My family loves Halloween! Even our youngest is really excited this year (pictured left), but every year I struggle with what I call the battle with BIG CANDY. How can I knowingly let my children have candy with horrible ingredients from questionable sources? And being in food manufacturing my whole life, I know how scary some of these manufacturers can be. It's one of the reasons I started Late July.
In the past I have bought organic chocolate (Endangered Species Bug Bites) and other treats (Fruitabu, Yummy Earth Lollipops, Purefun hard candy, Sweetriot cacoa nibs) for my older son (pictured below from last year) to exchange for his treat haul, but two years ago he really wanted to have some of the candy he collected too (busted!). So now, after I remove the worst of the worst, fake gummy hamburgers and other candy not made in the USA from a known brand, I blend the organic and conventional together in his (resuable) bag (a 90/10 blend works). I rationalize this decision by remembering that the other 364 days a year he is one of the best eaters I know. He looks for the word organic on packages, helps grow organic produce in our garden and loves to try new foods.
So again this year I plan to buy organic candy and treats (including little packs of our Late July Sandwich Cookies), but for just this one night, I will also let my older son try some of the conventionally made treats he earnestly collects. I learned a good lesson two years ago. I found by not making a big deal out of it and mxing in organic treats that are really delicious, my son ended up gravitating toward the organic anyway because he liked them better. It turned into a great lesson about organic food and made him realize he wasn't missing anything. I'll let you know how it goes this year when my younger son enters the fold. I also plan to make sure they have a good wholesome dinner before hand so they don't attack the treats on an empty stomach. Good luck out there, I'd love to hear other suggestions.
Greetings,
My suggestion is to trade trick or treat candy for non-food items. Such as, pencils, erasers, small trinkets or toys that can be put on shoe laces or backpacks, stickers, posters or other things to decorate their room or play area. You can get plastic coins or poker chips and give them a value such as 15 extra minutes on a game or computer or not having to do a chore for a day or getting to stay up later for one night. You could even let them collect the coins and 'cash' them in on something big like a camera of their own (maybe a disposable one) or a sleep over or camp-out. These other things have an attraction because they or their memories will last much longer than the candy.
Most candy will freeze rather well and can then be doled out over several months. The bite size candies are great in Christmas cookies and cupcakes. Children love to make such things and give them to their friends and almost every school has snack days or special days just before Winter Break. This is a good time to get rid of that stash of goodies.
I hope these will help and maybe give a lead to some other ways of dealing with candy.
Rebekah J.
Posted by: Rebekah J. McCormick | October 28, 2008 at 07:36 PM
Thanks for the great idea!
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Posted by: pure acai berry | January 27, 2009 at 03:27 PM