Is all sugar bad?
By Staff
Mom’s Corner, Michelle Blaylock
In case you’ve been out of the loop, let me be the first to share with you that Halloween is just around the corner. I’ve heard many parents complain recently that the government’s imposed “nutritional guidelines” for schools make Halloween just not as much fun.
Well, I don’t like the nutritional guidelines myself, mostly because I don’t really think four to six parties a year is what is making our kids overweight. It’s what they do day in and day out that is the problem.
I personally think our kids need to be taught moderation, not abstinence, when it comes to food. I also think our principals and teachers don’t like having to be “sugar nazis.” All that having been said, we’re still stuck with the new guidelines, so complaining about it isn’t going to change it.
So what are our options? Remember what I’ve said before; if necessity is the mother of invention, then desperation is the mother of creativity!
We’re on the brink of creativity. One thing I’ve seen is thin sliced cheese sticks with olives stuck on the end. I believe they were called “zombie fingers.”
In all honesty, often times it’s what you call something that makes all the difference in the world — especially to children! For example, make sausage balls using Bisquick, sausage and cheese; then call them something like “troll bites.” How about roasting pumpkin seeds and calling them “fairy food.” One web site had a recipe for “Halloween Worms.” The recipe involved egg noodles and spaghetti cooked together and then tossed with butter and cheese. Another recipe I saw used green Jell-O to make a “Jell-O cake” and then put plastic spiders in the Jell-O. It was really disgusting looking — so you know the kids would love it! You could also use red Jell-O and put the plastic eyeballs in it.
The web site familymanagement.com had a great idea using white bread, peanut butter, and red jelly. They took and put a really thin layer both the peanut butter and jelly on the bread, then they rolled them up and called them “bones.”
This site had a whole bunch of really cute ideas, but I warn you, it’s a British site and they don’t call foods the same thing we do, so you might have to use your imagination.
Halloween can still be fun, we just have to use our creativity. As a side note, I would be interested in knowing how many of those politicians that made these nutritional guidelines follow them, and if they make their kids follow them at home, too. Just a thought.
