Trick or Treat

by Cheryl Kasdorf | Dr. Cheryl Kasdorf ND, Nutrition | 0 comments

Trick or Treat

Haunting Spirits of Halloween are in the air and Jack O’ Lanterns are shining bright. Soon it will be time to go Trick or Treat!

Is that Halloween candy really a treat or could it trick you into eating something you would otherwise avoid?

Get savvy about ingredients including sugar, gluten, corn syrup and GMOs in those Halloween treats!

Get inspired to give out treats which are as much a delight but will not do harm to the digestive tract.

I love Halloween, let’s get through it with ease!

Are you on a gluten-free diet?

Did you know that these contain gluten:

Red Vines – all varieties, including Black, Natural and Fruit Vines
All Brach’s candy, including candy corn!
Ferrero Rocher Chocolates
Hershey Snack Sized Bars – ALL
Kit Kat
Reese’s Minis & Peanut Butter Pumpkins
Hershey’s Whoppers
Mars Milky Way & Twix
Nestle Butterfinger Crisp or Butterfinger Stixx
Nestle Crunch & Hundred Grand Bar
ALL Russell Stover’s products
Chuckles Ju Jubes
And many more!

This is also good to know when you are at a movie theater.

Some gluten-free choices:

Annie’s Organic Bunny Fruit snacks
Baby Ruth original and fun size
Chewy Atomic Fireballs
Dove pieces – Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate, Caramel Milk Chocolate
Farley’s Kiddie Mix – Smarties, SweetTarts, Now and Later, Jaw Breakers, Super Bubble and Lolli-pops
Goobers & Raisinets
Hershey’s Kisses Milk Chocolate & Filled Chocolates – ALL
Jelly Belly jelly beans
Jolly Rancher hard candy
Kraft Caramels
Lifesavers & LifeSavers Gummies
M&M’s – original, peanut, peanut butter
Pez candy – All
Skittles including Original, Sour, Wild Berry, Fizzl’d Fruits, and Crazy Core, also fun-size
TIC TACS
Tootsie Pops – original and mini
Wrigley’s Gum
York Peppermint Patties
For an extensive list – click here

Now, it gets complicated with some candies – the regular is gluten-free but the smaller version of the candy is not:

Hershey Snack Sized Bars – ALL have gluten
Almond Joy is gluten-free Except Almond Joy Pieces Candy is not
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups snack size and miniatures are Gluten-free – Except Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Unwrapped Minis and Seasonal Shaped Items are not

And Smarties are gluten-free in the USA, but those made in Canada are not.

Other Allergens

Now, wheat and gluten are not the only things certain people must avoid. The top eight allergens include: wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, soy, fish and shellfish.

Here is an assortment that are free of all of these:

Betty Crocker Halloween Fruit Snacks
Kellogg’s Fruity Snacks
Starbursts Skittles and Starbursts Assortment
Dum-Dums
Jolly Rancher & Jolly Rancher Lollipops
Hot Tamales
Mike & Ike
Sour Patch Kids
Dots
Life Savers Spooky Shapes Gummies
Smarties

You can also go to MyGlutenFacts.com and click on other special diet filters for a more select list.

The last holdout: corn

If you want something sweet that does not have corn syrup, take a look at this list compiled by Kelley Lindberg, who is also a member of Utah Food Allergy Network:

Smarties
Pixie Stix & Giant Pixy Stix
Bob’s Sweet Stripes Soft Mint Candies
Whistle Pop candy Candy Jewelry
Spongebob Gummy Krabby Patties

I don’t know about some of those sweets, but it just looks like Smarties is the winner in the candy aisle!

Teal Pumpkin Project

What if we gave out a treat at Halloween that is not food? What would that look like?

The Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) organization answers that question with the Teal Pumpkin Project.

“This campaign encourages people to raise awareness of food allergies by providing non-food treats for trick-or-treaters and painting a pumpkin teal – the color of food allergy awareness – to place in front of their house along with a free printable sign from FARE to indicate they have non-food treats available.”

A stroll down the aisles of a dollar store or the party supply section of a big chain store will give you lots of ideas for non-food Halloween treats.

Also, I remember in my days of trick-or-treating, the rich lady on the corner had a bowl of coins as a treat. Each of us would see how many coins we could grasp, and if we could find the quarters in the mix. Do kids still like money in the form of coins? How about:

Glow sticks, bracelets, or necklaces (be sure they are safe)
Pencils with Halloween erasers or pencil toppers
Marking pens, crayons or colored writing pens
Mini notepads
Bubbles and bubble wands
Whistles, kazoos, or noisemakers
Small balls and other novelty toys
Spider rings, Vampire fangs, Halloween accessories
Playing cards
Bookmarks, Stickers, Stencils

There is lots more information at these links:

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