Treats versus Snacks
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I love Hallowe’en. I love planning, making and getting dressed up in a costume. I love seeing kids in their costumes. And it’s that time of year when we have a chance to have a friendly exchange with our adult neighbours, as they stand at the end of the driveway watching their little ones climb the steps to our front door with their sacks or pumpkin-shaped pails.
I shared an e-card on my personal Facebook page showing someone giving quinoa and omega 3 supplements to the trick-or-treaters.
No – I’m not going to do that.
But it begs the question. What should we be handing out to the ghosts and goblins (or more likely vampires and princesses and Transformers and Ironmen) that come to our door?
Sugar, in its myriad forms, is really not good for you. It causes inflammation. Too much can cause insulin resistance or even type 2 diabetes. It makes us fat.
Dr Oz’s syndicated article in last week’s Toronto Star also warned that fructose “messes with your liver, boosts your blood pressure and stiffens arteries” and that sends people running to consult food labels.
We all know that labels list the ingredients in order from what the product has the most of to the least. We may even purposely take a pass on anything that has sugar listed in the top few ingredients. But those tricky manufacturers are wise to the educated consumer and sometimes use lots of different sugars so they can list them among many ingredients. Watch for sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup solids, brown sugar, dextrose and other sugars. But back to Hallowe’en, where the # 1 ingredient in candy corn and chocolate is sugar.
Ideally I’d love to make my own treats to hand out, so I could be assured at least of good quality ingredients. But kids are taught to throw away anything that isn’t hermetically sealed.
So I’ve resigned myself to handing out chocolate and hope there isn’t too much left over. And here’s how I’m living with the dichotomy of being a registered holistic nutritionist, while wanting the neighbourhood kids to like me.
Candy is a treat.
By that I mean a once-in-a-while indulgence. Versus a snack, which is something we have every day, maybe 2 or 3 times a day. It could be a handful of seeds and nuts with fresh fruit or raw veggies and hummus.
So as long as we remember that Hallowe’en candies are treats and not snacks (the kids don’t say trick-or-snack) we should be ok. Pack good snacks in the school lunches and meter out the candy and chocolate.
Happy Hallowe’en everyone!
Photo reprinted with permission of J. Doan