Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! Parent Talk would like to share some tips with you on how to prevent Candy overload!
1. When passing out candy, decide how many pieces to give out to each trick-or-treater ahead of time. Help your fellow parents out and avoid letting kids take handfuls of candy home.
2. Map out your route ahead of time with your kids to reduce the number of houses you trick-or-treat at.
3. Establish how many pieces of candy your child is allowed each night ahead of time.
4. On Halloween, serve a healthy meal that your whole family can enjoy. This will prevent a dinner consisting only of snickers, skittles, and butterfingers!
5. Once home, sort through the candy to make sure that all wrappers are securely on and safe for kids to eat. Have your kids then sort their candy into piles of their favorites and least favorites. You can donate their least favorites to prevent overeating (see tip #10).
6. This next tip is for both parents and kids: Avoid eating candy in front of the television or computer as this can lead to mindless eating and consuming more calories than you intended. Be mindful of the candy you eat, enjoy it, and remember moderation is the key!
7. Try to limit the calories from the candy you eat to under 200 each day. If you go over this amount, aim to increase your physical activity that day.
8. Store Halloween Candy in a place that is out of sight and not convenient to access (think top shelf of pantry or closet). Studies show that if food is out of sight and not easy to access, that you won’t eat as much of it.
9. With tip #8 in mind, keep healthy snacks within reach, especially in the days following Halloween.
10. Finally, throw out or donate extra Halloween candy. Check out the following two websites for information.
· http://www.halloweencandybuyback.com/
· http://www.operationgratitude.com/halloween-candy-buy-back-2012/

Have a fun, safe, and healthy Halloween! These tips have been provided by Maggie Shapiro, MPH, RD, LDN.