By Kristy Lang

Kristy Lang is a registered dietitian at Boone Hospital Center.

Halloween season is here, the beginning of the food-for-all that the holidays bring.

Kristy Lang

For this month’s Motivational Moment we’ve consolidated several tips and tricks from a similar New York Times article to help keep Halloween treats into that “moderation” zone and get the holiday season off to a good start!

Think small. Handing out full-size candy bars will make you the hero of the block with kids, but not parents. Offer mini-bars and bite-sized treats vs. their “fun sized” or full-sized counterparts.

Choose less-indulgent candies. Chocolate covered raisins still count as candy, but they are at least packed with fiber and other healthful nutrients. Peppermint Patties are low in fat.

Don’t rule out lollipops. New York University nutritionist Lisa Young notes that even though they’re still all sugar, candies like lollipops that take longer to eat are a good idea because they help kids eat less overall.

Skip the candy. This doesn’t mean turning off the lights and refusing to answer the door. Instead of candy, hand out stickers, tattoos and other non-candy items. Other ideas: glow in the dark necklaces, mini cans of play-doh, and other dollar store finds.

If you don’t love it, don’t eat it. Sift through the Halloween haul with your kids and get rid of candies that aren’t their favorites. Dr. Roberts (interviewed by NY Times) says that when her daughter was young, she managed to dispose of about half the candy her child collected before they got home. Older kids add their stash to a community bowl for the family. (Dr. Roberts notes that she also made sure some of that disappeared overnight, too.)

Make it last. Instead of having Halloween candy be an all you can eat buffet at home, limit kids to 1-2 pieces/day that they get to choose out of their stash. Let the Halloween candy take the place of other treats – meaning if you or your kids typically have a treat after lunch, the candy should be in place of vs. in addition to what they normally have as a dessert. Consider having a prize (such as going bowling or miniature golfing) if candy lasts until a certain date.