If you’re reading this when it comes out, Halloween is on deck. So much candy around whether or not you have children and whether or not they go out on the rounds. Last year we almost got a pass with the event being curtailed. How’s it happening in your area this year?
I saw a post this morning from someone who was fretting about preparing for the holidays. It used to be that we didn’t get too caught up in the holidays until late November. In the States, that would be around our Thanksgiving holiday, which began the five or six-week food orgy we call “The Holidays.”
Now it seems to begin with Halloween candy. All Soul’s Day is November first, followed by Diwali in early November and later Thanksgiving. Then we have holidays and feasts in December for many cultures and spiritual traditions: Bodhi Day, Hanukkah, Midwinter Solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, Omisoka, New Year’s Eve and Day.
The problem is – whether you observe all the holidays, a few, or none, the feasting spirit is upon us – or we have plenty of opportunities for two full months of a nutritional challenge. I don’t know about you, but I need more than willpower to consistently say no to the many offerings. And after the trauma of missing so many gatherings in 2020, the world is ready to party.
I’m all for having what you want for the holiday – those fun-sized candies are exactly that: Fun. Every holiday has food that “makes” the holiday and finding your way of including it is helpful. Rather than jump ahead, let’s start with the holiday at hand: Halloween.
Are there particular foods or candies that you love?
Everyone seems to have a strong opinion about candy corn – either loving it or hating it. The flavor is a mixture of sugar, butter, and vanilla, but the shapes seem to intensify some flavors. You know what I mean if you stock up on the pumpkins available this time of year. Yet some hate it with a passion. Peanut butter cups in the shape of pumpkins or Easter eggs have just the right ratio of peanut butter to chocolate, so Halloween is the time. What’s your choice?
Once you identify your food, consider how you can either incorporate them without totally imploding your plan. However, if you want to stay on your plan and avoid such foods, how will you accomplish that? There are “plan compliant” recipes online for almost all holiday foods. Will that work for you? Or is abstaining a better option for you?
What happens the day after? What will you do with leftover candy? Will you choose to make a rule for yourself to keep you on track?
Willpower too often fails, but creating a good habit will support you through the season of holidays.
