Halloween - Who Will Win the Candy War?

No matter how hard you try, it is almost impossible to avoid candy at Halloween! Candy at Halloween is like Easter eggs at Easter, gelt at Hanukah, and candy canes at Christmas. It is a fact of life. So this year, instead of battling with the kids over when, where, and how to eat the candy, here are some suggestions that might help sweeten this ghoulish holiday.

Limit the Container Size: Pick a small plastic pumpkin with a strong handle or a mini-sized shopping bag. Make a rule that kids have to carry their own candy. This will help limit the amount. When they start complaining that the container is too heavy, it’s time to go home.

Separate the Candy: They can make two piles: acceptable and not acceptable! Keep ones they like and throw out unwrapped or damaged candy. Tell them you or dad will take the candy they don’t like to work. That leaves only the candy they want.

You can take this sorting process a step further and look for candy that contains partially hydrogenated or Trans fats. These types of fats are artery clogging fats. So if much of their favorite pile is full of hydrogenated fats, this would be a good time to cut back on other artery clogging fats like French fries, nuggets, prepared baked sweets, and burgers.

Limit the Amount: The first few days most kids go hog wild eating candy but then it usually tapers off. In fact, by week two many kids have forgotten about the candy all together. If the candy obsession lasts more than a week or two, it can be helpful to set up guidelines to deal with the remaining supply. Limiting candy to a piece or two after dinner is a good idea. If it is not gone by Thanksgiving, throw it out!

Brush your Teeth: This is an opportunity to explain to kids how cavities form. Tell them they need to brush their teeth within a few minutes of eating candy because the sugar in the candy reacts with bacteria in their mouths to form acids which attack the teeth causing cavities. If you have not already banned sodas from the house, this might be a good time to start.

Adjust Snacks: Since you know your kids will be eating candy, if not theirs probably someone else’s, make snacks healthy. Offer sliced fresh fruit, Trans fat-free popcorn, low-fat cheese sticks, fresh veggies and hummus, or whole grain pretzel sticks. Don’t keep sweets like ice cream or other sugared snacks around at this time.

Adjust Meals: During the first week or so, make meals that are lower in carbohydrates to adjust for the extra candy intake. Avoid pasta, potatoes, rice, and breaded foods. Definitely avoid sweets and junk food. Don’t send packaged snacks to school. Eat more protein, vegetables, and healthy fats like olive oil, avocado and nuts.

While this may seem like a lot of work, it beats the alternative of turning into a witch by disallowing candy. Candy at Halloween, as long as kids are eating other healthy food, will not permanently ruin your child’s health. This balanced approach leads to happy memories and a cease fire.

Bubble Tea Balls Might Cause Cancer

Say it ain't so! I love bubble tea especially with tapioca balls after a hot bath and a scrub at Spa World in Centreville, Virginia. Spa World is a Korean bath house that offers multiple hot water pools, saunas, scrubs, massages, and really good Korean food.

Bubble tea balls are round tapicoa balls that are placed in the bottom of a glass of iced tea or blended fruit drinks. These drinks are amazingly refreshing after a hot bath or sauna. A study out of Germany says they may be cancer causing due to a chemical used in manufacturing the balls.

Another favorite food, bashed and dashed. Will keep you posted if there are updates. In the meantime, I still plan to bathe and scrub at Spa World. I will search for another favorite refreshing drink to help me cool down.

Do Your Resolutions Have Heart?

I always like to write a blog half way into the first month of the new year to see how everyone is doing on the commitments they just signed on for. It is amazing how important we think our resolutions are until we are face to face with the work of maintaining them!

I recently read the Steve Jobs biography which not only did I love but which also got me back in touch with many of the ideologies that drove my thinking in my late teens and twenties - the late 60's and early 70's. I have been rereading some seminal books of that time like Autobiography of a Yogi, The Teachings of Don Juan - A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, and some old nutrition books by Arnold Ehret that I have saved.

I came across a passage in The Teachings of Don Juan that spoke to me. Of course I am in a different place now than I was 40 years ago when I first read the book, but good books have a way of evoking new meaning no matter how many time you reread them.

Don Juan, the aging the sorcerer says, "My benefactor told me about it once when I was young, and my blood was too vigorous for me to understand. Now I do understand it. I will tell you what it is: Does this path have a heart? All paths are the same: they lead nowhere. They are paths going through the bush, or into the bush. In my own life I could say I have traversed long, long paths, but I am not anywhere. My benefactor's question has meaning now. Does the path have a heart? If it does, the path is good; if it doesn't it is of no use. Both paths lead nowhere; but one has a heart, the other doesn't. One makes for a joyful journey; as long as you follow it, you are one with it. The other will make you curse your life. One makes you strong; the other weakens you."

So ask yourself now, "Do your resolutions have heart?'" Your answer may help explain why you are or not keeping them.

Does tightening the reins make you eat more?

As I start to begin my Thanksgiving preparations, I find myself eating more even though I want to be eating less. A strange but common paradox. I was thinking I should cut back a little before the holiday especially since I know I will be entertaining out of town guests, eating out more, and then going on a vacation the day after Thanksgiving. Yet thoughts of deprivation can often lead to overindulgence.

So instead of tightenting my grip, I have decided in the spirit of Thanksgiving to just let go and be thankful for whatever I put into my mouth. While I do not plan to go "hog wild" over Thanksgiving, I do plan to keep this mantra in mind: Bless, savor, and enjoy!

Seven Day Count Down

Seven days until Thanksgiving: family, friends, good food and drink. My advice is to enjoy the day and don't worry about what you eat. (Remember to always drink responsibly.) Did you notice I said "day?" That is the first key to starting off the holiday season on the right foot. After Thursday go back to your regular eating (and exercise) otherwise what starts as just one day often morphs into another 39 days of overindulgence.

To avoid having to face the music on January 1st, here are a few things to consider as you prepare your Thanksgiving feast:

1. Avoid using hydrogenated fats in pies and baked goods.
2. Have a salad and at least two or three vegetables.
3. Use olive or canola oil or Land O Lakes Spreadable Butter (half olive or canola) instead of margarine in cooking.
4. Offer fresh fruit with the other yummy desserts.
5. Don't drink your calories other than wine or spirits, avoid high calorie mixers.
6. Add some whole grain bread to your stuffing.

Which reminds me of one cardinal rule: Don't stuff yourself to the gills. Eat until you are full - not stuffed. Then in a few hours, if you are hungry go back for more. A stuffed turkey is good, a stuffed belly is not.

Prevent Holiday Weight Gain

Right about now, clients start to ask how they can keep weight off over the holidays. Here are three simple things you can do:

1. Watch your alcohol consumption. If you know you will be drinking, cut back on starchy foods during the day. Eat more veggies and lean protein.


2. Watch the sweets at work. Draw a line in the frosting and "just say no" to the plates of goodies that will be passing your desk. Bring a healthy snack from home for the 4:00 slump.


3. Get back to the gym now and don't wait for the New Year to begin again.

Try these for starters. I will be giving tips from now until the end of January.

Cinch! Conquer Cravings, Drop Pounds and Lose Inches - Popular Diet and Lifestyle Books Reviewed by Food and Nutrition Experts: Members of the American Dietetic Association

Here is a book review I did for one of the latest diet books. If you are vegan or almost there, you might be interested. It is also great for moving towards a more plant based diet.

Cinch! Conquer Cravings, Drop Pounds and Lose Inches - Popular Diet and Lifestyle Books Reviewed by Food and Nutrition Experts: Members of the American Dietetic Association