A Halloween Reminder

I know I've been quiet lately. I've been working on a fat fast book, and have a deadline at the end of this month. Still, I thought I'd take a break and remind you of the basic rules of getting through Halloween without completely blowing your low carb plan:

1) Do not buy candy early. I don't care how good the sale is. Wait till the last minute. Why put yourself in the position of sharing a house with roughly 60 million extra grams of carbohydrate for a week or two? I know people who put a bowl of Halloween candy out a week or two before Halloween. This is madness. Don't do it.

2) BUY CANDY YOU DON'T LIKE. If you like every variety of candy ever made, at least buy something that is not one of your personal favorites. I don't participate in trick-or-treating -- because I live outside city limits, I haven't seen a single trick-or-treater in the 20 years I've lived in this neighborhood. But if I were passing out candy (Hah! Fat chance), I would probably choose Twizzlers. Why? Because I never liked 'em, not even as a sugar-addicted kid.

3) Lay in a modest stash of low carb treats. A few sugar-free Reese's or turtles, whatever, can keep you out of serious trouble.

4) In the excited rush, don't forget to eat your supper. You know, protein and vegetables. If there won't be time to sit down during the dinner hour because you'll be running back and forth to the front door, consider making pickup nibbles -- chicken wings, deviled eggs, a relish tray with dip, that sort of thing. You'll probably get some protein into the little goblins this way, too.

5) If you have candy left over on November 1st, give it away. Take it to the office and leave it in the break room, or send it to work with your spouse. Donate it to the local soup kitchen. Just get it out of the house. (And next year don't buy so much candy.)

6) Freeze your kid's Halloween haul, to be doled out a piece at a time after meals. Not only is this better for your kid, it will help you keep your mitts off his stash.

That's a quick overview. I need to get back to the book, but here's a link to a longer Halloween article I wrote a few years back.

Happy Halloween! On to Thanksgiving.