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Halloween is a special time of year. Ushered in by aisles full of candy and celebrated with a touch of imagination, it is a magical event where adults and children alike can be whatever they dream to be for one single night.

A part of the magical spell Halloween has us under is our diet. Although it is tempting to swear off candy or limit our children’s consumption of it when faced with bags of goodies captured after a night of trick-or-treating, allowing ourselves to enjoy it may not be such a bad thing. In fact, allowing kids to eat as much candy as they want may not even result in them eating everything they gather. In a survey conducted by KidsHealth.org, only 20% of the 1200 participating children said that they ate all of their Halloween candy and 60% of the participants said that it took them 2 weeks to finish it all off.

Instead of cutting out candy completely on Halloween, perhaps consider allowing your family to have a Halloween treat pass until the clock strikes midnight. This way your kids can enjoy the splendor of gathering as much candy as they can, but will also prevent them from extending the candy mentality into the rest of the year.

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By Jessie Gorges and Kelsey Murray

Forget the Peeps and chocolate bunnies; get your children, significant other and family members something healthy this year for Easter.

According to Dr. Kavey on WebMD.com, too much sugar can be a problem for children because it can lead children into lifelong obesity. “The reason that we think of it as a problem is because of the big rise in obesity in childhood, and that rise has occurred over the same time period that there’s been a major increase in the amount of simple sugar that children consume.”

Check out these healthy Easter basket treats with little to no sugar that everyone is sure to love.

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by Kelsey Murray

For many people, Easter is a religious holiday that causes them to meditate on the sacrifices their Creator made for them. For most children, however, Easter is all about the Bunny and the candy. For the parents of these children, Easter is about sugar-highs and trips to the dentist.

If you are a parent and want to give your children healthier candies and chocolates this year (or if you just have a sweet tooth yourself), consider these Easter sweets instead of your usual standbys.

Dark Chocolate Covered Nuts. Almonds, walnuts, cashews, and other nuts provide healthy fats that are essential for your body to function properly. Dark chocolate provides antioxidants while also lowering your blood pressure and cholesterol and boosting your mood (every woman knows that chocolate has magic mood-lifting powers). The combination of nuts and dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa) usually weighs in at 210 calories per 1.4 ounces while also providing 8 percent of your daily dietary fiber.

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Once in a while, a study comes around that just has to make health professionals a little squeamish. You know the kind – the ones that seem to not only contradict common sense, but also ends up as fuel for unhealthy people to justify bad eating habits.

This time around, a study is giving people who love their sweets a sweet surprise. Apparently candy and chocolate eaters tend to beat out those who don’t in the categories of waistline, weight, and body mass index (BMI).

But wait, there’s more.

Those in the study who ate candy and chocolate had a 14 percent lower risk of elevated blood pressure and a 15 percent decreased risk of metabolic syndrome (risk factors for heart disease and stroke).
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