It is almost that time of year! Halloween time (AKA eat as much candy corn and caramel as you can and then buy it after Halloween when it is on sale and eat it some more). I ABSOLUTELY LOVE Halloween. My Mother has an entire album devoted to my brothers’ and my Halloween costumes over the years. But let’s face it, the best part about childhood Halloween was the candy. We all came home and dumped the Halloween booty out on the table for sorting and prompt eating. Halloween is the gateway for the future eating festivities: Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. It is impossible to make it through Halloween without eating one piece of candy, but I am trying to make sure this year I don’t eat 16 pounds of it (yes, that actually happened one year). Here are some helpful Halloween eating tips:

1. Eat those caramel apples…with minimum amounts caramel. Caramel apples have been a fall favorite since…well, ever! They are sweet, delicious and relatively easy to make. As long as you don’t slather four layers of caramel on the apple, these treats can also be nutritious. Apples are a natural form of sugar and although caramel is fatty sugar that I don’t suggest, it’s too good to not indulge in a little.
2. Candycorn. Fall isn’t fall without candy corn! I am a strong believer in a healthy amount of fat and candycorn is just that. My only issue is keeping it to a maximum of 2-3 handfuls. With 3am study sessions though, it can get tricky! Try to keep the candycorn intake to one or two handfuls!
3. Trick-or-treat candy. Oh boy. I always ended up with piles and am fairly certain I will still somehow end up with a lot of candy this year! Luckily, I have developed a system. Give it away! That way you can save yourself the calories and make a lot of other people happy in the process. One of my suggestions would be to package it up and send it to friends who are at different campuses! That way they will get the enjoyment of getting a package AND eating candy. Of course this only works for friends who aren’t health freaks.
4.  As always, try to fill you stomach with other fall goodies like apples and pears rather than candy! Currently in season and usually in all dining halls, these two fruits are an excellent substitute for any candy that you do happen to get your hands on in the coming weeks.
5. Finally, indulge a little. Halloween is once a year. I absolutely refuse to not eat candy at all! You do need a quick energy pick me up sometimes!

I hope those tips help and that everyone has a fantastic Halloween. It may be a little early but heck! It is never too early to start eating candycorn….