by April Wilson

Created on: January 20, 2010

Halloween is a time of overindulgence.  Much like Thanksgiving and Christmas and weekends, and... okay you get the picture. But at Halloween, instead of the focus being just on food in general, the focus is on junk food. Candy, cookies, brownies, cupcakes, popcorn balls, caramel apples.

Popcorn balls can be more fattening than you think.  While most people don't think of popcorn as fattening, the foods that will "make you fat" and are therefore fattening, have nothing to do with the amount of actual fat content. Though too much fat, especially too much saturated fat can lead to heart disease and other health problems. 

Popcorn balls can be a high-calorie treat depending on what is drizzled on and inside them.  Some popcorn balls have caramel, which while usually touted as a "fat free food" has a lot of sugar and a lot of calories.  Popcorn balls can also have peanuts in them, which... while not a "bad for you food," is a high-calorie food.  Some popcorn balls are also drizzled with dark or white chocolate, adding to the calorie count.  If you make popcorn balls for Halloween, try to keep it as healthy as possible, make them yourself so you control the calorie content of each one.  And consider making miniature versions so you can get full flavor for fewer calories with smaller portions.

Baked goods.  Cookies, brownies, cupcakes.  Fat waiting to happen.  Cupcakes are especially bad because not only are you normally eating a rich cake, but a rich typically buttercream frosting on top of it as well as sprinkles or some type of candy topping on top.  To make cupcakes a little healthier, make yellow cake cupcakes and substitute unsweetened applesauce for the sugar.  Instead of frosting, top the cupcakes with crushed pineapples, kiwi, or strawberries.  And if you want it to still be "Halloween-y", use Halloween cupcake liners.  Applesauce can also be substituted in brownies as well.

Candy.  When trying to "be good" on Halloween, many people look for fat-free or sugar-free candy, believing it will allow them to indulge as much as they want.  Be careful.  Fat-free almost always means it's loaded with sugar to make up for lack of taste and sugar-free almost always means it's loaded with calories from fat.  If you find something that is "both" fat-free and sugar-free that is a packaged food product and not something that grows on a tree, you can bet it's also taste-free. Save your money and eat something that actually tastes good, either in moderation, or a healthier variety.  Dark chocolate, especially 70% or higher cocoa content is incredibly healthy and as long as you watch the calories, you can enjoy it guilt-free for Halloween.

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