The Halloween season is a lot of fun! It’s a time when everyone has the opportunity to dress different, wear a fun costume and act totally strange or scary and not get as many weird looks for it! But this season also comes with mood swings and sugar highs, as everyone just wants to reach for that candy bar or sneak into the trick or treater’s stash!

Growing up, my mother could never buy Halloween candy before beggar’s night because my dad would polish it all off beforehand, causing her to have to go buy more, which didn’t always go over well! Candy this time of year is everywhere. It is in the middle of aisles, included with big displays, in dishes on coworker’s desks or maybe your HR department hands out goodie bags to all employees, just like here at Friendship Haven!

It is easy to find yourself indulging in all the sweets and unfortunately, it does not stop the first day of November, since the holiday season is just beginning with Thanksgiving and Christmas on their way. Try to be creative with your deserts and snacks. To avoid the added calories and sugar, here are a few replacements that are still fun and tasty, but additionally are healthy!

• Pretzels and Cheese
• Apples and Peanut Butter
• Popcorn Balls
• Fresh fruit such as clementines, grapes or bananas (the clementines look like pumpkins, grapes can resemble a spider and bananas look like ghosts!)
• Fruit cups (with lite syrup or real juice) – draw a jack-o-lantern on the top!

Here’s some additional statistics that might make you rethink grabbing that next candy bar!

To Burn Off…		Calories		You Need To Do…
Charleston Chew		30 Calories		10 minutes of leisurely walking
Nestle’s Crunch		60 Calories		25 minutes of yoga
York Peppermint Patty		60 Calories		25 minutes of yoga
3 Musketeers		63 Calories		26 minutes of pilates
Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar		67 Calories		15 minutes of dancing
Kit Kat		70 Calories		10 minutes of rowing
Regular M&M’s		67 Calories		9 minutes of jumping jacks
Heath Bar		77 Calories		12 minutes of aquaerobics
Milky Way, Mounds, Snickers, Twix		80 Calories		9 minutes on the elliptical
Butterfinger or Baby Ruth		85 Calories		10 minutes of Zumba
Peanut M&M’s or Mr. Goodbar		90 Calories		13 minutes of hiking
100 Grand		95 Calories		10 minutes of kickboxing
Take 5		100 Calories		17 minutes of leisurely bike riding (10-12 mph)
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup		110 Calories		7 minutes of jogging (10 minute mile pace)

 

Contributed by Andrea Doster (Wellness Assistant)