When Halloween rolls around, many parents feel anxious about their children eating lots of candy. Follow these suggestions to keep Halloween fun and judgement-free.
- Follow normal eating patterns on the day of Halloween. Encourage children to eat their normal meals and snacks. Do not eat less to compensate for having candy.
- Allow children to eat as much candy as they would like on Halloween night. Labeling food as off-limits can be harmful. It can also cause overeating of the off-limit food later on. Kids may focus on getting more.
- Normal eating can be overeating. Children may over eat and have bellyaches afterwards. That’s ok. Let them learn from the experience. Give gentle guidance in the future. Explain how overeating sometimes can lead to an upset stomach.
- Serve candy with meals after Halloween is over. Follow Ellyn Satter’s division of responsibility. Parents decide what is served at meals and kids decide how much to eat. Remind children that candy will be available at another meal if not this one.
- Avoid making judgements. Avoid talking negatively about candy or sweets. Add some candy to your meal, if you can. It is helpful for children to see parents have a positive relationship with food.
Information gathered & adapted from:
M&M Cookies
Ingredients
1 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups M&M candies
Preparation
1.Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, 2 eggs, and vanilla extract with an electric hand mixer. Combine until all ingredients are well mixed.
2.In a separate medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.
3.Gradually add the dry flour mixture into the mixture with the butter. Stir as you add the dry ingredients with the hand mixer.
4.Fold in the M&M candies with a rubber spatula until evenly distributed.
5.Using a tablespoon, spoon the mixture onto 2 parchment-lined baking sheets. Spread the cookies about 1 inch apart. Each baking sheet should have 12 cookies.
6.Bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow cookies to cool before serving. Store in an airtight containing for 5 days.
Recipe makes: 24 cookies
Nutrition Information:
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Recipe adapted from:
