

Kobi – age 11.

“I enjoy doing the taste test because I like seeing which candies I like and which I don’t.
I don’t wish I had more candy or feel deprived because I see my mom working hard telling people how bad sugar is for you. It makes you not want to eat as much candy as you would if you had no previous knowledge of what’s in it and what it does for you.”

Additional note: Kobi has been researching – on his own  –  gelatin and glycerin (which is in a lot of candies). He has discovered that gelatin is made of animal skin and bones and glycerin is made of animal fat. This information has subdued his candy interest substantially.

Ruby – age 8.

“I like our Halloween Taste Test. I’m kind of used to not eating candy because we don’t eat it all year long. For me, the fun of Halloween is trick or treating and trading, so I end up with all the chocolate bars!”

Kobi and Ruby 2 years ago doing the taste test

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For more healthy ideas for your family go to: www.HealthyYummyKids.com

Nina Manolson, MA, CHC, LMT is the Smokin’ Hot Mom Mentor and Family Wellness Expert. She’s the founder of SmokinHotMom.com and HealthyYummyKids.com. She helps busy moms look and feel their best, and helps them feed their kids well in a world that doesn’t. To get your F.R.E.E. Audio CD by mail and receive her healthy recipes and wellness tips click here.

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Nina Manolson, MA, is the founder of Body-Peace®.She helps women end the war with food and body and finally feel truly at home in their body—as it is.

She is known for her deeply feminist, anti-diet, body-peace® approach. She brings her 30 years of experience as a therapist, Body-Trust® Guide and Psychology of Eating Teacher to helping women create a respectful and trusting relationship with their food and body.

Nina’s Body-Peace® work is all in service of helping people get off the diet roller-coaster, and into a compassionate and powerful way of eating & living which creates a positive long-lasting change in and with their bodies. Her courses, coaching, poems and Body-Peace APP positively change the conversation that women are having with their body.

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