Leftover Halloween Candy

Although your kids hopefully didn't overdo it too much when eating candy on Halloween, at least that is just one day.

If you are not careful though, they could be eating leftover candy for months. In addition to the pile of Halloween candy that they likely got from Trick-Or-Treating, you probably also have some leftover candy that didn't get passed out.

And since many kids are already coping with childhood obesity, even an extra one or two pieces of candy a day can be a problem if it continues for too long. To keep from adding to any weight or nutritional problems that your child may have after Halloween, it may help to:

• have your child go through the candy that he got from Trick-Or-Treating, pick out his favorites, and allow him to have one or two pieces a day for only the next week or so.
• pack up the rest of your leftover Halloween candy and use it on special occasions, such as a filler for a birthday pinata, etc.
• use leftover Halloween candy to make a pie or cake, such as this Milky Way Bar Cake, for use as a special treat.
• give away your leftover candy to a food bank, which although it won't be the most nutritious food they give away, can serve as a treat for needy kids on special occasions.
• sell your leftover Halloween candy at a participating Halloween candy buy back program, in which dentists buy your candy and then send it to troops deployed overseas

Simply keeping your Halloween candy around, where it is in full view and tempting you and your kids to eat and pick at it all day long for weeks and weeks is the one thing you shouldn't do though, especially if you don't want to gain 3 or 4 pounds before the holidays.