Mindful eating and how parents can allow their children to savour their snacks over Halloween weekend
|Published
The Halloween weekend is typically filled with candy and other treats in abundance which are often consumed mindlessly. Picture: Pexels/Daisy Anderson
Feel that chill up your spine? ‘Spooky Season’ is officially here!
Halloween has become a day to celebrate imagination and fun.
It originated from an ancient Celtic seasonal festival to mark the end of the harvest and to remember the dead (known as Samhain), which is celebrated from sunset on October 31 to sunset on November 1.
Although Halloween is not a locally recognised holiday, the activities associated with the day are gaining traction in South Africa, with residential estates and schools hosting trick-or-treat parties or fundraising activities for families to partake in.
During this time, there is no doubt that getting as many sweets and consuming them over this period is measured by how much of a success the trick-or-treating activity went. And this is not limited to children, with parents also using the occasion as an excuse to consume sweet treats.
To help you control how much you and or the kids consume sweet treats this Halloween, we spoke to a registered dietitian, Dr Sandra Koen, who is also a representative from Mondelez, on some insights on eating mindfully and how parents can allow their children to savour their snacks over the Halloween weekend.
Why is mindful snacking at a time like Halloween important for parents and children alike?
“The Halloween weekend is typically filled with candy and other treats in abundance, which are often consumed mindlessly, for example, “eating for the sake of it” because the sweets are within close reach.
It is important to stop and evaluate why you want to snack - is it because you really need energy or are hungry, or is it because the situation is prompting you to snack, such as being in a social gathering with food and, in this case, sweets and chocolates?” said Koen.
How can parents help their children to savour their snacks over the Halloween weekend?
“Mindful snacking and portion control go hand-in-hand, and people are less likely to overeat with better management of food portions. During festive times such as Halloween, parents can help their children with this by portioning their treats accordingly,” she said.
How? Koen notes that you should:
- Be conscious of time and routine. Allow them to consume a few sweet treats on the day and then save the rest for the next day and even the following week (depending on how many they have). It’s not a good idea for children to eat snacks right before dinner time. Limit sugar intake after the hours of 4 pm to avoid restlessness at bedtime.
- Keep it nutritious, but mix it up. Limit the number of sweets you have in the house over this time, and help your kids get all of the nutrition they need by ensuring they get enough fruit, veggies, protein, and other essential foods by giving them snacks like sliced fresh fruit, cut up veggies, crackers with low-fat or fat-free cheese, and low-fat or fat-free frozen yoghurt as well.
- Encourage mindful eating. Serve snacks away from the television; snacking while distracted (for example, while watching television or playing games on your smartphone) is a bad habit because it can lead you to overeat without realising it. Serve snacks in the kitchen or combine them with a fun activity or picnic outside.
- Remember that you are a role model. Manage consumption of sweet treats between regular meals, not in place of mealtimes. For example, encourage kids to eat lunch first and then indulge in a treat instead of filling up on candy. Model that behaviour yourself and eat nutritious foods like fruits and vegetables regularly, and be sure to talk about fullness. For example, you might tell your kids, “I’ve had enough sweet things now, so I’ll stop eating this now.”
Have you checked out the latest IOL Food & Drinks digital magazine? Read it here.